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In class, chemistry is described as the “central science.” What does this mean? Chemistry is the study of matter. Since everything that surrounds us is made up of matter in some form, we can think of chemistry as the study of everything. In other words, understanding chemistry is central to understanding everything! This isn’t just the pompous view of a few chemists. If you look at a variety of scientific disciplines (biology, geology, astronomy, environmental science, medicine, etc.) you find that chemistry coursework and an understanding of chemistry is required in order to understand these fields. You may not think that your career goal has much to do with chemistry, but you are part of a chemical world.

Understanding some basic chemistry can help you understand a lot about the world around you. Throughout the term, you will be directed to web sites and other sources of information to give you a flavor for the sorts of things that aren’t strictly chemistry, but have a clear chemistry connection. Let me give you a first example: Diamond is made up of a seemingly complex (but really rather simple) array of carbon atoms. In fact, except for impurities that are trapped in the diamond crystal, a diamond is nothing but pure carbon. Charcoal and graphite are also relatively pure forms of carbon. How can this be? It seems that diamond, charcoal and graphite are very different, yet they are all made up of carbon. Hmmmm.

To learn a bit more about diamonds, click on the word diamonds below to connect to Nova's web site at pbs.org . After you check it out, come back to this page and answer the questions that follow.

Diamonds

Question 1. What is the symbol for the element that is the main component of diamond?

Question 2. What happens when light passes through a diamond?

Questions 3. Why does light shinning through a diamond give you a rainbow of color?

Question 4. List the colors of the rainbow in order of increasing energy.

(HINT: You might format your answer like red<blue<green<etc. (Note: The order of these colors is incorrect.)

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