Learning Objectives:
a. Chemistry is the study of matter, the physical
substance of all materials.
b. There is a difference between physical and
biological sciences that arises from natural
science.
c. DNA and the purpose of the Human Genome
Project - to explore, explore, explore
d. The development of refrigerants is rooted
in chemistry.
e. A brief intro about the ozone layer.
f. Distinctions of scientific discovery among
basic science, applied science, and
technology.
g. The use of fossil fuels used in everyday life
and global warming.
h. Benefit and risk analysis factors.
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Living in a World of Chemistry
a. What does Chemistry Mean to You?
1. Maybe chemistry means ??? to you.
2. Chemistry is the study of matter and the changes it
can undergo.
3. Chemistry is a physical science
The amazing effect of nitric
acid (b) on copper (a). A young
man, Ira Remsen (1864-1927)
dropped a copper penny into
nitric acid to see what would
happen.
This is chemistry at work!
What type of chemistry
do you know that we use
in our daily lives?
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Living in a World of Chemistry
b. Natural Sciences have been associated with
observation of nature.
1. Our physical and biological environment.
Requires
Mathematics
The Natural Science
Physical Sciences
Study of matter and energy
Chemistry
Biological Sciences
Study of living organisms
Biochemistry
Physical Sciences
Study of matter and energy
Geology
Geo
Chemistry
Analytical
Astronomy
Cosmo Chemistry
Physical
Physics
Chemistry
Chemical Physics
Organic
Basic physical
Determination of
Carbon
structure & composition processes of chemistry compounds
Inorganic
Non-Carbon
compounds
Biological Sciences
Study of living organisms
Botany
Microbiology
Microscopic
organism
Cell Biology
Cell structure
and Function
Zoology
Genetics
Heredity
Ecology
Environment
Physiology
Function
Physical vs. Biological Sciences cont.
Immunology
Toxicology
Biochemistry
Chemistry
Pathology
Pharmacology
Biological
Sciences
Medicinal Chemistry
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Living in a World of Chemistry
c. DNA and The Human Genome Project.
1. DNA is an abbreviation for Deoxyribonucleic acid
and is present throughout our bodies.
2. DNA provides the fingerprint for an individual.
3. The study of DNA is one aspect of biochemistry.
An abstract picture of how
DNA unravels and is
reproduced. In this way, a
parent's DNA is passed to the
offspring. More to be
discussed in Ch 15.
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Living in a World of Chemistry
c. DNA and The Human Genome Project
1. In 2000, a revolution in our knowledge of DNA
begins.
2. A non-profit consortium called The Human Genome
Project begins.
3. The map of human DNA is completed in April 2003
where the location of every segment of human DNA
is identified.
Purpose of The Human Genome Project
The original publication by the leaders of The Human Genome project
make the following prophetic statement:
“It has not escaped our notice that the more we learn about the human genome,
the more there is to explore.”
Among these ongoing explorations are the following:
•Development of products that improve the health of humans, other animals, and
plants
•Understanding of hereditary diseases
•Development of drugs to cure hereditary diseases
•Alternation of an individual’s genetic makeup to prevent or cure a disease
•The study of why a drug can be effective in some individuals but not in others
•Exact matching of drugs to an individual’s genetics makeup
•Development of improved agricultural crops and animals
•Creation of genetically modified bacteria that will mass-produce desirable chemical
products
•Use of genetic information for a better understanding of evolution
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Living in a World of Chemistry
d. Air-Conditioning/Refrigerants.
1. Refrigerants have been in use since the late 1800s.
2. This process requires a fluid that absorbs heat as it
evaporates, releases heat when it condenses, and can
be continuously cycled through evaporation and
condensation without breaking down.
3. The development of chlorofluorocarbons, often
referred to as CFCs, less hazardous refrigerants after
WWII.
Thomas Midgley
Jr. invented Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Credit: Kettering University
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Living in a World of Chemistry
d. Air-Conditioning/Refrigerants
4. The Problem with CFC’s did not emerge until 1970:
damage to the environment.
5. By the 1980’s, it became clear that CFC’s reacted
with the stratosphere, where they interact with the
ozone layer, and destroy it.
e. The Ozone Layer (Depletion)
1. Ozone in the stratosphere absorbs ultraviolet
radiation, it is like the Earth’s sunscreen.
2. Increased ultraviolet exposure is harmful to the
environment and to us.
Ozone hole
over Antarctica, October 1979
Ozone hole
over Antarctica, October 1986
Ozone hole
over Antarctica, October 2005
Will learn more
about ozone
depletion later
in the
semester.
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Living in a World of Chemistry
f. Distinguishing between basic science, applied
science, and technology.
1. Basic science, or basic research, is the pursuit of
knowledge about the universe with no short-term
practical objectives for application in mind.
Ex. Biochemists who struggled for years to
understand exactly how DNA functions within cells
were doing basic science.
2. Applied science has the well-defined, short-term
goal of solving a specific problem. Ex. The search
for a better refrigerant by Midgley and his
colleagues.
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Living in a World of Chemistry
f. Distinguishing between basic science, applied
science, and technology cont.
3. Technology, also an application of scientific
knowledge, is a bit more difficult to define. In
essence, it is the sum of the way we apply science in
the context of our society, our economic system, and
our industry.
Ex. The first refrigerators and automobile air
conditioners designed to use CFCs were the products
of a new technology. Ways to manipulate DNA to
make new medicines or other marketable products is
referred to as biotechnology.
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Living in a World of Chemistry
g. Fossil Fuels and a Brief intro to
Global Warming.
1. Fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural
gas used to support consumer-driven
societies and their associated lifestyles.
2. The fuels are burned in a variety of
vehicles.
3. Other uses of fossil fuel include
powering an engine, providing heat
and cooling our homes.
4. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable energy
resources, eventually our supply will
run out!
Evolution of fuel use
GLOBAL RESERVES OF FUELS
Coal mining
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Living in a World of Chemistry
g. Fossil Fuels and a Brief intro to Global Warming
5. Depletion of traditional sources of energy such as
petroleum has led to the development of alternative
sources of energy.
6. Renewable energy sources can be replenished on a
short time scale; e.g., solar power, wind, and
biomass.
7. Water vapor and carbon dioxide (CO2) are gases that
are known to absorb and trap heat radiation (Ex. in
nuclear reactors).
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
COMPOSTING
Municipal solid
waste recycling rates, 1960-2003
Source: EPA
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Living in a World of Chemistry
g. Fossil Fuels and a Brief intro to Global Warming
8. Global warming or the greenhouse effect is a
warming of the Earth by a layer of gases that trap the
sun’s energy.
9. Human activity appears to be causing an increase in
the amount of atmospheric CO2.
10. Increased atmospheric CO2 appears to be enhancing
the greenhouse effect, leading to an increase in
average global temperatures.
The Earth's
atmosphere acts like the glass of a
greenhouse
CO2 levels are
still increasing in the atmosphere
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Rising global temperatures
Source: NASA
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Living in a World of Chemistry
h. Benefits/Risks Tradeoff
8. It is important to consider how society weighs the
benefit of some activities, the use of some
chemicals, or the use of some new technologies
against the potential risks. Ex. Automobiles offer
efficient transportation, yet automobiles are
responsible for thousands of deaths and considerable
pollution each year. We accept these risks while, at
the same time, making efforts to minimize or
eliminate them.
9. What is the risk-benefit tradeoff for vaccination?
10. With any benefit vs. risk analysis, several factors
come onto play.
An excellent discussion of these factors is presented in the June
2003 Harvard Center for Risk Analysis (HCRA). The authors
identify the following major risk perception factors:
Level of dread: Which do you dread more, for example, a heart
attack or cancer?
Control: We feel safer when we are in control.
Natural or human-made risk: Natural risks seem less worrisome.
Choice: Do you have a choice in the risk?
Involvement of children: Risks that may be acceptable for adults
may not be seen in the same light when children are involved.
Newness of risk: Newly perceived risks seem worse than “old”
risks.
Awareness: Simply becoming more aware of a risk makes it seem
more serious than it may really be. The popular press may
contribute to this problem in its effort to keep us well-informed.
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Living in a World of Chemistry
h. Benefits/Risks Tradeoff cont.
Can it happen to you? Not long ago American citizens didn’t
worry much about terrorism because “it doesn’t happen here.”
September 11, 2001, certainly changed that.
Trust: We tend to be more willing to accept risks imposed on us
by those we trust than by those we do not.
Risk-benefit tradeoff: Benefits tend to make risks more
acceptable.
Consider the following risk comparison of “natural” versus
“human-made” risks. Many are opposed to the use of “toxic
chemicals” around food products, yet toxicologists estimate that
the typical American diet contains ten thousand times more
naturally occurring cancer-causing chemicals than those of the
synthetic variety.
Over time our ability to detect the presence of toxic substances
(concentration) has changed from levels in the parts per
hundred (%) to levels below parts per million (ppm), parts per
billion (ppb), and now parts per trillion (ppt).
Table 1-2, p. 12
Cottonwood Lake near
Buena Vista, Colorado. It’s
up to us to keep such places
beautiful.
KEY WORDS
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Chemistry
Basic science
Applied science
Technology
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Natural science
Physical science
Biological science
Fossil Fuel