ABSTRACT
This chapter is designed to give those readers who have had little exposure to chemistry the basic knowledge needed to understand the material in the rest of the book. For the reader who has had no exposure to chemistry, this chapter provides the basic concepts and terms in general chemistry. A larger category of readers consist of those who have had at least one chemistry course, but whose chemistry background, for various reasons, is inadequate. By learning the material in this chapter and that in Chapter 9, these readers can comprehend the chemistry in this book. For a more complete coverage of chemistry fundamentals, readers should consult one of a number of basic chemistry books such as Fundamentals of Sustainable Chemical Science1 and other supplementary references listed at the end of the chapter.
