The basics of chemistry

Let’s take a quick look at some of the most important ideas in general chemistry that you need to understand, the kinds of things that any scientist takes for granted. Where do we start? You guessed it:  the periodic table of the elements.

The periodic table: The basics of chemistry

You’ve surely seen it in every lab or chemistry class you’ve been to. No chemistry department is complete without one . But what is it for?

You’ve heard of the elements, right? The pure substances that we refer to by names like oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, potassium. They are  substances that cannot be reduced to something else ; Well, these are the things that are shown in the periodic table.

The table is ordered according to the reactivity of each element, from the least reactive to the most, and according to the atomic number of each one.

Remember it, as you will see it everywhere.

Chemical reactions: The basics of chemistry

But the bread and butter of physical chemistry is  the chemical reaction . It’s what happens when you burn toast, when you breathe, when you light a fire, when you do just about anything. It is what is studied in class.

We know that everything around us is made up of  relationships between one type of molecule or atom and different types, often formed together with bonds (in which pure molecules form compounds). However, these molecular relationships are never stable, since they change when there may be heat or another certain substance.

When they change, and when the molecules, or the ions or electrons that make up these molecules, rearrange, this is called a chemical reaction .

Acids and bases

Surely we have all come across acids and bases at some point. You may even use acids almost every day , since lemons and vinegar are acidic.

Foundations may be less common, but every time you’ve washed your hands with soap or used bleach to clean the sink, you’ve come in contact with a primer.

The theory says that, in chemical reactions, acids release a proton to the reactant, while bases steal it . Believe it or not, this seemingly straightforward process is the main reason behind the difference.

For more details on any of these ideas, check out our article on  the most important concepts in chemistry .

Some key chemistry terms

But as you know, as a chemistry student, the subject is full of  theoretical and analytical terms that you simply have to learn . If you want to be a successful chemist, you have to, and we all know that this can be one of the least interesting parts of learning something!

So do you know what a polymer or a hydrocarbon is? Do you know  the difference between a covalent bond and an ionic bond ? Any ideas what a catalyst or chemical could be? Or what could oxidation, distillation or titration mean?

We’ve made a  glossary of essential chemical terminology  in this article that outlines the most important terms in the chemistry syllabus so you won’t miss out on anything about chemical structure or states of matter, or just in case you’re just starting to make your firsts. chemistry experiments.