Importance of Chemistry: Overview, Green Chemistry, Uses

Have you ever wondered what is the importance of chemistry? What do we get by knowing about various elements, compounds, mixtures, their properties, and the periodic table? Is there any use of this knowledge? Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter.

The importance of chemistry can be seen in our day-to-day lives. We can see the applications of chemistry in food, medicines, cosmetics, toiletries, textiles, etc. In this article, we will discuss the Scope and Importance of Chemistry, its practical applications in everyday life.

Learn About the Applications of Chemistry Here

What is Chemistry?

Chemistry is a branch of science that deals with the study of matter- its structure, composition and the changes it undergoes when subjected to different conditions. Thus, chemistry not only studies the properties of matter but also how and why the matter is undergoing any change.

Importance of Chemistry in Food

Chemicals are the essential building blocks for everything. All food is made of chemical substances that are harmless and often desirable- for example, nutrients such as carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, proteins and fibre are made of chemical compounds.

Chemical substances play a major role in food production and preservation. The food preservation chemicals have greatly helped to preserve food for a longer period of time. Food additive cans, flavourings, and food supplements are all helpful in making the quality and quantity of the food better.

The study of chemistry gave the world some important fertilizers and pesticides, insecticides and fungicides to help grow healthy and nutritious crops, fruits, and vegetables. Some important fertilizers are urea, calcium superphosphates, ammonium sulphate and sodium nitrate.

Importance of Chemistry in Medicines

Chemical substances used for curing diseases and reducing suffering pain are called medicines or drugs. Major contributions to health care have been made by chemistry. For example, chemistry contributes to the preparation and the use of materials for surgery (sutures, artificial skin, and sterile materials).

Clinical laboratory testings use a wide variety of chemical techniques and substances for analysis.

Let us study some important drugs in chemistry:

1. Analgesics- It is used to decrease various kinds of pain.
2. Tranquillizers- These are medicines used to treat mental diseases. For example, tension.
3. Antiseptics- These are applied to the skin, on wounds and cuts to kill or prevent the growth of micro-organisms.
4. Disinfectants- These are the chemicals that kill micro-organisms but are not safe for human beings.
5. Antibiotics- These are the chemical substances produced by some micro-organisms and can be used to kill other micro-organisms which cause infections.
6. Antacids- These are the chemicals used to remove the excess acid and raise the pH to an appropriate level in the stomach.

Importance of Chemistry in Cosmetics

We use products like lotions, perfumes, talcum powder, and various other cosmetic products in our daily life. All these products are made chemically in laboratories for our health, our skin. Products ranging from babies to adults, all cosmetic products are chemical substances.

Hence, chemistry plays a major role in maintaining the \({\rm{pH}}\) of our skin, healthy skin, and any marks on the skin.

Importance of Green Chemistry

Green Chemistry helps in saving the environment by monitoring, protecting and improving the conditions around us like air, water and soil. Many tools and techniques have been developed to ensure the measure and prevention of all sorts of pollution occurring in the environment and depleting it.

Many non-polluting fuels and chemicals that can readily absorb pollutants from the air are being studied and tested to make the air cleaner. One such example is the replacement of CFC in refrigerators.

Chemistry provides a detailed understanding of pollutants for interpreting health effects, regulating emissions and developing pollution-reducing technologies.

Chemists regularly check the water and soil for contamination and provide an outcome for pollutions and long-term prevention for ecological balance and human health.

Importance of Chemistry in Soaps and Detergents

Soaps are sodium and potassium salts of higher fatty acids like stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, etc. Detergents are generally sodium salts of long-chain alkyl hydrogen sulphates or sodium salts of long-chain alkyl benzene sulphonic acids.

We use detergents and soaps for washing, cleaning and bathing, etc. They are prepared in chemical factories by the process of saponification. Hence, chemistry plays a great role in compounds, chemicals, and processes to be used in the manufacturing of soaps and detergents.

Importance of Chemistry in Textiles

Wool, silk, jute, cotton, flax, glass fibre, polyester, acrylic, nylon etc., are some raw materials used in textile industries that are transformed into usable products like clothes, bags, carpets, furniture, towels, nets, etc. During the transformation, raw materials undergo numerous chemical processes during which cleaning and smoothing reagents are used to clean to fabric and smoothen it.

Other chemical processes are also involved, like dyeing, bleaching, scouring, printing, finishing. In addition, chemists work to improve the quality of a product.

Importance of Chemistry in Building and Constructions

Building materials like bricks, cement, pipings, etc., are all chemical products and play an important role in the quality of construction. Floor and wall tiles are made of polymers that are heat resistant as well as provide strength to the building.

Ceiling and roof materials are also manufactured in such a way that they are heat resistant and provide cooling to the building. The pipings and switches are all made of polymers and are heat as well as shock resistant.

Hence, chemistry made it possible to make use of all such products for the betterment of the buildings and lives of people.

Importance of Chemistry in Fuel

Today’s transportation on land, water, and the air is only possible because of fuels. Petrol, diesel, LPG, CNG, kerosene, oils, etc., are all fuels produced from complex refining processes that are extracted from cruel oil found beneath the Earth’s crust.

Petrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that deals with the study of petrochemical processes and how to make use of fuels so that they are pollution-and can be used in the long run.

Importance of Chemistry in Battery

Our cars, electronic gadgets-watches, laptops, mobile, and many other power storage applications work on batteries.

Batteries work on the principle of electrochemistry. The energy inside a battery is in the form of chemical energy that gets converted into electric energy by electrochemical processes.

Importance of Chemistry in Wars

The explosives used during wars like TNT, RDX, HMX, gunpowders used in bullets, etc., are all chemical substances. It is the chemistry that made it possible to use these compounds during the war. Nuclear weapons, which are more famous nowadays, are also chemical substances.

Summary

Chemistry is very important in our day-to-day life. We see various examples of chemistry around us like lotions, face-wash, the food we eat, medicines, mobiles, laptops, etc. Explosives like TNT, RDX, HMX, gunpowders used in bullets, etc., which are used in wars are made up of chemical substances. Building materials such as cement, bricks, etc., are all chemical products. They play an important role while constructing the buildings. Furthermore, chemical substances perform a significant role in food production and preservation.

FAQs on Importance of Chemistry

Q.1. What is the importance of chemistry in engineering?
Ans: Chemistry is involved in engineering in fields like production, studying fuels, building and construction materials. When a person knows the properties of compounds, elements then they can apply their knowledge for the future purpose to know the working and mechanism of things. 

Q.2. What is the importance of chemistry in society?
Ans: Everything around us is made of matter. Chemistry is important for our society because it involves our basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, health, energy, and clean air, water, and soil, etc.

Q.3. What is the importance of chemistry in agriculture?
Ans: The study of chemistry gave the world some important fertilizers and pesticides, insecticides and fungicides to help frow healthy and nutritious crops, fruits, and vegetables. Some important fertilizers are urea, calcium superphosphates, ammonium sulphate and sodium nitrate. 

Q.4. What is the importance of chemistry in medicine?
Ans: Chemical substances used for curing diseases and reducing suffering pain are called medicines or drugs. Major contributions to health care have been made by chemistry. For example, chemistry contributes to the preparation and the use of materials for surgery (sutures, artificial skin, and sterile materials). Clinical laboratory testings use a wide variety of chemical techniques and substances for analysis.

Q.5. What are some examples of chemistry in daily life?
Ans: Some examples of chemistry in our daily life are toothpaste, lotions, face-wash, the food we eat, medicines, battery in- watches, mobile, cars, laptops, etc., fuel in our vehicles etc. 

Q.6. Why is chemistry important in food?
Ans: Chemicals are the essential building blocks for everything. All food is made of chemical substances that are harmless and often desirable- for example, nutrients such as carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, proteins and fibre are made of chemical compounds.
Chemical substances play a major role in food production and preservation. The food preservation chemicals have greatly helped to preserve food for a longer period of time. Food additive cans, flavourings, and food supplements are all helpful in making the quality and quantity of the food better.

Study Everything About Green Chemistry Here

We hope this article on the Importance of Chemistry proves helpful to you. If you have any questions regarding the article or in general about the importance of chemistry, please ping us through comments, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.