Where is chemistry found in everyday life

This makes it one of the most common examples of chemistry in everyday life! Read About: Engineering Chemistry. For cooking any type of cuisine, salt is an essential ingredient.

We can barely think of a dish without it when it comes to cooking Indian food. Scientifically known as Sodium Chloride NaCl , it not only helps in adding flavour to the food but also acts as an excellent preservative and thus is the perfect example to determine the use of chemistry in our lives. Whenever we pour ice into a glass full of soda or water, the ice floats.

You must be wondering, how is this possible? This is so because the density of the ice is lighter than the water. This concept is explained in-depth in class 9 Science syllabus. Most of us can relate to this chemistry in everyday life example and how tough at times it gets to chop an onion.

The tears you get while cutting or peeling an onion is because of Sulphate. The sulphenic acid gets converted to propanethiol Sulphur-oxide which causes irritation and triggers the production of tears. Sunscreen is an important cosmetic which saves us from the harmful UV rays and preserves the natural complexion we have.

But why do we only use sunscreen, why not the normal moisturizer? The various organic and inorganic chemicals like TiO2 present in the sunscreen blocks the rays and prevents it from further penetrating the deeper layers of skin.

Why is there a specific medicine for every disease? This is because, in every disease, a different biological or chemical reaction takes place. Have you ever wondered your hands become cleaner using just a drop of handwash or soap? How would you feel if had to eat flat cake? The cake rises because of the chemicals present in baking soda.

Next time, try checking the label of any of the products in the supermarket. Most of the chemicals used as food preservatives are sodium benzoate, sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, etc.

Under pressure, cooking temperatures raise much higher than under normal conditions, hence the food is cooked much faster. This signifies the role of chemistry in our daily life. The role of chemistry is at the bottom of every step in a relationship.

When we fall in love, our brain suffers some changes and also certain chemical compounds are released. Love is driven by these hormones: oxytocin , vasopressin, endorphins. Coffee keeps us awake because of the presence of a chemical called adenosine , in your brain. It binds to certain receptors and slows the nerve cell activity when sleep is signaled.

Many vegetables and fruits are strongly colored because they contain a special kind of chemical compound named carotenoids. These compounds have an area called chromophore, which absorbs and gives off particular wavelengths of light, generating the color that we then perceive. This is where the importance of chemistry can be revealed. Then when soap is added to the water, the long hydrophobic chains of its molecules join the oil particles, while the hydrophilic heads go into the water.

An emulsion of oil in water is then formed, this means that the oil particles become suspended in the water and are liberated from the cloth. With the rinsing, the emulsion is taken away. This enlightens everyday chemistry. Onions make you cry due to the presence of sulfur in the cells which break after the onions are cut. This sulfur gets mixed with moisture and thus irritates your eyes.

Helmenstine holds a Ph. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter. Updated October 15, Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph. Chemistry in Daily Life.

Examples of Organic Chemistry in Everyday Life. Examples of Chemical Reactions in Everyday Life. Sulfuric Acid and Sugar Demonstration. Chemistry Scavenger Hunt Clues and Answers. Exothermic Reaction Examples - Demonstrations to Try. Elementary School Science Fair Projects. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for ThoughtCo. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. Traditional energy production, via combustion and thermodynamics of fossil fuels, led to the industrial revolution.

This boom in industry from the mids to the s was an era of growth, with chemical engineers coming to the fore to scale up and industrialise processes of manufacture. It was during this time that many of the practical uses of chemistry we rely on today were developed.

The batteries that so many of our devices depend upon are underpinned by a chemical reaction that produces electricity. The first electrical battery was created by Alessandro Volta, who proved that electricity flowed through wires attached to different metals and the types of metal used affected the voltage.

Complex technology goes into modern food production. From soil science to nutrition analysis, and from safety testing to food packaging and preservation, the chemical processes involved are extensive, and often not given much consideration.

The first cooling systems were developed in Ammonia is also an integral chemical innovation for food production, chiefly due to its use in fertiliser production. Increasing the productivity of our food-growing systems has become necessary due to the combined pressures of population increase, climate change and water shortages. If it wasn't for the Haber-Bosch process, our current agricultural output would be unsustainable.

It was first developed in , and allows for the efficient, large-scale production of ammonia NH 3 by reacting atmospheric nitrogen N 2 with hydrogen H 2 at high temperature and pressure.

This resulted in an easily accessible route to fertiliser production, and was responsible for quadrupling agricultural productivity.

The discovery of pesticides and herbicides further increased crop yields, with DDT and glyphosate being key compounds. Today, around 40—60 per cent of global agriculture yields rely on artificial fertilisers. Human populations the world over rely on chemistry to maintain safe clean water supplies. Recycling will be essential for sustaining this resource into the future.

Here in Australia, droughts forced us over the past decade to reduce our water use and reconsider our reliance on dams and reservoirs, and think about alternative water sources. There are already three large water desalination plants, in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Without this development in chemical engineering, nations including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Libya would most likely not have enough usable water to sustain their current populations. Effective resource management is becoming more important as we face environmental uncertainty , with chemistry playing a crucial role in potential solutions. Modern health care is founded on many life-saving breakthroughs the field of chemistry has provided.

These include developing new pharmaceuticals, diagnostic tools and better diagnostic equipment such as X-ray machines, MRI imaging, cancer tests and pregnancy kits. Analytical chemistry and forensic science are crucial for identifying poisons or toxins in food, plants and animals, and in tracing and identifying unknown chemicals and materials. Medical practices have also drastically changed as chemical knowledge has advanced.

The discovery of painkillers and anaesthetics opened up a whole new scope of opportunity for medical practitioners. Advanced surgery rather than simple amputation became possible. Compounds such as nitrous oxide GLOSSARY nitrous oxide a sedative agent also known as laughing gas, nitrous, nitro or NOS N 2 O , or laughing gas, became popular and minor surgical procedures and dental work became slightly less risky, although infection was still a major challenge.