10 IMPORTANCE OF CHEMISTRY

1 Element in the Human Body

Body is made up of chemical compounds, which are combinations of elements.
Probably know body is mostly water, which is hydrogen and oxygen,
2. Health Care and Beauty:
The diagnostic tests carried out in laboratories, the prognostic estimations, medical
prescriptions, pills, the vaccines, the antibiotics play very vital role in health monitoring,
control of diseases and in alleviating the sufferings of the humanity. Right from birth
control to enhancement of life expectancy- all have been made possible using the
unequivocal services of Chemistry. From simple sterilization surgical instruments with
antiseptic solution to Chemotherapy and Genome sequencing are all nothing but
applications of Chemistry. Injecting cows, buffaloes, goat and sheep with bovine some
towrope Increases milk-production but it is indiscriminately being used by
sportspersons to un-ethically enhance performance. Aging- a chemical change can only
be checked chemically. Most beauty products are produced through chemical synthesis
to clean, nurture and protect skins. However their certain ingredients are hazardous to
our health in the long run.
3. Industries and Transport:
From cloth mills, lather factories, petro-chemical industries and refineries to metal
industries- all use numerous fuels for power generation and chemical products for
processing their product and improve the equality and simultaneously produce
pollution. Now-a-days chemical effluent treatment plants use chemicals to control or
neutralist he hazardous impact of pollutants produced by the industries. Aviation and
shipping industries generate power through power plants which burn fuels. Petrol and
diesel emit out green house gases dangerous for the survival on earth which damage
the ozone layer that protects us from UV rays. As a result global warming has taken
place which is a destroyer of the planet earth. But again Chemistry paves the way with
bio-fuels.
4. Food Security and Agriculture:
The famous green revolution to increase agricultural produce so as to ensure food
security was triggered by the advent of inorganic fertilizers. Since then fertilizers are
extensively used by farmers to restore the fertility of soil in the fields. Pesticides are used
to protect the crop during farming and preserve the grains from pests, rats and mice
during storage. Genetically modified seeds which are used to enhance production and

earn profits through export of food grains are agricultural applications of Bio-chemistry.
Whereas refrigeration system for cold storage of vegetables and raw meat uses Poly
Urethanes Foam (PUF) and the chemical properties of gases, the preservatives in
packaged food products are known to have adverse impact on our body.
5. Science and Technology:
The destructive effects of Atom Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Generations in Japan have suffered the devastation and there has-been no solace. The
threat of weapons of mass-destruction (WMDs) like the Nuclear, Chemical and
Biological weapons looms large on the Humanity. Terrorists are using RDX and other
explosives to run currents of fear down the spines across the globe. Nuclear reactors
which are going to serve the future generations through power generation leave us with
the problem of Nuclear Waste Management. Whereas the destructive power is
generated through chains of chemical reactions, we remain assured that Chemistry has
facilitated the chain of counter measures too in the form of safety suites and NBC
resistant bunkers. Forensic science- the comprehensive scientific analysis of material
evidence in the context of the law uses principles of chemistry to facilitate crime
investigation. Tele-communications, Information Technology and Space Missions- all
bank on the chemistry of semi-conductor sand nano-tubes.
6 Cooking
Chemistry explains how food changes as we cook it, how it rots, how to preserve food,
how our body uses the food eats, and how ingredients interact to make food.
7 Cleaning
Part of the importance of chemistry is it explains how cleaning works. we use chemistry
to help decide what cleaner is best for dishes, laundry, yourself, and your home. we use
chemistry when use bleaches and disinfectants and even ordinary soap and water. How
do they work? That's chemistry!
8 Medicine
it is very need to understand basic chemistry so that we can understand how vitamins,
supplements, and drugs can help or harm us. Part of the importances of chemistry lies
in developing and testing new medical treatments and medicines.
9Environmental Issues
Chemistry is at the heart of environmental issues. What makes one chemical a nutrient
and another chemical a pollutant? How we can clean up the environment? What
processes can produce the things our need without harming the environment? We're all

chemists. We use chemicals every day and perform chemical reactions without thinking
much about them. Chemistry is important because everything you do is chemistry!
Even our body is made of chemicals. Chemical reactions occur when we breathe, eat, or
just sit there reading. All matter is made of chemicals, so the importance of chemistry is
that it's the study of everything.
10 DIFFERENT CHEMICAL PROCESSES
Decarboxylation - the process of removing a carboxyl group from a chemical
compound (usually replacing it with hydrogen)
Desalination, desalinisation, desalinization - the removal of salt (especially from
sea water)
De-Iodination - the removal of iodine atoms from organic compounds
Cracking - the process whereby heavy molecules of naphtha or petroleum are
broken down into hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight (especially in the oilrefining process)
Inversion - a chemical process in which the direction of optical rotation of a
substance is reversed from dextrorotatory to levorotary or vice versa
Nitrification - the chemical process in which a nitro group is added to an organic
compound (or substituted for another group in an organic compound)
Polymerisation, polymerization - a chemical process that combines several
monomers to form a polymer or polymeric compound
Precipitation - the process of forming a chemical precipitate
Synthesis - the process of producing a chemical compound (usually by the union
of simpler chemical compounds)
Deamination, deaminization - removal of the amino radical from an amino acid
or other amino compound
10 LOCAL PRACTICES WHICH INVOLVED CHEMICAL PROCESSES
Aerobic Respiration
Do you know indulging in physical movements is associated with a chemical reaction?
The process requires energy, which is yielded by aerobic respiration. Over here,
respiration helps breaks down glucose (an energy source) into water, carbon dioxide
and energy in form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). The balanced cellular respiration
equation is represented as:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2+ 6H2O + Energy (36 ATPs)

Anaerobic Respiration
Due to overexercising, sometimes our body cells run out of oxygen and respire
anaerobically. This cause synthesis of lactic acid and cause muscle cramps. Anaerobic
respiration is observed in some bacteria, yeast and other organisms. In contrary to the
aerobic type, it breaks down glucose in the absence of oxygen, resulting in production
of ethanol, carbon dioxide and energy. Anaerobic respiration equation is:
C6H12O6 2C2H5OH + 2CO2 + Energy
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants manufacture their own food. This
occurs in presence of sunlight and other raw materials, namely carbon dioxide and
water. The chlorophyll pigment harvests the light energy from sunlight, which is then
converted into glucose by the phenomenon of photosynthesis. In short, it is the opposite
of aerobic respiration. The equation for photosynthesis is:
6 CO2+ 6 H2O + Light energy C6H12O6 + 6 O2
Rusting of Iron
Very often, you notice a coating of rust over unpainted iron surfaces, which gradually
leads to disintegration of iron. This is nothing, but a chemical phenomenon called
rusting. In this case, iron (a very reactive metal) combines with oxygen in presence of
water (more precisely, atmospheric moisture), resulting in formation of iron oxides. The
chemical reaction behind rusting can be simply represented as:
Fe + O2 + H2O Fe2O3. XH2O
Propane Grill
Have you ever prepared meat in a propane grill? The meat placed over the burner is
cooked with the help of heat energy released after burning of propane gas. Thus,
propane is the reactant which when burnt with the help of oxygen gives heat energy

and other byproducts. Check out the balanced equation for the combustion reaction that
take place in a propane grill:
C3H8 + 5O2 4H2O + 3CO2 + energy
If you cut an onion under running water, most of the chemicals that make your eyes
water get washed away.
Soap is a chemical that mankind has been making for a very long time. You can form a
crude soap by mixing ashes and animal fat. How can something so nasty actually make
you cleaner? The answer has to do with the way soap interacts with oil-based grease
and grime.
When a chemical reaction does take place, they believe that one or other of the reactants
is simply modified; it hasn't really changed. For example, students consider that rust is
still iron/steel; it has just gone brown. Similarly, rust flaking off is usually not noticed
it is thought that the iron just disappears. Gas bubbles that are frequently produced
when a tablet dissolves in water are often not seen by students as a new substance.
Processes like cordial mixing with water, the use of colouring in food, freezing and
boiling are seen as similar to chemical changes like those involved in cooking eggs.
In combustion, children frequently believe materials like wood or paper just disappear after all there is not much of the product left to see. In their view, air has little to do with
burning. In burning carbon based materials such as wood, students believe that
charcoal (carbon) appears from the burning rather than the material.