Saturday, April 4, 2020
Is Chemistry a Physical Science?
Is Chemistry a Physical Science?You may be wondering whether or not Chemistry is a physical science. You may even be unsure of what the definition of the word 'science' actually means. It is easy to confuse chemistry with physics. Both sciences deal with how matter behaves in its natural environment.Physics and chemistry were once synonymous. Today, they are separate disciplines. Both are based on empirical findings.The study of the physical nature of matter, or the study of the reactions that take place in matter. This is important because if you are studying the process of molecular dissociation then it is important that you know about the physical nature of molecules.In a chemical reaction, the molecules are transformed from one form to another through the action of an outside force. Once the molecules are in their transformed state, they can then combine with other molecules to form larger structures that ultimately produce the products that we see.These chemical reactions are ve ry complex in nature and difficult to predict. Physicists have developed their own models for understanding the process, but we cannot actually predict what is going to happen when a particular chemical reaction takes place.We can model the actual chemical reactions but we cannot actually predict exactly how they will occur. Most researchers in the field of chemistry do not use mathematical models but rather the experience of laboratory experiments in attempting to explain how chemistry happens.Both physics and chemistry can be considered physical sciences. What really distinguishes them is the use of mathematical models in order to make sense of the data gathered.
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