Fundamental Chemistry and Hydraulics - Mathematics and Statistics for the Environment - page 341

14 Fundamental Chemistry

and Hydraulics

As future working environmental professionals, it is not sufficient to understand the causes and
effects of environmental problems in qualitative terms only. The environmental professional must
also be able to express the perceived problem and its potential solution in quantitative terms. To do
this, the environmental professional must be able to draw on the basic sciences such as chemistry
and hydrology and others to predict the fate of pollutants in the environment and to design effective
mitigation measures and treatment systems to reduce impacts. In this chapter, we discuss funda-
mental chemistry and basic hydraulics for environmental professionals.

14.1 FUNDAMENTAL CHEMISTRY
The chemists are a strange class of mortals, impelled by an almost insane impulse to seek their pleasure
among smoke and vapor, soot and flame, poisons and poverty; yet among all these evils I seem to live
so sweetly that I may die if I would change places with the Persian King.

—Johann Joachim Becher (1635-1682)

All matter on Earth consists of chemicals. This simplified definition may shock those that think
chemistry is what happens between men and women. Chemistry is much more; it is the science of
materials that make up the physical world. Chemistry is so complex that no one person could expect
to master all aspects of such a vast field, so it has been found convenient to divide the subject into
specialty areas, such as the following:

• Organic chemists study compounds of carbon. Atoms of this element can form stable
chains and rings, giving rise to very large numbers of natural and synthetic compounds.
• Inorganic chemists are interested in all elements, but particularly in metals, and are often
involved in the preparation of new catalysts.
• Biochemists concern themselves with the chemistry of the living world.
• Physical chemists study the structures of materials and the rates and energies of chemical
reactions.
• Theoretical chemists , with the use of mathematics and computational techniques, derive
unifying concepts to explain chemical behavior.
• Analytical chemists develop test procedures to determine the identity, composition, and
purity of chemicals and materials. New analytical procedures often reveal the presence of
previously unknown compounds.

Why should we care about chemistry? Isn't it enough to know that we don't want unnecessary
chemicals in or on our food or harmful chemicals in our air, water, or soil? Chemicals are every-
where in our environment. The vast majority of these chemicals are natural. The chemist often
copies from nature to create new substances that are often superior to and cheaper than natural
materials. It is human nature to make nature serve us. Without chemistry (and the other sciences),
we are at nature's mercy. To control nature, we must learn its laws and then use them.

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