Science has branches. Physics and chemistry are the main branches. Many achievements we earned as humankind were possible thanks to these subjects. And they are also important to our future. The highest-paid and most important jobs require physics and chemistry or at least some parts of them. So, we decided to do a short physics vs chemistry comparison.
What is Physics?
We called physics for the science that studies the structure of matter and the interaction between the fundamental constituents of the observable universe. Physics is the study of fundamentals in nature. It is the base for almost every natural science. Astronomy, Geology, Biology, and even Psychology have physics parts like astrophysics, psychophysics. And our other player chemistry has physical chemistry as one of its 4 major branches.
There are 11 of physics.
- Classical Physics
- Modern Physics
- Nuclear Physics
- Atomic Physics
- Geophysics
- Biophysics
- Mechanics
- Acoustics
- Optics
- Thermodynamics
- Astrophysics
Some of the branches are studied as separate subjects. Classic physics contains the knowledge that came from earlier scientists. There are many doubts about the accuracy of classic physics theories but they are heavily used in engineering applications. Classic physics is also known as Newtonian physics.
The inception of modern physics is the theories of Albert Einstein who is the greatest scientist of the 20th century. Relativity is one of the key factors in modern physics. The waveform of the matter is discussed. Light speed and many theories. They are not only theories now. Many of them are proved and a lot of them will be proved in the future. Stephen Hawking is another scientist who helps in the development of modern physics.
What is Chemistry?
Chemistry is the study of change in matter. Many people think chemistry is a thing to do in a lab. But it is so much more than that. You can’t live without chemistry because you are made of it. Our body interactions are chemical reactions. The force we applied to do works comes from chemical reactions in our body. Every feeling you felt was triggered by chemicals.
Forget about our bodies. When we get sick we use medicines. Many chemicals are used for cleaning purposes. Even you are cooking the heat is coming from a chemical reaction unless you use an electric stove. I only mentioned a very small amount of uses of chemistry. There are more uses in home applications and industry.
Chemistry has 5 major branches,
- Physical chemistry
- Organic chemistry
- Inorganic chemistry
- Analytical chemistry
- Biochemistry
Biochemistry is studied as a separate subject. Physical chemistry is the branch of chemistry that studies the interactions and transformations of materials. It is associate with physics. It deals with quantities such as reaction time. Organic chemistry now also known as carbon chemistry is the study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-containing compounds. It is very important because every living thing is made of organic molecules.
Inorganic chemistry is the study of the properties and behavior of inorganic compounds. Inorganic compounds include metals, minerals, and organometallic compounds. These are very important for the industry, home application, and many other applications of chemistry. Analytical chemistry is the science of obtaining, processing, and communicating information about the composition and structure of matter.
Physics vs Chemistry most difficult subject to learn
The difficulty depends on you. Whether you are interested in the subject or not. But we can discuss the different learning methods that students follow to learn each subject.
Physics lessons are going in a much logical way. It is almost like mathematics but with many more practices. It’s more like schools don’t touch modern physics very much. They teach classic physics which is the need and suitable for kids in that age group. But since high school, modern physics added to the syllabus.
Physics students till high school are studying fundamental theories, prove in lab practicals and learn calculations with equations built on physics theories. If we look at an applied mathematic question paper and a physics question paper they look similar to some extinct but physics is questioned about theories so much but applied maths wants most the calculation part.
We researched why is physics so hard to learn as an interesting subject? You can read it and have a better understanding of the difficulty of learning physics.
Chemistry on the other hand has different learning methods. As every science subject, it follows a logical path but has more theories and a lot of things to remember. Almost everything in physics that you have taught in school can experience in real life easily. You don’t want a lab to see newton’s laws of motion. A lab will need to prove them precisely but you can see every force has a reaction force by simply put a force on something.
Many things in chemistry hard to see in real life. Of course, they are in real life but it is not easy to see them. But many students who didn’t like physics may like chemistry.
Scientists who done both
Pierre Curie
Pierre Curie is the husband of Marie Curie. He is an excellent physicist and chemist. He was born on May 15, 1859, in Paris. After education from his home, he entered the Faculty of Sciences at the Sorbonne. He obtained his Doctor of Science degree In 1895.
Marie Curie
Marie Sklodowska was a polish scientist She was born in Warsaw, Poland. Her father is a teacher. She got very well educated because she was born in a family of teachers. The most special thing about her is she could earn two Nobel prizes. One for physics another one for chemistry.
Conclusion
Physics vs chemistry, different but related to each other subjects. You can choose one of them based on your interest or you can do both. Some scientists are both chemists and physicists.
I hope this article will help you to decide your education path. Stay with us for more. Remember education is the only thing that no one can steal from you.
