CHEMISTRY

A.S.Özen Lecture 1
Energy Environment

Sustainability
 "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the
mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to
whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to
wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes
are closed."
Albert Einstein

Science is the organized form of knowledge, which passes

from generation to generation for a better understanding
of the nature and for a better appreciation of the beauty of
the greatest mystery called life.

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Science employs the methodological concepts of
observation (natural or experimental)
natural law
hypothesis
theory
data collection and statistics,
and but also among its main ingredients are
curiosity,
intuition,
creativity
and
joy of learning.

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 “Scientific Method” ??

Define the problem

Gather information.
Form a hypothesis
Make relevant observation
Test the hypothesis
Form conclusison
Report the results

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https://undsci.berkeley.edu
/lessons/pdfs/complex_flo
w_handout.pdf
 Science checklist: How scientific is it?

 Focuses on the natural world

 Aims to explain the natural world
 Uses testable ideas
 Relies on evidence
 Involves the scientific community
 Leads to ongoing research
 Benefits from scientific behavior

Scientific theories should be FALSIFIABLE

https://undsci.berkeley.edu/lessons/pdfs/complex_flow_handout.pdf
Is Astrology Scientific?
 Is Astrology Scientific?

Science checklist:
 Focuses on the natural world
 Aims to explain the natural world
 Uses testable ideas
 Relies on evidence
 Involves the scientific community
 Leads to ongoing research
 Benefits from scientific behavior
How Do Scientists Think?

Biology, Miller and Levine Prentice Hall (2002)

 Erroneous Reasoning: Fallacies
«Confirmation bias» fallacy: Hypotheses could never be confirmed;
only falsified
Hypothesis: All swans are White

Always search for the black swan to disprove, not the White
swan to confirm your hypothesis.

«false analogy» fallacy: For sometime scientists assumed that

because animals share many characteristics with humans, they share
other characteristics as well.
Maze experiments in psychology
?

https://behavioralandbrainfunctions.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12993-017-0121-8
Fallacies (Erroneous Reasoning) in Daily Life
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies
 How Do Scientists Analyze Data?
Independent Variables: Variables that can be controlled
by the scientist (pressure, temperature etc.)
Dependent Variables: Measured during experiment

Graphs:

y-axis:
Dependent
varible

x-axis: Independent varible

Careful not to compare two dependent variables

«correlation does not prove causation»
Does the graph below support the conclusion that the
number of pirate attacks has decreased because of
warmer temperatures?
Problem: Structure of the Hereditary Material
Experiments in the 1950s showed that DNA, not proteins, is the
hereditary material. What was its structure?
Hypothesis: Francis Crick and James D. Watson hypothesized that DNA
had a helical structure.

Experiment: Rosalind Franklin crystallized pure DNA

and performed X-ray diffraction that gave an X-
shape as predicted by Crick and Watson.

Analysis: By examining the X-ray diffraction photo,

Crick and Watson discovered that DNA has a helical
structure.
Scientific Testing

The atoll Eniwetok

(Anewetak) in the
Marshall Islands
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Beyond Scientific Method:
“Accidental” Discoveries or Serendipity
Teflon ® by Roy J. Plunkett (1910 – 1994)

DuPont 1938

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Serendipity

Saccharin by Ira Remsen and Constantin

Fahlberg
Johns
Hopkins
University
1879
 Serendipity

Vulcanization of rubber
by Charles Goodyear
1839
Over the hot stove
in his poor house
in US

"Life should not be estimated exclusively by the standard of dollars and

cents. I am not disposed to complain that I have planted and others
have gathered the fruits. A man has cause for regret only when he sows
and no one reaps." Charles Goodyear

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http://www.goodyear.com/corporate/history/history_story.html
All in all, science is about asking good questions:

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 Why Study Chemistry?
 Chemistry is the science of matter and its
transformations.
 Knowledge and understanding chemistry are crucial in
biology, pharmacology, medicine, geology,
materials science, many branches of engineering,
and other sciences.
Identifying Matter: Physical Properties
 Identifying Matter: Physical Properties
 Thermal conductivity
 Temperature
 Electrical conductivity
 Pressure
 Hardness
 Mass
 Malleability
 Volume
(Compressive stress)
 State (solid, liquid, gas)
 Brittleness
 Melting (freezing) point
 Ductility (Tensile stress)
 Boiling point
 Heat capacity
 Density
 Color
Identifying Matter:
Chemical Changes and Chemical Properties

A chemical reaction:
R eactants → Products

heat
Sucrose ⎯⎯⎯→ carbon + water
Classifying Matter:
Elements:
Cannot be subdivided
Substances: Gold, iron, oxygen
Fixed composition and
properties Compounds:
Elements united in fixed ratios
Water, quartz, carbon dioxide
Matter

Homogeneous mixtures:
Uniform composition
Mixtures: Air, water sugar, bras alloy
Composition can vary from
one sample to the other Heterogeneous mixtures:
Nonuniform composition
Milk, blood
ELEMENT
•Pure substances that cannot be decomposed into more simpler
substances by physical or chemical changes.
•Elements are shown with symbols; symbols are consist of one or two
letters: hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), mercury (Hg), carbon (C)
•Building block of elements are atoms.
ATOM:
The smallest particle of a chemical element. It contains all properties of
the element
COMPOUND:
Substances that contain two or more chemical elements bounded
by chemical bonds.
Examples: Water: Hydrogen (H) and Oxygen (O) → H2O
Carbondioxide: Carbon (C) and Oxygen (O) → CO2

H2O NaCl
MIXTURES
•Two or more pure substances can combine to form a mixture.
•The formation of a mixture does not result in a new substance.
•A mixture is just a physical combination of pure substances.
•Mixtures can be physically separated into their components.
•Mixtures have variable physical properties, depending on their
components
Milk as a heterogeneous mixture
 What did we learn?
Scientific Method Identifying Matter
Natural Law Substance
Hypothesis Mixture
Theory Element
Observation Compound
Experiment

Reading List:
1. https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/intro_01

2. https://sarkac.org/2021/06/serendip-ulkesinin-cocuklari-
bilimde-tesaduflere-yer-var-mi/

3. https://bilimfili.com/mantiksal-safsatalar-2-iliskilendirme-
safsatalari