Chemistry Flashcards
What 3 major contributions did alchemy make to modern science, and especially chemistry?
- Glassware and various apparatus
- Ability to alter physical properties of matter
- Worldview of having power over nature through science
In what 4 main ways was alchemy scientifically deficient?
- Qualitative, rather than quantitative
- Mystical
- Futile (cannot transform one element into another)
- No understanding of nature gained
What was Paracelsus’ real name? Why did he choose Paracelsus instead?
Phillipus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim. Chose “Paracelsus” because he wanted it to mean “better than Celcus” (can’t blame him for wanting something else though).
What were Paracelsus’ views on academia?
Rejected it, travelled instead and thought it far better to learn from experience.
How did Paracelsus’ work in mines influence his later medical practices?
Gave him knowledge of metallurgy and metallic properties, which he incorporated into his treatment of patients.
Is Paracelsus thought to have received a medical degree? What resulted from this?
It’s up in the air really, he might not have. He still had success as a private physician prescribing simple medicines.
What became of Paracelsus’ career as a professor of medicine at the University of Basel?
He got kicked out after a few months for publicly burning the works of Galen and Avicenna, as well as getting on the wrong side of most medical practitioners in the city.
How could you summarize what Paracelsus thought to be one of the primary concerns regarding digestion?
If we knew how food turned into poop we’d be able to understand a lot more. (something Greg said, idk how important it is…)
What were Paracelsus’ views regarding ancient knowledge?
Most of it is useless, but he accepted the Hippocratic’s ethical approach (not their 4 humour model though).
What were Paracelsus’ views regarding dissection?
Dissection is a waste of time, medicine should focus on function rather than form.
What role did Paracelsus believe chemistry had in regards to human life? What is this approach called?
Iatrochemistry, the belief that life is a chemical process.
What is an “Archeus”? Which of the famous scientists of the enlightenment believed in this idea most strongly?
A mystical internal alchemist inside the human body which oversees all the chemical reactions needed to sustain life. Supported by Paracelsus.
What did Paracelsus believe caused illness? How did he propose to treat illness?
Defects in body chemistry. Treat with a specific chemical therapy for each disease.
How did Paracelsus relate medicine to astrology? Which ancient idea is this reflected in?
Thought that astrology should form part of the basis for choosing which drug to use for treatment. Reflects the Chinese idea of macrocosm/microcosm.
What is the “Doctrine of Signatures”? Which enlightenment scientist mentioned in class is known to have followed this?
The idea that the medicinal use for a plant is indicated by the morphology of the plant. Paracelsus followed this line of thinking.
How did Paracelsus generally treat wounds?
By cleaning them and letting them heal themselves.
How did Paracelsus generally treat syphillis? How is it treated today?
Treated with mercury (yikes), and found it reasonably effective (even wrote a book about it!). Now it is treated with arsenic though.
What is “Laudanum”? Which enlightenment scientist is though to have discovered it? How was it used in medicine?
Employed by Paracelsus, a tincture of opium used as an analgesic, and by desperate parents as a treatment for whooping cough.
What differentiates alcohol extraction from water extraction of a product (effect, not mechanism).
Alcohol extraction gives a more powerful product.
What is “sweet vitriol”? What did Paracelsus discover about this? What were the potential applications for this?
Ethyl ether, known by Paracelsus to put animals to sleep. He could have figured out how to use this in surgery, but instead he died and surgery kept being horrific.
How was ethyl ether used long after Paracelsus’ time?
Rediscovered in Boston as a general anaesthetic which would put surgery patients to sleep, quickly adopted everywhere.
What later replaced ethyl ether as a general anaesthetic used in surgery?
Cyclopropane.
What were the 3 main problems with surgery at Paracelsus’ time? How were they later fixed?
- Pain -> Ethyl Ether
- Blood loss -> Blood typing
- Infection -> Germ-theory of disease
What key factors denote Paracelsus as having the characteristics of a modern scientist/physician?
Chemical thinking (precision/pure starting materials), biochemical thinking (dose-dependent therapies, in-vivo interactions), recognized symptoms for individual diseases.
What key beliefs did Paracelsus hold that are not reflected in modern science?
Believed in astrology, an internal “Archeus”, and the “Doctrine of Signatures”.
Who was Jan Baptista van Helmont? What famous experiment is he known for (the first experiment in plant physiology)?
A Flemish mystic, physician, and chemist. Known for his willow tree experiment, where he concluded that plants grew by consuming water, not earth (as had previously been believed).
What experiment did Jan Baptista van Helmont conduct to provide evidence for the conservation of matter in chemical reactions?
Dissolved metal in acid and saw that the combined weight of the two didn’t change.
What were Jan Baptista van Helmont’s views regarding the composition of matter?
Everything is made of water, except air.
What were Jan Baptista van Helmont’s views regarding air?
Thought of them as “vapours” or “spirits” and believed that there were many different kinds.
What did Jan Baptista van Helmont believe regarding fermentation, the burning of wood, and food use by animals? What theory did this indicate?
That they were all the same process, he called them all fermentation. Basis for the unity of living and non-living processes.
What is Fransiscus Sylvius known for? What is he MOST known for?
Rejected the “Archeus” in iatrochemistry. Believed that digestion required both acids and alkalis.
Invented a medicine for kidney ailments made from distilled grain spirits and juniper berries… Gin.
What question did Rene Antoine Ferchault Reaumur set out to answer with his meat-in-a-tube-in-a-hawk experiment? What were the results?
Is digestion a chemical process or a physical one? Found that even though the meat was inside a tube it still got partially digested.
What is “Phlogiston”? Why was it invented?
The “principle of combustion” in early combustion theory. Invented to explain why enclosed spaces would only support a fire for a short time.
What differentiates the phlogiston theory of combustion from the oxidation theory of combustion?
Phlogiston: wood has component in it which gets liberated into air when burned
Oxidation: air has a component which gets used up during combustion
In the phlogiston theory of combustion, what was thought to be released from wood during combustion? Who originated this theory?
Terra pinguis (principle of inflammability) and ash. This idea was first suggested by Johann Becker.
How did George Ernst Stahl modify Johann Becker’s concept of terra pinguis? How did this answer the debate of candles only burning for a short time in an enclosed space?
Renamed terra pinguis -> phlogiston. Suggested that flame was the “rushing out” of phlogiston from burning material. Rusting is the same as combustion but slower, so no flame. The air can only hold so much phlogiston.
What differentiated cutting edge science in the 18th century from scientific study in previous eras?
Cutting edge science pretty much left universities, institutions which continued to be caught up in outdated theories and ideas.
According to George Ernst Stahl, how did the phlogiston contained in wood differ from the phlogiston in iron?
Wood had positive phlogiston weight while iron had negative phlogiston weight (idk what that means though, thanks Greg).
What did Joseph Black discover? How did he quantify it?
“Fixed air” which is just carbon dioxide. Quantified it by isolation in a reaction with lime (the mineral I presume?). He knew it to be deadly.
What did Joseph Priestly discover from mercuric oxide? What did he propose regarding plants and animals?
“dephlogisticated air” which is just oxygen. Thought that animals add phlogiston to the air, while plants take up phlogiston.
What was Joseph Priestly’s model of physiology?
Venous blood is loaded with phlogiston, then released into atmosphere by exhalation. Arterial blood has no phlogiston.
Who (kinda) discovered photosynthesis? What else did they note about this process?
Jan Ingen-Housz noted that the green parts of plants remove phlogiston from the air, but only in sunlight.
Who came up with the oxidation theory of combustion? What did he conclude?
Antoine Lavoisier abandoned phlogiston and renamed “dephlogisticated air” oxygen. Suggested that both respiration and combustion consume O2 and release CO2.
How did Antoine Lavoisier go about proving his oxidation theory of combustion?
Using an ice calorimeter he quantified the heat release by respiration and combustion and concluded that they were equal (per amount of CO2 released).
Why was Antoine Lavoisier executed during the French Revolution?
Not because of science, but because he was associated with the tax collection companies of the time.
Besides the oxidation theory of combustion, what else in Antoine Lavoisier known for?
Creating a more rational measurement system: the metric system.
What chemical law did Louis-Joseph Proust come up with? Describe.
Law of Definite Proportions, which stated that elements combine into compounds in simple ratios by weight.
What did John Dalton realize regarding Louis-Joseph Proust’s experiments? What did this form the basis of?
That Proust’s results can be explained if each compound is made of elements which are made of atoms, each of which have a specific weight. Basically came up with atomic theory.
What did Friederich Wohler and Hermann Kolbe show regarding organic molecules? What did they make?
That it was possible to synthesize organic molecules outside the body. Essentially unified organic and inorganic chemistry.
Wohler - made urea
Kolbe - made acetic acid
Place these 7 (older) important chemistry guys in order from oldest to most recent:
Jan Baptista van Helmont, Johann Becher, Rene Antoine Ferchault Reaumur, Paracelsus, Franciscus Sylvius, Joseph Black, George Ernst Stahl
- Paracelsus
- Jan Baptista van Helmont
- Franciscus Sylvius
- Rene Antoine Ferchault Reaumur
- Johann Becher
- George Ernst Stahl
- Joseph Black
Place these 7 (newer) important chemistry guys in order from oldest to most recent:
Friedrich Wohler, Louis-Joseph Proust, Joseph Priestley, Hermann Kolbe, Jan Ingen-Housz, John Dalton, Antoine Lavoisier
- Joseph Priestley
- Jan Ingen-Housz
- Antoine Lavoisier
- Louis-Joseph Proust
- John Dalton
- Friedrich Wohler
- Hermann Kolbe
