What is the point of Chemistry?

[MealDealDreamz]

Genuinely asking. I understand that it is essential for life and those that excel at science will love it. But my child is currently cramming for tomorrow and I'm looking at it thinking what really is the point of all this? My child will go into more business and languages subjects at A level hopefully. They like biology and physics but they asked me this morning to help them understand why Chemistry is so important. I just could not explain...

Yes, I know all that, but none of my knowledge of the "real World" of chemistry came via chemistry lessons at school. It's all stuff I've picked up in the decades since leaving school.

It was years after I left that it finally dawned on me that metals were rocks and that "iron" in the blood was exactly the same as "iron" in the ground. I was never taught that kind of "real World" chemistry, which is probably why I never really "got it" at school. I genuinely thought that iron in the blood was a completely different "type" of iron than that found in the ground or that was used to make machinery - two completely different things that just shared a name!

Understanding the basics of chemistry, physics and biology gives you the bare minimum you need to understand our planet. Not studying any one of these three (e.g. chemistry) would leave you ignorant of important scientific principles that would mean you wouldn't fully understand the two you did study (e.g. physics and biology).

They are complementary subjects, not entirely separate.

To be good at business, I think you need to understand the world, and understanding chemistry is key to understanding the world.

I wouldn't expect it to be explicitly taught.

But understanding that mixing random chemicals together may cause noxious fumes or explosions should be one outcome of 5 years of secondary level chemistry teaching.

You don't, just like you dont need algebra.

I personally think it's a waste of time learning science and maths above a certain point unless you want to study it.

The education system is old and outdated.

Saying chemical reactions happen with limescale cleaners and chemotherapy is true but unless it interests you or you need it for your career why does it matter?

Spaceships fly and heart valves beat, and the stock exchange loses millions and gains millions every day. So? We don't seem to need to know all about that, that but we need to know the periodic table and the chemical reaction of XYZ. And (3x x 4y over 2x + -5y) It's utterly pointless.

If you are a driving instructor, a dog walker, a retail manager, a therapist, a midwife, a social worker, a council planner, a paramedic, a marketing manager, primary school teacher, pilot, soldier etc etc. You don't need to know it!

I did biology at university and while chemistry wasn't my favourite I wouldn't have understood biology without it.
Anyone in any HCP needs it - even if you are a carer who's giving medication you will need to know why you take some meds with food, some not.
Anyone in the trades - how do you clean your brushes? What should you wear a mask while doing? What's flammable?

I agree. I hate it when my MIL tells me not to use a particular product for DC because of 'chemicals'. Or when people only want 'natural' remedies. I try to point out that manufactured medicines have extracted the active ingredient from the plant, i.e. the chemical, and made it into a more efficacious product. By all means use herbal medicine, it's great. But don't pitch it as 'natural' versus 'chemical'!

I was about to say this!!

You are advocating for people being generally ignorant of how their world works, and that sort of ignorance leaves people vulnerable. To be educated is to be freer and have more opportunities.

It's like physics. Lots of people think they are utterly useless until they need to move a tree stump😂

every single thing in this world...maybe even in the universe.... is made from chemicals and that includes Mothers in law.

This. It's a good grounding, and opens your mind.
Just look at the stupid posts from anti vaxxers for a start. Or people who think they can "flush out harmful toxins" from their body by drinking water.

Education to 16 is General Education. You specialise later.
Kids today may live another 70+ years post GCSE.
Having a general foundation of basic stuff is potentially useful.

Yes I remember being in a toy shop with my dc and they had an interactive play area with an expanding snow type product…I asked about it, read the contents. We chatted and then he said “ and the best thing is, this is completely chemical free!” I stopped myself from launching into what I wanted to say to that sentence. But, instead I bit my tongue and I said “wow that’s great how did they do that?” I wasn’t in the mood that day, but other times I would’ve given him a little lesson.🤣🤣🤣

Chemistry is a fascinating subject and a building block for subjects like biology and engineering. It's useful knowledge in daily life for all sorts of things like housework, gardening and cooking.

i agree you don’t need it above a certain point - that point is GCSE. After which you never need to study chemistry ever again if you don’t want. Isn’t that brilliant!

Or are you suggesting that kids should decide their careers aged 14 and be able to drop maths and science then?

People use algebra all the time. They just don’t recognise it as algebra.

For example tiling your bathroom - how many packs of tiles do you need? Algebra teacher you to subconsciously manipulate variables to find the answer you need.

At what age do you think it's appropriate to close off entire sectors and career options to yourself?

Currently it's 16 (and to some extent 14 when you make your GCSE choices), which seems pretty young... I'm not sure I'd be advocating for 11 year olds or 7 year olds or 13 year olds to be making decisions that impact their lifelong earning capabilities and chances of social mobility.

I was much more into humanities, languages and creative subjects at school and would have dropped sciences like a hot brick if I could. But even I can see the point of them. Not necessarily as an obligatory GCSE subject, but that's a debate for another day.

You've seen how USA is turning out, right?

Science deniers, vaccine sceptics, RFK allowed to use federal resources to fund his own "vaccines cause autism" agenda?

Fluoride removed from public water supplies water supply resulting in worse oral health?

The greater the dissenimation of scientific facts, reasoning and logic, the better it is in the long run

With a GCSE qualification, it's proof your child isn't a complete dumb arse

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/cities-counties-start-remove-fluoride-public-drinking-water/story?id=120418245

This ⬆️

Why 14? Why not 12? Or 10? Or 5?

Interestingly most education systems (including the Scottish one) seems to have later specialisation than the English / Welsh one not earlier.

Chemistry is the foundation of everything.

What would you teach them?

I think it is even more essential in this "social media" world where anyone can market anything. It helps you understand some things may be scams ( "science" of face creams, why "all natural" products are not necessarily healthier etc)
Then I think it helps with understanding political issues ( Do you want to vote for a party that will encourage fracking, how important is improving air quality, should we be investing massively in renewable energy, how good is our water quality and what should we do about it etc? ).

Finally it helps with domestic issues. ( So many tips encourage people to mix bicarb and vinegar to clean with - in actual fact these neutralise each other and any cleaning effect is likely to be just the scouring effect of the bicarb powder.
What kind of paint should you buy for your home - are "green" paints worth it or not? Are essential oils always the "healthy" option? What about carpets, should you go for all natural fibres or is a proportion of nylon/polypropylene ok? What do different types of washing powder do and are more expensive ones worth the money, what are the health effects of cooking over a gas flame rather than electric and are they significant?)

Even if the GCSE doesn't actually cover the issues specifically, a good understanding of the syllabus gives you the basics that will equip you better to understand whether some specific claim/campaign/product is likely to be true

It's all a bit Maoist, isn't it? Learning only what you need to farm or work in a factory or rote learn the Little Red Book.
Mind you, some people obviously don't think History is essential, so wouldn't know that.