Some
of you may have heard about organic chemistry. It's a much broader field than
biochemistry. It looks at every molecule that might have a carbon atom. You
could be studying plastics, cellulose, gasoline, fats in your cells, or paint.
Organic chemistry looks at many carbon-containing compounds beyond the ones
found in living systems.
Ahhh,
the battle of the heavyweights. It is true that almost all compounds in
biochemistry have carbon atoms. But there are many more activities on Earth
that use carbon and have nothing to do with life. Look at the series of
minerals called carbonates (-CO3). They all have carbon compounds
that mix with trace elements. Some examples of carbonates are Calcite,
Dolomite, and Smithsonite. Even geologists need to understand chemistry.
We like biochemistry because we learn about
things that are inside of us. We can relate to what happens when we eat and how
our bodies are constructed. We can imagine how the molecules are moving around
the mitochondria or chloroplasts, as opposed to chemical changes that make
natural gas. If you choose a career in biology or chemistry, you will need to
understand the information in both biochemistry and organic chemistry. Why?
Because the movement of atoms in the bio-chem world follows the same rules you
will learn in o-chem.
What
if you love making art? Can you escape organic chemistry? Ummm... Probably. But
the people who make your materials will not. You need to understand chemistry
to make different types of paints and chemicals you will use every day in your
studio. If you paint, you will definitely hear about titanium (Ti) white,
cobalt (Co) blue, and cadmium (Cd) red. While not all of those pigments have
carbon compounds, you definitely be using mediums and solvents when you work
with the paints. That's all organic chemistry.
Organic chemistry might only be big on our planet. Life on Earth is based on carbon compounds. O-chem crosses over into almost every field of chemistry (except inorganic chemistry). So, when we say it's big here, we really mean it. Other planets may have life based on silicon (Si) or have environments based on sulfur (S). Did you know that some organisms can survive with reactions that include hydrogen sulfide (H2S) instead of water (H2O)? Scientists are looking at similar organisms at the bottom of the ocean and in aquatic areas without oxygen (anoxic).
What a big topic. The field of environmental chemistry calls
on organic chemistry, biochemistry, and a heck of a lot of biology. We'll focus
on the chemistry of the Earth right now.
Environmental chemists study the chemistry of
the biosphere.
They often focus on the effects of the modern world and technology on our
environment. What do they study? Consider them to be the planet detectives.
They look at the fingerprints and figure out what went down at the scene of the
crime. They look at the chemical compunds and figure out what could have made a
child sick, or a forest die, or a healthy river poisonous.
With all of the molecules and compounds floating
around our world, someone needs to study the reactions they have with each
other. It could be as simple as seeing red rocks and figuring out that they
have a high level of iron (Fe). At the other end of the spectrum, scientists
could be studying holes in the ozone (O3) layer. Then they might try
to answer the question, "How are aerosol cans involved in the destruction
of the ozone layer?"
The Earth is a closed system (basically). While energy may come in and leave the planet, most of our mass stays right here. That means all of the elements are constantly recycling through our environment. A free oxygen molecule (O2) that was floating around the atmosphere yesterday might be a part of someone's hamburger next week. It's up to the environmental chemists to study those cycles and watch the elements in motion. When you lear about erath science there will be a lot of talk about bio-geo-chemical (BGC) cycles.