Historical Ideas On Chemistry And Science

Question 1

What is chemistry?

Answer 1

Chemistry is the study of matter.

Question 2

What is matter?

Answer 2

Anything that has weight and takes up space.

Question 3

What is philosophy?

Answer 3

Philosophy is an exercise of figuring things out through thought.

Question 4

Philosophers that sought to answer questions about nature were called..

Answer 4

Natural philosophers. They studied and observed the natural world and answered the why and how questions by developing logical explanations.

Question 5

Who was the most famous philosopher?

Answer 5

Aristotle who was born about 2400 years ago. He is considered one of the most influential people in human history. He believed to be true other people as well.

Question 6

Who is Democritus?

Answer 6

Democritus was a Greek philosopher born 2470 years ago. He argued that everything was made of very small particles and that there were many different kinds of particles. He called the particles atomos, which means uncuttable in Greek. We credit him by called the small particles atoms.

Question 7

Who is Empedocles?

Answer 7

Empedocles was a Greek philosopher born 2500 years ago. He argued that everything was made of 4 elements: Earth, Air, Water, Fire.

Question 8

What happened when Aristotle agreed with Empedocles element theory?

Answer 8

Most philosophers believed that only the 4 elements existed for 2000 years.

Question 9

What is science?

Answer 9

Science is the process of testing your ideas using experiments. It provides explanations about the world and the universe with explanations that are testable.

Question 10

When did philosophers start using experiments?

Answer 10

In the 1700s natural philosophers slowly started using experiments to test their ideas.

Question 11

Who helped the particle theory become popular again?

Answer 11

Antoine de Lavoisier helped make Democritus’s particle theory popular again.

Question 12

What happened to Lavoisier?

Answer 12

Lavoisier was beheaded on May 8th, 1794 at age 50, for selling impure tobacco and other lesser crimes.

Question 13

Who is Lavoisier?

Answer 13

Lavoisier was true scientist that used careful experiments in his work. He discovered oxygen, and is known today for being the father of modern chemistry.

Question 14

What is the particle theory of matter?

Answer 14

All matter is made up of small particles called atoms. Atoms means uncuttable is Greek.

Question 15

What did alchemists devote their time to?

Answer 15

Alchemists tried to create the philosopher’s stone. They believed the philosophers stone would turn lead into gold, and that it provide its holder with immortality and the ability to cure sickness.

Question 16

How long did alchemy last?

Answer 16

Alchemy was practiced until the late 1800s, and was around for 2500 years.

Question 17

What is logic?

Answer 17

Logic was used as a tool for distinguishing between true and false.

Question 18

Do atoms take up space?

Answer 18

Atoms take up space, but the space they take up is very, very small.

Question 19

What did Democritus and Dalton get wrong about the particle theory of matter?

Answer 19

Both were wrong when they said that the atom cannot be divided in smaller pieces. They can be divided into smaller pieces called electrons, protons, and neutrons.

Question 20

List the 5 parts of Daltons particle theory of matter.

Answer 20

1.) All matter is made up of small particles called atoms that are too small too see.
2.) Atoms of the same type are the same size.
3.) Atoms that are different are different sizes.
4.) Compounds can be created by combining different atoms.
5.) Atoms cannot be created, destroyed, or divided into smaller pieces.

Question 21

Who is John Dalton?

Answer 21

John Dalton was a chemist that lived from September 1766 to July 27 1844. He said that atoms were tough like billiard balls, and could not be created, destroyed or divided into smaller pieces.

Question 22

How many atoms can fit across a penny?

Answer 22

73 000 000 atoms (estimate)

Question 23

What did philosophers do?

Answer 23

Philosophers used logical reasoning not experiments. They did not verify their ideas with experiments.

Question 24

What does science do?

Answer 24

Science provides evidence to support ideas. It’s appropriate to think that science provides evidence that can change over time.

Question 25

Do philosophers still exist today?

Answer 25

Philosophers still exist today, and they answer questions science can’t answer such as consciousness.

Question 26

What happened to natural philosophers?

Answer 26

They in time became scientists.