Chemistry and Life: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry

Studies chemistry and life beginning with simple substances to provide a better understanding of the more complex molecules that make up medicines and the biochemicals in our bodies. DLC: Chemistry.

What is chemistry? Chemistry is such a broad, all-encompassing area of study that people almost despair in trying to define it. Indeed, some have taken a cop-out approach by defining chemistry as "what chemists do." But that won't do; it's much too narrow a view.

Chemistry is what we all do. We bathe, clean, and cook. We put chemicals on our faces, hands, and hair. Collectively, we use tens of thousands of consumer chemical products in our homes. Professionals in the health and life sciences use thousands of additional chemicals as drugs, antiseptics, or reagents for diagnostic tests.

Your body itself is a remarkable chemical factory. You eat and breathe, taking in raw materials for the factory. You convert these supplies into an unbelievable array of products, some incredibly complex. This chemical factory-your body-also generates its own energy. It detects its own malfunctions and can regenerate and repair some of its component parts. It senses changes in its environment and adapts to these changes. With the aid of a neighboring facility, this fabulous factory can create other factories much like itself.

Everything you do involves chemistry. As you read this sentence, light energy is converted to chemical energy. As you think, protein molecules are synthesized and stored in your brain. All of us do chemistry.

Chemistry affects society as well as individuals. Chemistry is the language-and the principal tool-of the biological sciences, the health sciences, and the agricultural and earth sciences.

Chemistry has illuminated all the natural world, from the tiny atomic nucleus to the immense cosmos. We believe that a knowledge of chemistry can help you. We have written this book in the firm belief that from the beginning, chemistry is related to problems and opportunities in the life and health sciences. And we believe that this can make the study of chemistry interesting and exciting, especially to nonchemists.

For example, an "ion" is more than a chemical abstraction. Enough mercury ions in the wrong place can kill you, but the right number of calcium ions in the right place can keep you from bleeding to death. "PV = nRT" is an equation, but it is also the basis for the respiratory therapy that has saved untold lives in hospitals. "Hydrogen bonding" is a chemical phenomenon, but it also helps to account for the fact that a dog has puppies while a cat has kittens and a human has human babies. There are hundreds of similar fundamental and interesting applications of chemistry to life.

A knowledge of chemistry has already had a profound effect on the quality of life. Its impact on the future will be even more dramatic. At present we can control diabetes, cure some forms of cancer, and prevent some forms of mental retardation because of our understanding of the chemistry of the body. We can't cure diabetes or cure all forms of cancer or all mental retardation, because our knowledge is still limited. So learn as much as you can. Your work will be enhanced and your life enriched by your greater understanding.

Be prepared. Something good might happen to you-and to others because of you.

You and your classmates come to this course with a variety of backgrounds and interests. Most of you plan to be professionals in a biological or allied health field. Knowledge of chemistry is essential to a true understanding of everything from DNA replication to drug discovery to nutrition. Indeed, the chemical properties and principles you learn in this course will pervade almost every aspect of your private and professional lives. In this text, we provide you with both the principles and applications of chemistry that will help you in your professional practice and enrich your everyday life as well.

This text is rich in pedagogical aids, both within and at the ends of the chapters. We present this "user's guide" to the text to help you get the most out of this book and your course.