UNIT 1. What Is Chemistry?

Warm-up: How to read English words

		Vowels			Consonants
ʌ		cup, mug, duck	b		black
ɑ:		car, far, dark, star	p		print
æ		cat, lab, black	d		discover
e		pen, ten, men	t		trust
ə		doctor, farmer	g		grey
ɜ:		turn, girl, fir, her	k		kite
i		pin, stick, lick	f		fork
i:		see, heat, read	v		vast
ɒ		dock, dog, clock	h		hi
ɔ:		door, sport, four	l		lady
ʊ		book, look, put	m		mother
u:		blue, food, mood	n		not
aɪ		five, dive, eye	ŋ		sitting
aʊ		now, out	j		joy
eɪ		blame, fame, stay	r		rest
əʊ		go, home, oh	s		size
ɔɪ		boy, join	z		zoo
eə		air, chair, fair	ʃ		ship
ɪə		clear, near, here	tʃ		chest
ʊə		tour, pure	θ		think
			ð		the, they, though
			w		what
			ʒ		measure
			dʒ		Jack

I. Read the words.

atom ['ætəm]

atomic [ə'tɔmɪk]

biologist [baɪ'ɔləʤɪst]

carbohydrate [ˌkɑːbə'haɪdreɪt]

category ['kætəgərɪ]

cell [sel]

chemistry ['kemɪstrɪ]

choice [ʧɔɪs]

component [kəm'pəunənt]

effect [ɪ'fekt]

electron [ɪ'lektrɔn]

energy ['enəʤɪ]

environment [ɪn'vaɪərnmənt]

equally ['iːkwəlɪ]

experiment [ɪk'sperɪmənt, ek-]

explanation [ˌeksplə'neɪʃn]

firework ['faɪəwɜːk]

focus ['fəukəs]

headache ['hedeɪk]

hypothesis [haɪ'pɔθəsɪs]

interaction [ˌɪntər'ækʃn]

involve [ɪn'vɔlv]

knowledge ['nɔlɪʤ]

liquid ['lɪkwɪd]

major ['meɪʤə]

medicine ['medɪsɪn]

molecule ['mɔlɪkjuːl]

organism ['ɔːgənɪzm]

particularly [pə'tɪkjələlɪ]

pharmacist ['fɑːməsɪst]

physicist ['fɪzɪsɪst]

physics ['fɪzɪks]

protein ['prəutiːn]

relieve [rɪ'liːv]

science ['saɪən(t)s]

scientist ['saɪəntɪst]

source [sɔːs]

specialization [ˌspeʃəlaɪ'zeɪʃn]

subatomic [ˌsʌbə'tɔmɪk]

substance ['sʌbstəns]

touch [tʌʧ]

useless ['juːsləs]

II. Read question words.

how [hau]

what [wɔt]

when [wen]

where [weə]

which [wɪʧ]

who [huː]

whose [huːz]

why [waɪ]

III. Read and translate the modal verbs.

can [kæn], [kən, kn]

could [kud]

have to [hæv, həv]

may [meɪ]

might [maɪt]

must [mʌst]

ought to [ɔːt]

shall [ʃæl]

should [ʃud]

used to [ju:st]

will [wɪl]

would [wud]

IV. Read the numerals.

Cardinal	Ordinal
1 - 12
one - [wʌn]	first - ['fɜːst]
two - [tuː]	second - ['seknd]
three - [θriː]	third - [θɜːd]
four - [fɔː]	fourth - [fɔːθ]
five - [faɪv]	fifth - [fɪfθ]
six - [sɪks]	sixth - [sɪksθ]
seven - ['sevən]	seventh - ['sevnθ]
eight - [eɪt]	eighth - [eɪtθ]
nine - [naɪn]	ninth - [naɪnθ]
ten - [ten]	tenth - [tenθ]
eleven - [ɪ'levn]	eleventh - [ɪ'levnθ]
twelve - ['twelv]	twelfth - ['twelfθ]
13 - 19
thirteen - [ˌθɜː'tiːn]	thirteenth - [θɜː'tiːnθ]
fourteen - [ˌfɔː'tiːn]	fourteenth - [ˌfɔː'tiːnθ]
fifteen - [ˌfɪf'tiːn]	fifteenth - [ˌfɪf'tiːnθ]
sixteen - [ˌsɪk'stiːn]	sixteenth - [ˌsɪk'stiːnθ]
seventeen - [ˌsev(ə)n'tiːn]	seventeenth - [ˌsev(ə)n'tiːnθ]
eighteen - [ˌeɪ'tiːn]	eighteenth - [ˌeɪ'tiːnθ]
nineteen - [ˌnaɪn'tiːn]	nineteenth - [ˌnaɪn'tiːnθ]
20 - 100
twenty - ['twentɪ]	twentieth - ['twentɪɪθ]
thirty - ['θɜːtɪ]	thirtieth - ['θɜːtɪəθ]
forty - ['fɔːtɪ]	fortieth - ['fɔːtɪəθ]
fifty - ['fɪftɪ]	fiftieth - ['fɪftɪəθ]
sixty - ['sɪkstɪ]	sixtieth - ['sɪkstɪəθ]
seventy - ['sev(ə)ntɪ]	seventieth - ['sev(ə)ntɪəθ]
eighty - ['eɪtɪ]	eightieth - ['eɪtɪəθ]
ninety - ['naɪntɪ]	ninetieth - ['naɪntɪəθ]
hundred - ['hʌndrəd]	hundredth - ['hʌndrədθ]
thousand - ['θauz(ə)nd]	thousandth - ['θauz(ə)ndθ]
million - ['mɪljən]	millionth - ['mɪljənθ]
billion - ['bɪlɪən]
dozen - ['dʌz(ə)n]

READING

What Is Chemistry?

Chemistry is the study of matter and energy and the interactions between them. This is also the definition for physics, by the way. Chemistry and physics are specializations of physical science. Chemistry tends to focus on the properties of substances and the interactions between different types of matter, particularly reactions that involve electrons. Physics tends to focus more on the nuclear part of the atom, as well as the subatomic realm [relm]. Really, they are two sides of the same coin.

Why Study Chemistry?

Because understanding chemistry helps you understand the world around you. Cooking is chemistry. Everything you can touch or taste or smell is a chemical. When you study chemistry, you come to understand a bit about how things work. Chemistry isn't secret knowledge, useless to anyone but a scientist. It's the explanation for everyday things, like why laundry detergent ['lɔːndrɪ dɪ'tɜːʤ(ə)nt] works better in hot water or how baking soda soda ['səudə] works or why not all pain relievers work equally well on a headache.

What Fields of Study Use Chemistry?

You could use chemistry in most [məust] fields, but it's commonly seen in the sciences and in medicine. Chemists, physicists, biologists, and engineers study chemistry. Doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, physical therapists ['θerəpɪst], and veterinarians veterinarian [ˌvetərɪ'neərɪən] all take chemistry courses. Science teachers study chemistry. Fire fighters and people who make fireworks learn about chemistry. So do truck drivers, plumbers, artists, hairdressers, chefs [ʃefs]... the list is extensive.

What Do Chemists Do?

Whatever they want. Some chemists work in a lab, in a research environment, asking questions and testing hypotheses with experiments. Other chemists may work on a computer developing theories or models or predicting reactions. Some chemists do field work. Others contribute advice on chemistry for projects. Some chemists write. Some chemists teach. The career options are extensive.

What Are the 5 Branches of Chemistry?

There are many branches of chemistry or chemistry disciplines. The 5 main major branches of chemistry are considered to be organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry and biochemistry.

• Organic Chemistry - the study of carbon and its compounds; the study of the chemistry of life.

• Inorganic Chemistry - the study of inorganic compounds or compounds which do not contain a C-H bond. Many inorganic compounds are those which contain metals.

• Analytical Chemistry - the study of the chemistry of matter and the development of tools used to measure properties of matter.

• Physical Chemistry - the branch of chemistry that applies physics to the study of chemistry. Commonly this includes the applications of thermodynamics [ˌθɜːmədaɪ'næmɪks] and quantum mechanics ['kwɔntəm mɪ'kænɪks] to chemistry.

• Biochemistry - the study of chemical processes that occur [ə'kɜː] inside of living organisms.