Chemistry in Everyday Life

UNIT 15

CHEMISTRY IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Learning Objectives

After the completion of this lesson, students will be able to

* know about different types of hydrocarbons.

* understand the fomation of fossil fuels.

* list out the properties and uses of different fuel gases.

* understand the process involved in the refining of petroleum.

* know about the types and uses of coal.

* know about the characteristics of ideal fuel.

* list out the applications of solar energy.

 Introduction

When we hear the word chemistry we think of chemical reactions conducted in the laboratories. But chemistry is beyond that. We can find chemistry in everything in our surrounding. It is in the air we breathe, the food we eat and in everything we use in our daily life. Our body is made of elements like nitrogen, phosphorous, hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, potassium, sulphur, magnesium etc. All the chemical reactions taking place in our body are due to chemistry.

Our whole life is dependent on various chemical compounds. Among them, hydrocarbons are the most important one. They find application in our daily life. We can say that the whole civilization is driven by hydrocarbons because they make up the fossil fuels petroleum, coal and natural gas. In this lesson we are going to study about different types of hydrocarbons, fossil fuels like petroleum, coal and natural gas, characteristics of fuel and solar energy and its applications.