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The word chemistry comes from the word alchemy, a practice of changing ordinary metals
into gold. Alchemy arouse independently in many regions of the world. It was practiced in
China and India as early as 400 B.C. In the eighth century, Arabs brought alchemy to Spain, and
from there it spread quickly to other parts of Europe. The main concern of alchemists, people
believe, was to find a way to change other metals, such as lead, into gold. Although alchemists
did not succeed with this quest, the work they did spurred the development of chemistry.
Alchemists developed the tools and techniques for working with chemicals. For example,
alchemists developed processes for separating mixtures and purifying chemicals. They designed
equipment that is still used today, including beakers, flasks, and the mortar and pestle.
What they did not do was to provide a logical set of explanations for the changes in matter
that they observed. By the 1500s in Europe, there was a shift from alchemy to science. Science
flourished in Britain in the 1600s, partly because King Charles II was a supporter of the
sciences. With his permission, some scientists formed the Royal Society of London, aiming to
encourage scientists to base their conclusions about the natural world on experimental evidence,
not on philosophical debates.
In France, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier did work in the late 1700s that would revolutionize
the science of chemistry. Lavoisier helped to transform chemistry from a science of observation
to the science of measurement that it is today. To make careful measurements, Lavoisier
designed a balance that could measure mass to the nearest 0.0005 gram. Lavoisier also settled a
long-standing debate about how materials burn. The accepted explanation then was that
materials burn because they contain phlogiston, an element which is released into the air as a
material burns. To support this explanation, scientists had to ignore the evidence that metals can
gain mass as they burn. By the time Lavoisier did his experiments, he knew that there were two
main gases in air—oxygen and nitrogen. Lavoisier was able to show that oxygen is required for
a material to burn.
【題組】30. What is the main idea of this passage?
(A) To compare alchemy with chemistry.
(B) To discuss the development of chemistry.
(C) To explain the origin of the word “chemistry.”
(D) To introduce an experimental approach to chemistry.
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