The Importance of Chemistry in Daily Life

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 and every day. The associations are practically limitless. So, as you go about your daily activities, remember to thank chemistry. As my teacher always says, remember, "CHEMISTRY IS LIFE!"

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