From the first use of fire, people have practiced chemistry to produce food and drink, tan leather, make dyes for clothes and cosmetics, work metals, and produce glass and pottery. Today, chemicals help to purify our water, improve agriculture, and manufacture drugs, synthetic fabrics, and plastics. Our growing knowledge of the Earth's elements, the properties of atoms and DNA, and how substances interact, has resulted in many new technologies, products, and scientific advances.

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