What are the characteristics of modern and traditional chemistry based on journey through time?
Chemistry instruction of 50 and 100 years ago dealt much more with what we call “descriptive chemistry” and industrial processes. Descriptive chemistry deals with the measurable properties of compounds and their various reactions. 100 years ago we knew nothing of the nucleus or protons and neutrons, and the electron had only recently been discovered. Today our chemistry instruction has been described as “baby p-chem” with much more emphasis on the theoretical aspects, with descriptions of reactions in terms of electrons and their energy levels, bonding theories and molecular geometry. Much less emphasis is placed on descriptive chemistry.
