Chapter 1

An Introduction to Chemistry

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I would watch the buds swell in spring, the mica glint in the granite, my own hands, and I would say to myself: “I will understand this, too. I will understand everything.

Primo Levi (1919–87)

Italian chemist and author, The Periodic Table

t is human nature to wonder—about the origins of the universe and of life, about their workings, and even about their meanings. We look for answers in physics, biology, and the other sciences, as well as in philosophy, poetry, and religion. Primo Levi could have searched for understanding in many ways, but his wondering led him to study chemistry…and so has yours, though you may not yet know why.

1.1 What Is Chemistry, and What Can Chemistry Do for You?

1.2 Suggestions for Studying Chemistry

1.3 The Scientific Method

1.4 Measurement and Units

1.5 Reporting Values from Measurements

1.1 What is Chemistry,

and What Can Chemistry Do for You?

One thing is certain: Once you start studying chemistry, all kinds of new questions will begin to occur to you. Let’s consider a typical day.

Your alarm rings early, and you are groggy from sleep but eager to begin working on a chemistry assignment that’s coming due. Chemistry has taught you that there are interesting answers to questions you might once have considered silly and childish. Preparing tea, for example, now makes you wonder why the boiling water bubbles and produces steam while the teakettle retains its original shape. How do the tea leaves change the color of the water while the teabag remains as full and plump as ever? Why does sugar make your tea sweet, and why is the tea itself bitter?

You settle down with tea and newspaper, and the wondering continues. An article about methyl bromide, a widely used pesticide, says some scientists think it damages the ozone layer. What are methyl bromide and ozone? How does one destroy the other, and why should we care? How can we know if the ozone really is being depleted?

Later, as you drive to the library to get some books you need to complete that chemistry assignment, you wonder why gasoline burns and propels your

An understanding of chemistry opens up a window to the world around you.