The Story of Chemistry

Question 1

History of chemical notation

Answer 1

Dalton began using symbols for atoms or elements. This was then simplified by Berzelius using the Latin names and assigning the meanings of super and subscripts. IUPAC in 1919

Question 2

etymology

Answer 2

origin of words

Question 3

Ordering the elements

Answer 3

As people discovered elements, they realised many elements had similar properties. Telluric screw was first proposed but was difficult to digest. Newlands came up with octaves. Then finally the periodic table by Mendeleev

Question 4

Competition for the periodic table

Answer 4

Meyer and Mendeleev. Mendeleev better accounted for gaps in the table

Question 5

CAS

Answer 5

Chemical Abstracts Service

Question 6

Washing soda

Answer 6

Knew how to make soap from sea salt, but needed a large scale way of doing so to make it accessible. Leblanc came up with a method, but it produced large amounts of HCl.

Question 7

Sucrose

Answer 7

Rillieux. Isolation from non-sugar cane products using a triple-effect evaporator. Was effective, but doubled sugar consumption in 25 years in Europe.

Question 8

Clean drinking water

Answer 8

Edward Frankland. Stressed that appearance was not an indicator for water’s safety

Question 9

Saccharin and cyclamate

Answer 9

Constantine Fahlberg. Discovered by accident due to a spillage on his hands. Cyclamate was discovered to counteract the bitter aftertaste of saccharin.

Question 10

Saccharin and cancer

Answer 10

Studies on rats in the 70s linked saccharin to bladder cancer, it was banned in 1981. Human studies showed no consistent evidence and the ban was lifted in 2010

Question 11

Discovery of caffeine

Answer 11

Runge had discovered another stimulant, was given a sample of coffee to see if a similar chemical component existed

Question 12

MSG

Answer 12

Actively isolated from dashi. Not accidental etc

Question 13

Mauveine

Answer 13

Discovered whilst trying to convert aniline into quinine.

Question 14

Coca

Answer 14

Plant was used by native people of the Andes for millennia. Cocaine isolated in the 1860s in an attempt to isolate cocas benefits

Question 15

DDT

Answer 15

First synthesized just as a chemical. Later synthesized in the search for an effective insecticide. Took 66 years

Question 16

Haber

Answer 16

Generating ammonia from nitrogen in the air using less harsh conditions. Europe’s population had tripled in 200 years and needed to be fed. Also made chlorine gas for the war

Question 17

Midgley

Answer 17

TEL and CFCs. Both ground breaking but ultimately devastating.