Several tens of thousands of the most important chemicals have tightly entered our lives, clothing and footwear, supplying our body with useful elements, providing us with optimal conditions for life. Oils, alkalis, acids, gases, mineral fertilizers, paints, plastics are only a small part of the products created on the basis of chemical elements.
It's chemistry. Didn't know?
Waking up in the morning, we wash our faces and brush our teeth. Soap, toothpaste, shampoo, lotions, creams are products based on chemistry. We brew tea, dip a piece of lemon into a glass - and observe how the liquid becomes lighter. A chemical reaction is taking place before our eyes - an acid-base interaction of several products. Bathroom and kitchen - each, in its own way, a mini-laboratory of a house or apartment, where something is stored in a container or vial. What substance, we recognize their name from the label: s alt, soda, whiteness, etc.
Especially a lot of chemical processes occur in the kitchen during cooking. Frying pans and pots successfullyflasks and retorts are replaced here, and each new product sent to them carries out its own separate chemical reaction, interacting with the composition located there. Further, a person, using the dishes prepared by him, starts the mechanism of digestion of food. This is also a chemical process. And so in everything. Our whole life is predetermined by elements from the periodic table of Mendeleev.
Open table
Initially, the table created by Dmitry Ivanovich consisted of 63 elements. That's how many of them were open by that time. The scientist understood that he classified a far from complete list of elements existing and discovered in different years by his predecessors in nature. And he turned out to be right. More than a hundred years later, his table already consisted of 103 items, by the beginning of the 2000s - from 109, and discoveries continue. Scientists around the world are struggling to calculate new elements, based on the basis - a table created by a Russian scientist.
Mendeleev's periodic law is the basis of chemistry. Interactions among themselves of atoms of these or those elements have generated in the nature the basic substances. Those, in turn, are previously unknown and more complex derivatives of them. All the names of substances that exist today come from elements that have entered into a relationship with each other in the process of chemical reactions. Molecules of substances reflect the composition of these elements in them, as well as the number of atoms.
Each element has its own letter symbol
In the periodic table, the names of the elements are given both in literal and symbolic terms. We are alonewe pronounce, we use others when writing formulas. Write down the names of the substances separately and look at a number of their symbols. It shows what elements the product consists of, how many atoms of one or another constituent could be synthesized in the process of a chemical reaction by each specific substance. Everything is quite simple and visual, thanks to the presence of symbols.
The basis of the symbolic expression of the elements was the initial, and, in most cases, one of the subsequent letters from the Latin name of the element. The system was proposed in the early 19th century by Berzelius, a chemist from Sweden. One letter today expresses the names of two dozen elements. The rest are two-letter. Examples of such names: copper - Cu (cuprum), iron - Fe (ferrum), magnesium - Mg (magnium) and so on. In the name of substances, the reaction products of certain elements are given, and in the formulas - their symbolic series.
Product safe and not so good
Chemistry around us is much more than the average person can imagine. Without doing science professionally, we still have to deal with it in our daily lives. Everything that is on our table is made up of chemical elements. Even the human body is made up of dozens of chemicals.
The names of chemicals that exist in nature can be divided into two groups: used in everyday life or not. Complex and dangerous s alts, acids, ether compounds are highly specific and used exclusivelyin professional activities. They require care and precision in their use and, in some cases, special permission. Substances that are indispensable in everyday life are less harmless, but their improper use can lead to serious consequences. From this we can conclude that harmless chemistry does not exist. Let's analyze the main substances with which human life is connected.
Biopolymer as a building material of the body
The main fundamental component of the body is protein - a polymer consisting of amino acids and water. It is responsible for the formation of cells, hormonal and immune systems, muscle mass, bones, ligaments, internal organs. The human body consists of more than one billion cells, and each needs protein or, as it is also called, protein. Based on the above, give the names of substances that are more indispensable for a living organism. The basis of the body is the cell, the basis of the cell is the protein. No other is given. The lack of protein, as well as its excess, leads to disruption of all vital functions of the body.
About 20 alpha-amino acids are involved in the construction of proteins, creating macromolecules by peptide bonds. Those, in turn, arise as a result of the interaction of substances COOH - carboxyl and NH2 - amino groups. The most famous of the proteins is collagen. It belongs to the class of fibrillar proteins. The very first, the structure of which was established, is insulin. Even for a person far from chemistry, these names speak volumes. But not everyone knows that these substances -proteins.
Essential amino acids
A protein cell consists of amino acids - the name of substances that have a side chain in the structure of molecules. They are formed by: C - carbon, N - nitrogen, O - oxygen and H - hydrogen. Of the twenty standard amino acids, nine enter the cells exclusively with food. The rest are synthesized by the body in the process of interaction of various compounds. With age or in the presence of diseases, the list of nine essential amino acids expands significantly and is replenished with conditionally essential ones.
In total, more than five hundred different amino acids are known. They are classified in many ways, one of which divides them into two groups: proteinogenic and non-proteinogenic. Some of them play an irreplaceable role in the functioning of the body, not associated with the formation of protein. The names of organic substances in these groups, which are key: glutamate, glycine, carnitine. The latter serves as a transporter of lipids throughout the body.
Fats: both simple and difficult
All fat-like substances in the body we used to call lipids or fats. Their main physical property is insolubility in water. However, in interaction with other substances, such as benzene, alcohol, chloroform and others, these organic compounds break down quite easily. The main chemical difference between fats is similar properties, but different structures. In the life of a living organism, these substances are responsible for its energy. So, one gram of lipids is able to release about forty kJ.
A large number of incomingmolecules of fatty substances do not allow their convenient and accessible classification. The main thing that unites them is their attitude to the hydrolysis process. In this respect, fats are saponifiable and unsaponifiable. The names of the substances that create the first group are divided into simple and complex lipids. Simple include some types of wax, choresterol esters. The second - sphingolipids, phospholipids and a number of other substances.
Carbohydrates as the third type of nutrient
The third type of basic nutrients of a living cell along with proteins and fats is carbohydrates. These are organic compounds consisting of H (hydrogen), O (oxygen) and C (carbon). The structure of carbohydrates and their functions are similar to those of fats. They are also sources of energy for the body, but unlike lipids, they mainly get there with food of plant origin. The exception is milk.
Carbohydrates are divided into polysaccharides, monosaccharides and oligosaccharides. Some do not dissolve in water, others do the opposite. The following are the names of insoluble substances. These include such complex carbohydrates from the group of polysaccharides as starch and cellulose. Their splitting into simpler substances occurs under the influence of juices secreted by the digestive system.
Useful substances of the other two groups are found in berries and fruits in the form of water-soluble sugars, perfectly absorbed by the body. Oligosaccharides - lactose and sucrose, monosaccharides - fructose and glucose.
Glucose and fiber
Such names of substances as glucose and fiber are often found in a person's daily life. Both are carbohydrates. One is from monosaccharides contained in the blood of any living organism and the juice of plants. The second is from polysaccharides, which is responsible for the digestion process; in other functions, fiber is rarely used, but it is also an indispensable substance. Their structure and synthesis are quite complex. But it is enough for a person to know the basic functions taken in the life of the body in order not to neglect their use.
Glucose provides cells with a substance like grape sugar, which gives energy for their rhythmic smooth functioning. About 70 percent of glucose enters the cells with food, the remaining thirty - the body produces on its own. The human brain is in dire need of glucose of food origin, since this organ is not capable of synthesizing glucose on its own. In honey, it is contained in the greatest amount.
Ascorbic acid is not so simple
Familiar to everyone since childhood, the source of vitamin C is a complex chemical substance consisting of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Their interaction with other elements can even lead to the creation of s alts - it is enough to change just one atom in the compound. In this case, the name and class of the substance will change. Experiments conducted with ascorbic acid revealed its irreplaceable properties in the function of regenerating human skin.
In addition, it strengthens the immune system of the skin, helps to resist the negative effects of the atmosphere. It has anti-aging, whitening properties, prevents aging, neutralizes free radicals. Contained incitruses, bell peppers, medicinal herbs, strawberries. About a hundred milligrams of ascorbic acid - the optimal daily dose - can be obtained with rose hips, sea buckthorn, and kiwi.
Stuff around us
We are convinced that our whole life is chemistry, since a person himself entirely consists of its elements. Food, footwear and clothing, hygiene products are just a small part of where we meet the fruits of science in everyday life. We know the purpose of many elements and use them for our own benefit. In a rare house you will not find boric acid, or slaked lime, as we call it, or calcium hydroxide, as it is known to science. Copper sulphate is widely used by man. The name of the substance comes from the name of its main component.
Sodium bicarbonate is a common household soda. This new acid is acetic acid. And so with any element of natural or animal origin. All of them are composed of compounds of chemical elements. Far from everyone can explain their molecular structure, it is enough to know the name, purpose of the substance and use it correctly.
