Chemistry is the study of matter—what it consists of, what its properties are, and how it changes. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space—that is, anything that is physically real. Some things are easily identified as matter—the screen on which you are reading this book, for example. Others are not so obvious. Because we move so easily through air, we sometimes forget that it, too, is matter. Because of this, chemistry is a science that has its fingers in just about everything. Being able to describe the ingredients in a cake and how they change when the cake is baked, for example, is chemistry!
Chemistry is one branch of science. Science is the process by which we learn about the natural universe by observing, testing, and then generating models that explain our observations. Because the physical universe is so vast, there are many different branches of science (Below Figure). Thus, chemistry is the study of matter, biology is the study of living things, and geology is the study of rocks and the earth. Mathematics is the language of science, and we will use it to communicate some of the ideas of chemistry.
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