How Do Chemicals Benefit Society?

How do Chemicals Benefit Society?

By John Schrader

Benefits and Risks of Chemicals

Everyday Chemicals ​

​Almost everyone in a modern society uses or depends on chemicals in everyday life, including at their jobs!

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​Example: Farmers use pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides to raise crops.

These chemicals allow farmers to meet nationwide food demands!

There are hundreds of chemicals that help us complete daily tasks!

Benefits and Risks of Chemicals

Different Types of Chemicals

​When we talk about chemicals, we usually think of man-made liquids like Clorox and Fabuloso! Chemicals can be naturally occurring and synthetic materials!

​We use ethanol to disinfect counters, and petroleum in our cars. Humans harvest these chemicals for use, but they are naturally occurring.

Synthetic chemicals are a wide ranging set of solids, liquids and gases!

Open Ended

How many naturally occurring chemicals can you think of? Use your sheet from yesterday and write your answers in your notebook!

Benefits and Risks of Chemicals

When to Use Chemical Compounds

​When considering which chemicals to use, scientists and engineers sometimes synthesize artificial chemicals by combining other substances, and sometimes they extract chemicals from nature. This is called a Chemical Compound!

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There are countless situations where scientists use chemical compounds!

Benefits and Risks of Chemicals

When to Use Chemical Compounds

Scientists and engineers want to use the most efficient chemical compound that can be produced at the lowest cost for its intended use.

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​When the cost of chemicals outweighs the benefits, an alternative chemical can be found!

Welcome to Capitalism!