Chemistry is widely known as a central science. This science is at the core of the study of matter and its ability to combine and separate into diverse forms of matter. In the twenty-first century, many branches of chemistry helping humanity live better through discovery and innovation. Chemistry has influenced a number of important industries, such as medicine, product manufacturing, and engineering.
Understanding the use of chemistry — and the chemical reactions that take place — in everyday life provides important insight into the complex, beautiful world we live in. Let’s take a closer look at the most common types of chemical reactions in everyday life.
Photosynthesis: Biochemistry
Biochemistry studies the chemical reactions that happen inside living things, including our favorite flora, fauna, and foliage. Photosynthesis is a biochemical process that you know as the basis of the food chain. This natural response is nothing more than that the plants on Earth create their own food source.
We can attribute the same chemical reaction to leaf discoloration — spotting, for example — and color change in the fall. Those wonderfully beautiful scenes did not happen by chance. A fat-soluble pigment – called chlorophyll – is broken down in the leaves. This chemical separation turns them from the traditional green to red, yellow, and orange.
Baking: Inorganic Chemistry
Do you know any other common types of chemical reactions in everyday life? You may not bake a delicious cake every day of the week, but its innate inorganic transformation is another prime example. Baking is a common activity involving inorganic reactions. Inorganic chemistry is a subcategory that studies the properties and reactions of chemical compounds, such as metals and minerals.
Some of the common ingredients are compound compounds and essential primary leavening agents. Heat applied during baking causes chemical changes in the ingredients, including flour, sugar, baking powder and eggs. Interestingly, the process is an endothermic reaction, creating stronger bonds. New substances form after combining and baking the ingredients. Once the reaction is complete, you cannot separate the cake into its original components again.
Fruit ripening: Organic chemistry
Have you ever put purchased fruit on the counter, blinked and forgot about it, then suddenly found that it was ripe? Fruit ripening is an organic chemical reaction that occurs through the formation of new chemical compounds. Since these compounds are derived from carbon, scientists classify this reaction as an example of organic chemistry. But how did this universal change happen?
Ripening is a natural chemical process that changes the composition of the fruit through a compound known as ethylene. The goal is continuously to achieve properties suitable for consumption: good color, taste, texture and quality. Some fruits may ripen off the branches, while others may not ripen after harvest. Fascinating, isn’t it? At the end of the day, almost everything we see, taste, touch or do every day is thanks to chemical reactions.
