Chapter 1 Introduction to Chemistry What is Chemistry Scientific Method Chemistry Strategies
Who is a Chemist?
What are Chemicals. Any substance with definite composition What are Chemicals? Any substance with definite composition. Are they Good or Bad? Good Prescription drugs Pesticides Herbicides New Materials Caffeine Bad Environmental Pollution Poisons Unintended consequences
Aristotle (384 BC) Aristotle, more than any other thinker, determined the orientation and the content of Western intellectual history. He was the author of a philosophical and scientific system that through the centuries became embedded in Western thinking.
Aristotle In other words, Aristotle was so famous that his work influenced thinking in the Western world from his time to the present. This was fine when he was right. But he was so influential that his mistakes were never noticed.
Aristotle Aristotle and his contemporaries believed that all problems could be solved by thinking about them. The idea of Verification through doing an experiment was not done until nearly two thousand years later.
Galileo (early 1600’s) Considered to be one of the first true scientists. Carried out logical experiments to test old and new ideas Ran afoul of the main power in Europe and ended his life in house imprisonment.
Robert Boyle (late 1600’s) Robert Boyle is considered to be the father of the scientific method of inquiry. His new philosophy included new methods of experimental science, in which scientists sought to prove or disprove hypotheses through careful experiments.
Scientific Method Problem Observations Hypothesis Experiment Data Analysis Conclusion Retest Publish
Problem A problem is a question based upon observations.
Observations Find out as much Information about the problem as possible.
Hypothesis A suggested solution to the problem. If…Then…
Experiment A procedure to test the hypothesis. Control – experiment without the variable Variable – factor being tested
Record and Analyze Data Do the results of the experiment verify our hypothesis?
Make a Conclusion The answer to the hypothesis. Either a confirmation or modification is necessary.
Publish and Retest In order to verify the results, experiments must be retested by other scientists.
Cold Fusion Introduction
Cold Fusion Derailed