Excerpt from General Chemistry for Colleges

As human knowledge has increased, it has become necessary to subdivide into groups the growing accumulation of truths, and to do this in a somewhat arbitrary fashion. Each such group is called a science, and includes a more or less distinct body of knowledge. That the boundaries of these groups do not exist in the subject-matter itself is seen at once in our own treatment of them. Thus, for convenience, we include in the science of physiology the study of the way in which the parts of both plants and animals perform their functions. The sciences, therefore, are not mutually exclusive, and their boundaries overlap in every direction. The difficulty in deciding what are the most convenient boundaries is as great with chemistry as with the other groups. In particular, the line which divides physics and chemistry from one another is often difficult to draw. It is assumed, however, that the reader is already familiar with the elements of physics, and so, in place of entering upon an academic discussion of the nature of this line, we shall allow its location to emerge as we proceed.

The same principle of grouping is pursued within each field. Thus the preparation and properties of chemical compounds is called descriptive chemistry. Again, the means that have been devised for recognizing the components of mixtures or compounds and measuring their quantities constitute the several branches of analysis. The subdivisions of chemistry of this kind are numerous.

The ideal in view in thus classifying the content of a science is to convert it into an organized body of knowledge. The various ways used to organize the facts of a science will be presented in detail as opportunity offers. These ways constitute what is called the scientific method.

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