Learning goal: develop problem-solving skills and think more like a chemist by defining chemistry, identifying chemical substances, and using the scientific method. recognizing everyday chemistry the entire observable, natural world is comprised of molecules, chemicals, and chemical compounds. for example, the fundamentals of human needs—air, food, water, shelter, and clothing—are comprised of various molecules. when combined in specific ways, molecules create chemicals. chemicals can interact to form new chemicals and materials in a chemical reaction. anything constructed of chemicals is known as matter. chemistry is largely the study of matter. understanding the scientific method chemists use their knowledge of chemicals and matter to understand the world around them, largely using the scientific method. this method helps chemists, and all scientists, learn about the world by asking specific questions, making assumptions, and then systematically testing those assumptions. this basic method is so successful in helping chemists answer questions, it is used throughout the world in one form or another. in this tutorial you will learn to how to think more like a chemist and enhance your problem-solving skills, which will be useful to you throughout the course. you'll become more familiar with what chemistry is and how to apply it to the world around you. you will also gain a better understanding of the scientific method, and use it to test a hypothesis. part a - classify everyday materials before we begin, let's first establish an understanding of basic terminology. it may be harder than you think to clearly define what is a chemical versus a chemical reaction. to help us better differentiate between closely related terms, review the words listed here. sort each of the words into the three categories: contains chemicals, chemical reaction, or neither. drag the appropriate terms to their respective bins.