The science of determining the elements a compound is made of or deriving the sum formula thereof. Can be applied both to practical and theoretical questions
The idea of determining what a substance is made of was one of the key driving forces in the early history of chemistry. Ancient Greek philosophers thought about what the smallest components of matter (that they called atoms) could be. Later, it was discovered that elements formed the basis of all substances and interconversion of elements is not possible — destroying all alchemists’ hopes.
Especially during the advent of organic chemistry, great efforts were made to determine the composition of isolated organic substances. Especially German chemist Justus von Liebig is known for inventing the Kaliapparat to enhance throughput in elemental analyses, thereby co-founding the organic chemistry discipline.
Nowadays, quantitative elemental analysis is a fully automated procedure, usually preceded by qualitative elemental analysis by methods like ICP atom-emission spectroscopy. Exercises to determine the formula of a compound by the results of elemental analysis are part of every general and general organic chemistry course.
