Chemistry: Substances

What is a substance or how is it made.

Think! If your topic is in organic chemistry or biochemistry, perhaps the biology databases will have information for you. If your topic is in physical chemistry, check the physics databases. If your topic is health related, check the health databases. If you're investigating the chemical industry, check the business databases, too.

THE ASSIGNMENT: Write a paper about a substance, including its synthesis and/or sources, its uses, and its importance to organic chemistry.

I used two common substances to choose the sources mentioned in this guide. Other sources we own may contain information about other chemicals. One book or database may be very useful for one substance and have little information about another. Most of the information can be found in science reference materials. Many students make the mistake of using online sources too soon in the search.

Students may benefit from working with the Writing Center on this assignment. If students seem to have trouble with the discipline, free tutoring is available at the Help Center located in Science-115.

Substances may include elements, compounds, and families of compounds. Some are very specific and some are broad. Some names may be common names, not the preferred scientific names. Start with a chemical dictionary of some sort to see if the name of your substance has any synonyms. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT and can save a lot of wasted effort. These other names may be used more often for your substance. You may also use the SciFinder Scholar database to find synonyms.

If your topic is really a group of chemicals, instead of a single substance, try searching both for the name(s) of the group and also for individual substances in that group.

Dictionary entries may be only a sentence or they may be several paragraphs depending on the dictionary. They give short descriptions and may give hints as to synthesis, uses, and physical and chemical properties. These hints can be useful later. Dictionary entries vary so use more than one dictionary. The Library of Congress call numbers for chemistry are QD and TP. QD is the call number for chemistry and TP is the call number for chemical engineering. Most of my listed materials are there so you could just walk to those call number ranges on the shelves and browse the dictionaries.

Next, search an encyclopedia. These usually give longer summaries of the substance. Take note of references cited for entries. These may be the original articles or patents of discovery or synthesis. Evaluate them for potential usefulness to your paper.

Look in science encyclopedias and dictionaries not mentioned here, too.  

After that, I would perform a marathon search for my substance through the reference books. Starting with the following sources, I would search the Index (primarily) and Tables of Contents for the substance and its synonyms. Different books will contain different information about different substances so this calls for a little hard work. 

If the synthesis reaction of your substance is mentioned as a named reaction, like the Diels-Alder reaction or a Friedel-Crafts acylation, then you can use the following books to learn more about that reaction family.

Be aware of publication dates of sources. An old source may not include the latest information. However, the details of many chemical reactions have been known for many years. I suggest you check with your instructor after you have found some information. He may be able to tell you if you've found what you need or whether there may be something recent that you need to seek. You can also do a search through a chemical news source to see if a highlight of your substance has been mentioned. The success of this technique may vary depending on your specific substance.

You may use the science databases to search for review articles to read an overview of your substance. Journal articles and patents include detailed information written for professional chemists. If you are not well versed in the discipline, they can be difficult to digest. But they usually reflect the original sources of information in the books and databases. In my experience, it is easiest for undergraduates to use them after they have acquired some knowledge of their subject.

Chemistry databases can be used to search substances. SciFinder Scholar can be useful to find chemical and physical properties, reactions, and bibliographic information about chemical substances. The bibliographic information may be used to find original articles or patents about your substance. However, specialized chemistry databases can be difficult to learn and much time can be wasted trying to get productive results. If you have never used them before, they can be tricky to learn so give yourself time to experiment. (SciFinder Scholar is not a Web-based program, but a software program that connects to the Web. It must be used from a computer with the software installed.)

If your substance is very common or important, a book may have been written about your substance. You may search the Library Catalog or browse the library shelves. QD241 is the call number for organic chemistry.

As you find information, evaluate the tidbits given. If your substance is poisonous, look at toxicology sources. If your substance is a drug, look at medical or nutritional sources. If it is used in manufacturing, explore the engineering sources. If it has a natural source, explore the biology sources. Use your brain to consider alternative search strategies.

If you need help with any of the resources, please contact the chemistry librarian. If all else fails, ask her for help. Tell her where you have already searched for information and what you need to find.