Cours de chimie analytique en solution : Socle commun L1 : Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie

Abstract

It gives me great pleasure to make this modest course booklet—covering analytical chemistry in solution and drawing on years of experience—available to first-year SNV students. Chemistry is the science that studies the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the transformations it undergoes. It is central to understanding many aspects of nature and life. The scale of the compounds studied in chemistry ranges from reactions between simple atoms to molecular structures comprising tens of thousands of atoms (such as DNA, proteins, and crystals). Studying the world at the molecular level provides a better understanding of the world at the human scale. Indeed, chemistry is part of everyday life. Using light, plants produce the nutrients they need by capturing gases dissolved in the air (primarily nitrogen) and drawing water and mineral salts from the soil; in doing so, they are performing chemistry. When we heat food—such as cooking an egg or pasta—we, too, are engaging in chemistry. Beauty products, perfumes, and creams all have chemical origins; they are created or synthesized by reacting atoms and molecules with one another—either by imitating and reproducing natural processes or by creating entirely new compounds.