The Importance of Chemistry in Daily Life

What does chemistry do to help us and how important is it? To go about answering these questions, we must find out where in our daily activities, chemistry is involved and how it benefits us. Without realising, chemistry is used in all part of our lives and some of its features are more recognised by specific user groups, for example a kid wouldn’t be interested in how chemistry makes their fathers shaving foam more lubricant. I believe looking at the problem from this perspective would be more ideal.

We all start life as a baby and a our main role is to grow, in other words we must eat in accordance to our physical needs. At dinner time, without chemistry we wouldn’t have a cup to drink, the spoon and the plate to eat. The chemicals in each make it just right for the jobs they have to do. Thanks to a slippery and tough chemical called Teflon, our mothers can cook tasty dishes with ease due to food not sticking to the pan and therefore preventing burning of the food.

A baby spends most of its time sleeping in a bed made of polyurethane foam. These will conform to the baby’s body shape and provide cushioning and support. This will help him/her to get the invaluable sleep needed to grow properly. This material is also used in shoes, cars and home insulation.

Babies have a weak immune system and they can be ill with a tiny bit bacteria so a clean environment is key for everyone but especially for them. A lot of chemicals are blended to make the detergents and the anti-bacterial disinfectants used in cleaning the house and the dirty dishes. The powders used in washing machines are also developed using phospates and zeolite which acts on hard water (which is essential in Turkey where the water in very hard and can be very damaging to the clothes and the machine). A baby needs much more care and support than an adult so chemistry provides a great help to their parents in order to make care taking more efficient.

Moving onto youngsters; most have a bicycle and without chemistry they wouldn’t. An average bike contains more than 18 different plastics or combinations of plastics and other materials. Some are made to be as strong as metals and form the pedals, where as others are used for comfort in seats and handle bars. Every student must have a pen to be able to be successful and jot down the notes their teachers have taught them. Again, without chemistry this simple looking object wouldn’t function, the pen has to be strong and attractive as well comfortable to hold. The ink inside is no exception and a combination of chemicals are used to make it. What about the paper we write on, well there is no escape from the fact that chemistry is essential when making it. Producing sheets of bonded cellulose fibre (paper) requires sodium silicate, fumaric acid, calcium hypochlorite and sodium chlorate which gives brightness, water resistance, whiteness and opaqueness respectively to the paper.

Then comes a game of football, where the boots are made of a range of polymers and attractively coloured with synthetic pigments. These materials are also used in the making of shin pads, goal nets and corner flags. Whatever the sport chemistry plays a part in developing equipment which in return protects the players and improves their performance. After football we drink water and the invention of a paper cup may not seen as an important discovery but it is a fact that it saves thousands of lives each year. A lot of people have died in the past from disease carrying tin cups which were used by the public. Scientists have used chemistry to make cups which were cheap, durable to water and recyclable. To create pictures in the TV’s we watch, among other things involves a combination of complex physical and chemical processes like beams of electrons, a magnetic coil, a screen coated with phosporus, silicon chips and components made of polyethylene.

Adults need chemistry too; most of our fathers shave in the mornings when their beard grows but it would have been a far cry from being a comfortable and a smooth one without the foams and the shavers they use. The razor has an attractively styled, soft touch handle made of thermoplastic elastomer, a rubbery, easily mouldable material that gives a non-slip grip even when wet. Otherwise they would slip and unfortunately cut their faces if not paid a lot of attention. The foams are made by several chemical to protect the face and lubricate the skin.

Our mothers are no exception when it comes to the use of chemistry in the mornings. From the toothbrush and soap to the shampoos, fragrances and moisturisers they are all developed using the latest technology. Our clothes are made easier to wash, more stretchy, anti static and anti allergic. Then comes shopping for the house; If our money would disintegrate when it gets wet, it would be a disaster. They are made with wet-strength resins and certain chemicals which also makes it harder for counterfeits to make fake ones.

Everyone could have an injury or lose their legs and/or their arms. Instead of the peg legs the pirates wore in cartoons, today with the help of chemistry articial limbs look like the real thing, they’re extremely strong and move and function realistically. As a result more people with disabilities can live, work, play and travel like anyone else. Our parents are surrounded by very expensive products of chemistry when they drive to work. Vehicle designers use these materials to make the seat belts stronger, dashboards and door panels more shock-absorbent and seats lighter and thinner. If a crash occurs, he/she could be saved by a chemical reaction that releases hot nitrogen gas into his car airbag in a matter of miliseconds. Surprisingly, our parents have fallen in love with eachother with the help of chemistry. Our bodies are full of chemicals and the falling-in-love feeling has a lot to do with the oxitocin molecule in the case of women and vasopressin for men.

To conclude, chemistry has made people much happier with the comfort it has offered, the diseases it has prevented and the attractiveness it has provided. Unfortunately humans have also used chemistry to make bombs and guns which has resulted in world wars and millions of deaths. As with everything in nature, It should only be used for the good. It is the main factor behind the exponential development of technology and it will be no surprise if in ten years time, todays technolology is seen as very old and out of date. The more humanity has discovered the world of chemistry, the more easier life has become.

The Importance of Chemistry in Daily Life

Most people have chosen to write their essay about how chemistry has played an important role in everyday life. I have chosen to ask, how doesn’t it play a role in everyday life? The simple fact is that chemistry plays an important role in every person’s daily activities from the moment we’re born. So what role does chemistry really play in everyday life? Well, this involvement usually begins first thing each morning. Most people wake up to an alarm or radio. These common household items contain batteries, which make them very chemically dependent. These batteries contain positive and negative electrodes. The positive electrode consists of a carbon rod surrounded by a mixture of carbon and manganese dioxide. The negative electrode is made of zinc. Chemistry plays an important role in the discovery and understanding of materials contained in these and many other common household items. Things like household cleaners and water purification

systems are vitally dependent on chemistry. Without chemistry something as simple as scrubbing a toilet without fear of severe burns or small explosions might not be possible. Next, though it isn’t widely known, chemistry is also heavily involved with the manufacturing of things such as makeup and soap. Each time you bathe you are witnessing chemistry at work. Chemicals such as cetyl alcohol and propylene glycol are typical ingredients in the soap used to wash your hair and skin. Without chemistry, these materials (or combinations of these materials) might be hazardous or might not exist. The chemical coloring agents used in makeup and nail polish would not be possible without an understanding of the chemicals involved. Almost anything you do during the course of a normal day involves chemistry in some way. The gas and tires in cars we drive, the makeup we put on our faces, the soaps and cleaners used everyday, burning wood or other fossil fuels, chemistry is all around you each…