Articles About Chemistry: Top 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

Chemistry is an essential field of science that benefits humankind. Discover our guide to begin writing articles about chemistry.

I’ve always struggled with chemistry. Every topic taught under the subject goes over my head, so I often refer to it as something out of this world. This is true, in a sense, as everything in the universe is made of chemicals. 

Everything we can touch, smell, breathe, and see involves chemistry-  it’s an essential part of life as it’s also in our basic needs such as food, health, and the ecosystem we live in. It’s a vital branch of science that humans can’t live without. You might be interested in our guide with essays about science before you begin writing.

Examples of Articles About Chemistry

1. Chemistry: How It All Started by Michal Meyer

“The hallmarks of the old alchemists, the grandiose goals and sometimes secrecy, continue today in our chemical quests – the creation of synthetic life, a cure for aging. At the same time, every time you boil an egg you change the very nature of matter, in this case the shape of the proteins in the egg.”

This article covers evidence of chemistry from the 17th century to modern times. It includes details of the process of making porcelain, cooking foods, making pigments, and refining metals. It also discusses the obstacles it faced, like banning turning lead into gold to avoid reducing the value of a currency.

Meyer’s article notes that chemistry only became a recognized science in the 18th century because of the discovery of oxygen. Then in the 19th century, unsuccessful malaria-preventative quinine established the connection between chemistry and industries such as pharmaceuticals and weaponry. While the author says that people have lost the meaning of chemistry as an art and science, he believes we can still regain it.

2. The Fountain of Life: Scientists Uncover the “Chemistry Behind the Origin of Life” by Purdue University

“This water-based chemistry, which leads to proteins and ultimately to life on Earth, could also lead to the faster development of medicines to treat humanity’s most debilitating diseases.”

The above article reports on the results of the study by Purdue University chemists on the true origin of life: water. They explain that its chemistry starts with raw amino acids forming peptides or protein blocks that become life. Chemists also say that these rapid reactions often occur when water droplets meet the Earth’s atmosphere.

Understanding Earth’s early chemistry is essential in figuring out how and why life appeared on the planet. It will also guide scientists’ search for life on other planets and moons. Additionally, this chemistry can lead to the development of medicines and treatments.

3. Nobel Prize: How Click Chemistry and Bioorthogonal Chemistry Are Transforming the Pharmaceutical and Material Industries by Heyang (Peter) Zhang

“These techniques have been used in a number of sectors, including delivering treatments that can kill cancer cells without perturbing healthy cells as well as sustainably and quickly producing large amounts of polymers to build materials.”

The article concentrates on click and bioorthogonal chemistry and how they analyze living systems such as cells. In their study, Zhang and his team focused on improving the click speed and bioorthogonal chemistry reactions because they believed there would be fewer side reactions when the response was faster.

Instead of following the previous study, they used different molecules and got a faster reaction of only 15 seconds. Zhang notes that in the past, the medical field did not have a way to visualize molecules in living cells. But these new chemistry techniques make detecting and tracking them without affecting other cells easier.

4. Five Chemistry Research Projects That You Can Get Involved In by Mark Lorch and Samantha Richardson

“As the citizen science field has developed, boundaries have blurred and scientists have begun involving citizens as more active researchers – carrying out important experiments, collecting environmental measurements and generating data.”

In this article, the pair discuss five chemistry projects with different goals. These include RiverDip, which focuses on monitoring the chemical health of waterways, and the large compost experiment, which aims to prove how quickly biodegradable packaging can completely dissolve. They also describe the process of fold-at-home and fold-it chemistry research projects.

The last chemistry project is the sensor community that promotes the development of more open and accessible environmental data. Ultimately, Lock and Richardson say that participating in these chemistry projects will significantly impact the world.

5. Geomicrobiologist Julie Cosmidis Looks for Ways Chemistry Can Create Life Look-alikes by Carolyn Wilke

“… Not to jump to conclusions based on very limited data—because chemistry can create near copies of life without any help from biology.”

Wike reports on how chemistry is used to create biological mimics and suggests methods for researchers to find the remains of life. In the article, Wilke calls himself a geomicrobiologist and explains that he started looking for evidence when he noticed a bacteria-like structure during one of his research.

He states that the life samples from Mars can be wrong because of different chemical processes, such as molecules and structures forming similar objects to the natural signs of life. After discussing other signs of life possibly faked by chemistry, the author believes that experts still need to be ready to look for actual signs of life on Mars because the rovers will not be able to perform the analytical methods that human scientists do.

Prompts To Write Articles About Chemistry

1. What Is Chemistry?

People know chemistry as the study of matter, but this broad definition often needs to be clarified. In this prompt, explain chemistry in the simplest terms that all readers can understand, no matter the school level. Next, discuss its origins, history, purpose, and relationship to other sciences.

2. The Branches of Chemistry

Analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry are the five main branches of chemistry. Discuss them one by one in your article and give practical examples to show the difference between these types. Then, explore and describe other branches of chemistry that are only sometimes talked about so your readers can become familiar with them.

3. Why Is Chemistry Important?

Chemistry is vital to humans because it provides efficient methods for producing critical needs such as medicines, personal hygiene, and food. Use this prompt and enumerate at least ten top importance of chemistry to people worldwide. Identify and include in your article the departments in a country that benefit most from chemistry and describe how it helps the economy. 

4. Is It Worth It To Get a Chemistry Degree?

Chemists earn at least $46,000 and, at most, $90,000 annually. Although this range is within the average salary in the U.S., there are more reasons one wants to pursue a degree in chemistry. One is that chemistry is a stepping stone for many well-paid careers, like a medicinal chemist or a chemical process engineer.

Another is that it’s an exciting field with endless opportunities for improvement. In your article, encourage your readers to get a chemistry degree by adding more benefits they can look forward to. Add the typical costs of studying chemistry, possible job tasks, scholarship opportunities, and more. For help with this topic, read our guide explaining what persuasive writing is.

5. Simple Chemistry Experiments

Chemistry offers many interesting and fun activities. Think of Coca-Cola and mentos, or the cabbage turning red and blue. Despite having some of the most complicated experiments, chemistry has easy-to-do tests demonstrating how fascinating this subject is, so identify fun experiments anyone can do in your article. These will help children become more familiar with chemistry and urge them to know more about the field.

6. Chemistry in Everyday Life

Chemistry is as present in the daily life of any human being as it is during photosynthesis. In writing this article, describe the role of chemistry in our daily lives and give examples.

For example, sunscreen protects human skin from harmful ultraviolet radiation. These skin products are composed of both organic and inorganic compounds that filter or block radiation entering the skin.

7. Chemistry: Pros and Cons

In your article, tackle the advantages and disadvantages of chemistry, including their impacts. For instance, studying chemical reactions leads to useful inventions and products that make our lives comfortable. However, it also demands high funding. Some of these reactions can even harm humans and the environment. For help editing your articles, we recommend using the best grammar checker. Our round-up profiles these tools and offers discounts.