That’s it. That’s the question. Would a chemist say water is a chemical, or are chemicals generally considered something man made, or made with chemical reactions (which, technically, water is made by, but I don’t know if that counts).
That’s pretty much the answer too. Pretty much any matter is considered a chemical to THIS chemist. Doesn’t matter where it came from, who or what made it or what that material is.
I don’t think there is any water on Earth that is pure H2O. Oceans and streams collect particles of everything they touch, assimilating them into the water that flows there. I would have to say that water (what we can get hold of) is a chemical, or many chemicals depending on where exactly you get it from and what’s really in it. For that matter, H2O would have to be a chemical as well.
Ok, no more thinking as I type.
Merriam Webster says yes.
Main Entry: chemical
Function: noun
: a substance obtained by a chemical process or used for producing a chemical effect
Water can be both.
It’s absolutely a chemical, by any accepted definition of the term. I’ve never heard of “chemical” only referring to manmade chemicals.
actually it is a compound. made of 2 elements. look it up. dictionary.com
Yes. Pure water is a chemical, because it is chemically homogenous - any small amount of it behaves the same with respect to other substances as the whole of it.
Sand is not a chemical, because you could physically seperate sand into different substances that would have different properties.
A chemical can be either natural, manmade or both.
Heh. You’ve obviously never read any alternative medicine or health-food sites. :rolleyes:
In answer to the OP, water is undoubtedly a chemical. And yes, MSUbulldogs101, it is also a compound.
Yes. Water is a chemical. Most things are chemicals, and water most assuredly is one of them - and it can indeed undergo chemical reactions.
[indent]Water is called "the universal solvent"
[sup]Click on above and find out more about water than you want to know.[/sup][/indent]
Which does not imply that it isn’t a chemical.
Right. Compounds are just a certain type of chemical.
An electric spark in a vacuum is about the only thing that most people will ever see which is NOT a chemical or made of chemicals.
I would say: chemical, as suggested above, means, roughly (I’m sure someone else can do better) “any substance composed in a describable way of elements, compounds, etc.” However in english, a word can typically be used to mean “except obvious examples thereof.” (cf. “rectangle” technically includes square but in common parlance is used to mean “non-square rectangle”…) So, IMHO, it depends on context: “chemical” can be used to mean “just about any substance” (incl. water) or, alternatively, to mean “any substance but whatever is considered normal” eg. any manufactured chemical, etc.
Well, that plus light. Although, yeah, the sun is made of chemicals, but again the light isn’t made of sun. Electric light isn’t made of coal, either.
Cake batter is not a chemical. Sodium bicarbonate and sucrose might be two of the chemicals in it.
slight hijack
oh? hmm…I cant really imagine seeing an electric spark in a vacuum. As far as i know, a spark is seen in lightning because the air molecules get “plasmarize” and explode in a sense. Infact, i think you cant even get an electric current going in vacuum. No medium.
nitpick:
Distillation produces pure water doesn’t it?
Dihydrogen monoxide, commonly called “water” is not only a chemical, but is in fact one of the most dangerous substances known to man, killing thousands every year though accidental inhalation, and many injuries due to contact with the gaseous form. Also, it is a major componet of pesticidal runoff and acid rain, and is found in cancerous tumors as well.
Let’s not pretty up the situation, here. Call this vile substance by its proper name, Hydroxic Acid.
It’s folks like you who’d let Hydroxic Acid into our schools, if you had your way.
Not quite. Volatiles dissolved in the water (such as alcohols) may also condense out into the distillate, and atmospheric contaminants might find their way in. Distilled water will be virtually free of dissolved solids, such as salts, but will never reach 100% purity. If nothing else, atmospheric gasses will eventually dissolve in it.