Chemistry is a science branch that has been around for a long time. Chemistry is known to date back to prehistoric times. Due to the amount of time that chemistry takes up on the timeline, science is divided into four general chronological categories.

Four categories are:

• The prehistoric times-the beginning of the Christian era (black magic)
• The beginning of the Christian era-the end of the 17th century (alchemy)
• The end of the 17th century-the middle of the 19th century (traditional chemistry)
• The middle of the 19th century-the present (modern chemistry)

Food chemistry determines the smell, taste, appearance, texture, and quality of food. Enzymes used in food chemistry are biochemical catalysts needed to complete a chemical process. Vitamins are used as nutrients and are water-soluble. Minerals are dietary minerals in foods with many needed functions.

Chemicals often found in rocks are Cu, Fe, Zn, Ca, Mg, and K. Colour is determined by additives such as food colouring to alter any food product’s physical colouring properties.

Cosmetics are treatment agents used to improve the beauty or fragrance of the human body. They are usually mixtures of chemical compounds, some of which are derived from natural sources and synthetic.

Cosmetics are meant to be administered to the human body for the purification, beautification, beauty, or alteration of appearance without compromising the body’s composition or functions. A subset of cosmetics is called “make-up”, which refers primarily to colouring products intended to modify the consumer’s appearance.

You can find a wide range of chemicals in clothing and textiles. They are used to give clothes and shoes a particular effect – for instance, biocides to prevent mould on shoes and dyes to give clothes unique colours. Often specific additives are used to ensure the clothing does not crack or soften over long stretches of travel. Textiles for clothing are often finished with additives, such as stiffening and wrinkle-free making. Chemicals in their nanoforms tend to make textiles more resistant to wrinkles, bacteria, water, stains and mould.

Organic chemistry plays an integral part in the pharmaceutical industry to inform the study, discover research, and produce new drugs. That is why people with a degree in organic chemistry find it helpful and feasible to complement their expertise with devoted training in pharmaceutical research and development so that they can merge these two areas to become real experts in the intersection of organic chemistry and drug development.

There are many manufacturing processes in need of chemicals. The chemical industry is also still closely linked to the rest of the industries. Chemicals from the chemical industry/suppliers are used as raw materials for other sectors. In the present situation, more than 70% of the products of the chemical industry are used by other sectors and only 20% by the industry itself for other processes.

Chemistry is a study of reactions between chemicals and materials that most people undergo in their everyday lives. All of our drugs and household goods are the culmination of a tradition of chemical experiments and discovery. Following is a list of some of the most influential chemists of all time, sorted by the importance of their contributions to this area: Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur, John Dalton, George Washington Carver and many more.

In this chapter, we understood chemistry meaning and importance. And the role played by chemistry in different walks of life.

1. What is the role of chemistry in our lives?
   Chemistry is essential because everything around us is based on chemistry. Even our body is made up of chemicals. Chemical processes arise while we breathe, chew, or sit down and read.
2. Define chemistry.
   Chemistry is a science dealing with the properties, composition and arrangement of substances, the transformations they go through, and the energy emitted or consumed during such processes.
3. Why do we need chemistry?
   Chemistry is vital to fulfilling our basic needs for food, clothes, housing, hygiene, electricity and clean soil, water and air. Chemical technology enhances the quality of life by offering new solutions to material, energy and food issues.
4. Is chemistry helpful in daily life?
   Chemistry is essential in daily life since much of the changes you see in the environment around you are triggered by chemical reactions. Knowing what kind of chemistry will help you make daily choices that affect your life.
5. What is the scope of chemistry?
   Areas of specialisation that arose early in chemistry, such as organic, inorganic, physical, analytical and industrial chemistry, and biochemistry, remain of significant general interest. There was, however, a great deal of development in the fields of polymeric, environmental and medicinal chemistry throughout the 20th century. Also, new specialities begin to emerge.