GENERAL

CHEMISTRY
I
ANGELICA T. OPEÑA
Instructor
How did people in
ancient times know what
to use for soap, perfumes,
metal refining, medicines
and etc.?
 Describe the approaches used by the
ancient Greek philosophers to
understand the world around them.
 Define deductive and inductive
reasoning.
 Name key individuals and groups who
contributed to the science of
chemistry.
 Describe the scientific method.
 Describe the rise and fall of phlogiston
theory.
• Developed some powerful methods of acquiring
knowledge.
• Known for their love of wisdom “PHILOSOPHY”
• Was the basic
approach in
answering
questions about
the world.
• Was the best way
to answer
fundamental
questions.
 THALES of Miletus (625-545 BC)
– believed that water was the
fundamental unit of matter.
• Ideas of matter
 Anaximenes (585 – 525 BC) – felt
were put forth
that air was the basic unit of
matter. but could not
be proven or
 Empedocles (490-430 BC) –
disproven.
argued for the idea that matter
was composed of earth, air, fire,
and water.
 Assumed four fundamental substances of
matter : air, water, fire, and earth.
 First major philosopher to gather data
thru observation.
 Could potentially be considered the first
“real” scientist because of his systematic
observations of nature before trying to
understand what he was seeing.
 Recorded many observations in the field
of astronomy, meteorology, biology, and
optics.
 Was refuted by Leucippus and
Democritus of his proposed theories
about matter.
• Deductive & Inductive Reasoning
• Hypothesis, Theories, & Laws
 INDUCTIVE REASONING DEDUCTIVE REASONING

 From specific to general.  From general to specific.

 E.g.  E.g.
"The coin I pulled from the bag "All men are mortal.
is a penny. That coin is a penny. Picolo is a man.
A third coin from the bag is a Therefore, Picolo is
penny. Therefore, all the coins mortal."
in the bag are pennies."
• Wild/genius guess.
• a supposition or
proposed
explanation made
on the basis of
limited evidence as
a starting point for
further
investigation.
• Tentative
explanation of the
natural law.
• a model or way of
looking at nature
that can be used to
explain natural
laws and make
further predictions
about natural
phenomena.
• Answers to “why’s”
• Phlogiston Theory suggested that flammable
materials tended to weigh less after being burned.
• Phlogiston – substance that is lost from a
material when it is burned; burning up.
 Put forth in
1667
SUPPORTS
 Burning of wood—ashes
remains weigh less than the
original wood sample.
(dephlogisticated- the remains)
CONTRADICTS
 Mercury experiment of Lavoisier—
when mercury was heated it would
become mercuric oxide and would
gain weight.
 When mercuric oxide was heated,
it returned to mercury and
released gas he identified as
oxygen.
 Later the theory was replaced
by the oxygen-based
combustion.
• A concise
statement—
always true, often
in mathematical
form, about
natural
phenomena.
• combination of
observation,
experimentation,
and the
formulation of laws,
hypotheses, and
theories.
• Developed by
Francis Bacon but
was later modified.
1. Ask a question.
2. Do background research.
3. Form a hypothesis.
4. Test the hypothesis.
5. Collect, Organize and Analyze
the Data.
6. Draw Conclusions.
7. Communicate the results.
STEP 1: ASK A QUESTION / OBSERVATIONS
 Observations based on senses or tools
 Sight, Smell, Touch etc.
 Observations of natural events usually raise a
question
 Why did the water rise when the candle went
out?
 Research is usually done to help find out more
about the question raised
 The scientific method starts when you ask a
question about something that you observe: How,
What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?
 Rather than starting from scratch in putting together a
plan for answering your question, you want to be a savvy
scientist using library and Internet research to help you
find the best way to do things and ensure that you don't
repeat mistakes from the past.

For a help in this step, use these sources:

 Background Research Plan
 Finding Information
 Bibliography
 Research Paper
 Based on your observation a Hypothesis is formed that
tries to explain your observation or answer your
question
 A hypothesis tries to predict or determine the
outcome of your experiment even before the
experiment is done
 Predictions usually stated in an “if ….. Then”
statement. Ex: If I drop a rock then it will fall down
toward the ground
 HYPOTHESIS MUST BE TESTABLE!
 Controlled Experiments are used to test a hypothesis
 A controlled experiment is an experiment that tests only one
factor at a time
 A control group is compared with an experimental group.
Variables are not changed in the Control Group.
 Control groups allows you to see if a change in a variable
creates an observed outcome by comparing the control
group with the experimental group.
 A variable is a factor that changes in a controlled
experiment. Variables are changed in the Exp. Group
AND SERVE AS THE FACTOR TESTED.
 INDEPENDENT
 The variable being changed in the experiment
 DEPENDENT
 The variable that responds to the changed
independent variable
 The variable being measured
 EX: growing plants with different amounts of fertilizer
 Scientists try to design experiments that will clearly
show whether a particular VARIABLE caused an
observed outcome.
 IF IT CANNOT BE OBSERVED THEN IT CANNOT
BE TESTED!!!
 Can we test if a comet impact kill the dinosaurs? Why or
Why Not?
 Sometimes models are used to represent a real object
 Used when it is difficult to control all of the variables
or not possible to test “the real thing”
 Data collected from experiments
 Data is defined as: recorded observations or
measurements (qualitative = description,
quantitative = number data)
 Based on observations
 Utilize tools or senses: sight, smell, temperature
change etc.
 Data is organized in tables, charts and graphs so
that it can be more easily analyzed.
 Scientists decide whether the results of the
experiment support a hypothesis.
 When the hypothesis is not supported by
the tests the scientist must find another
explanation for what they have observed
 NO EXPERIMENT IS A FAILURE: All
experiments are observations of real events
 Results must be communicated in the
form of a written paper or presentation
 Communication helps other scientists
performing the same experiments to
see if the results of your experiment are
the same as their results
 Helps people see if results are
repeatable!
You will be paired with
someone and you are tasked
to make a scientific method
you’ve done in your life.
- ASSIGNMENT