What is Chemistry?

Chemistry is all around us- it is the gasoline we put in our cars, the batteries in our smartphones, and in the medication we take when we are sick. The study of the elements of the periodic table and how the elements combine to form compounds and materials with new properties is Chemistry.  These fundamental building blocks have been discovered by scientists in nature or have been created in a laboratory.  

There are five branches of chemistry: 
Analytical- focused on identifying and measuring physical and chemical properties
Physical- the study of how matter and energy interact
Organic chemistry- chemistry based on carbon containing compounds
Inorganic chemistry- the study of materials that contain metals
Biochemistry- the study of biological processes.  

Within these five branches, there is a broad array of fields- food chemistry, geochemistry, environmental chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, agricultural chemistry, the list goes on. 
Chemistry helps us understand the world we live in-it explains why soap works to clean our dishes, or why you have to add baking powder to a cake recipe.  Studying chemistry can open a lot of opportunities in fields ranging from cosmetics to automobile, fashion to food.  

Stay tuned for more this month, as we explore chemistry's potential career opportunities, it's importance in our everyday lives, offer resources for starting a career in chemistry and even feature some advice from a real life chemist!