PřF:C9520 History of Chemistry - Course Information

C9520 History of Chemistry

Extent and Intensity

1/0/0. 1 credit(s) (plus extra credits for completion). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching

Teacher(s)

RNDr. Slávka Janků, Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

RNDr. Slávka Janků, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry – Chemistry Section – Faculty of Science
Supplier department: Department of Chemistry – Chemistry Section – Faculty of Science

Timetable

Tue 13:00–14:50 C12/311

Prerequisites (in Czech)

Znalosti ze základních chemických disciplin.

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is offered to students of any study field.

Course objectives

The aim of the subject History of Chemistry is to introduce students to separate stages of the development of chemistry since rudiments (from primeval times, through antiquity, to nowadays). Except of the development of chemical knowledges and theories is also solved continuity between the development of chemistry and other nature sciences and community. The course graduates make deeper their basic knowledge of chemistry as well as generalize and repeat them. Not last the task of the subject is to introduce students to the work and life’s fortunes of distinguished scientists and offer them stimulation for their future pedagogical activities at schools.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students should be able to understand historical continuity at development of chemical disciplines;
They should understand in which way the individual science disciplines were gradually separated and how the present point of view to chemistry was formed;
As one of the target's groups are students of chemistry teacher's specialization it is expected that those would be able use the earned information at teaching of pupils of primary and secondary schools;
They would learn to interpret the earned knowledge understandably to their next pupils by creation of their own presentations on chosen topic.

Syllabus

• 1. The importance of the chemistry for the society as the one of basic branches of men‘s activity and its role in history of mankind. Relations between the pure and the applied chemistry. Periodization of chemistry evolution. Beginnings of civilization, human formation and evolution, human society formation, the first unconscious knowledge of chemistry from the ancient period, pyrotechnology in the chalcolithic period, in the Bronze and the Iron age. Formation and development of the specialized production, chemical aspects. 2. The ancient period – the important centres of ancient society, the ancient knowledge of chemistry and technology. Chemistry of Greece and Rome - beginnings of theoretical generalization, the period of the ancient ideas about the composition of substances or how philosophy is connected with chemistry. Basic methods of knowledge in the ancient Greece, division of the ancient greek philosophy, important representatives (the Milesian school and the Eleatics, the Atomists, Aristotle and his doctrine of four causes of being). 3. The period of alchemy – inception of alchemy and its role in development of chemistry, the Middle Ages, roots of hermetic art, successive displacement of cultural centres in the world in dependance on social changes and depending modification of chemical ideas. Foundation of alchemical doctrine. Oriental cultures – Chinese, Hellenistic, Egyptian and Arabic alchemy. Contribution of Arabic culture to development of medieval european chemistry. 4. European medieval alchemy, system of substances, important european alchemists and their writings. Alchemy in Bohemia (period of Rudolf II.). Knowledge of chemistry in Europe in the Middle Ages, history of alkalines and strong mineral acids. 5. Period of Paracelsus iatrochemistry, pneumatic and phlogiston chemistry. Inception of chemistry as a science, period of qualitative chemistry – 17th and 18th century. 6. Theory of oxidation – Lavoisier and his followers. Development of chemistry in 19th century, the enlightenment and beginnings of modern chemistry. 7. The period of quantitative laws and chemistry foundations, transformation of chemistry in exact science. New discoveries in synthesis field, vitalism. Main representatives of scientific chemistry and their contribution. 8. Development of the term atomic weight, development of opinions of atoms unifying. 9. Development of opinions of atoms construction. Discovery of radioactivity, atom‘s models, element’s periodization. 10. Development of chemical terminology – alchemic nomenclature and its character, development of rational chemical terminology, development of the Czech chemical terminology till today‘s time. 11. Alfred Nobel and laureates of the Nobel Chemistry Prize. 12. Poisons in history – history of using some chemical substances to combat purposes in ancient times and in the Middle Ages, World War I, World War II and the present. 13. History of chemical production in the Czech Republic and its present-day state.

Literature

• PICHLER, Jiří. Historie chemie. 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 1997, 62 s. ISBN 8021015012. info
• BUDIŠ, Josef. Stručný přehled historie chemie. 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 1996, 54 s. ISBN 8021014636. info
• BUDIŠ, Josef, Milan HAMINGER, Luděk JANČÁŘ, Lenka KACETLOVÁ, Gabriela MAČKOVÁ and Bohunka MAREČKOVÁ. Historie chemie slovem a obrazem (History of Chemistry In Written and Illustrated Form). Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 1995, 100 pp. ISBN 80-210-1080-0. info

Teaching methods

lectures

Assessment methods

The condition for successful subject completion is delivery of written essay on the chosen theme connected with history of chemistry in the minimum range of 5 normalized pages of A4 format and delivery of the Power Point presentation to this essay. This is followed by the final written test usually in the range of 20 - 25 questions assessed by 20 - 25 points. The point minimum for successful subject completion is 75 % at least.

Language of instruction

Czech

Further Comments

Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught annually.

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