Chemistry
Chemistry is the science that studies both the composition,
structure and properties of matter and the changes it undergoes
during chemical reactions and their relation to energy.1 Linus
Pauling defines it as the science that studies substances, Their
structure (types and forms of accommodation of atoms), their
properties and the reactions that transform them into other
substances in reference to time.2
Modern chemistry developed from alchemy, a proto-scientific
practice of philosophical character, combining elements of
chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, biology, among other
sciences and arts. This phase ends with the so-called Revolution of
Chemistry, based on the law of conservation of matter and the
theory of combustion by oxygen postulated by the French scientist
Antoine Lavoisier.3
The disciplines of chemistry are grouped according to the class of
matter under study or the type of study performed. Among these
are inorganic chemistry, which studies inorganic matter; Organic
chemistry, which studies organic matter; Biochemistry, which
studies substances in biological organisms.