Chemistry Happening Around You Every Day

🧪 Chemistry Happening Around You Every Day + Everyday Chemical Reactions Explained

By Jitendra Singh Sandhu

Writer | Science Communicator | Founder of ChemistryNotesInfo.com

🌍 Chemistry Is Everywhere!

Chemistry isn’t just something that happens in laboratories — it’s happening all around you, every single day. From the moment you wake up and brush your teeth, take bath, to when you eat food, drive your car, or even breathe — chemical reactions are constantly taking place.

In fact, your own body is a walking, talking chemical factory performing thousands of reactions every second to keep you alive!

Let’s dive into the fascinating world of everyday chemistry and explore how invisible reactions shape our visible world.

⚡ What Is a Chemical Reaction?

A chemical reaction is a process in which one or more substances (called reactants) are transformed into new substances (called products).

Atoms are rearranged, bonds are broken, and new bonds are formed — all governed by the laws of chemistry.

Example:

When hydrogen gas (H₂) reacts with oxygen gas (O₂), it forms water (H₂O):

👉 2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O

This simple reaction releases energy — and that’s the same energy you see in rocket engines and even in the fuel cells powering electric cars.

🧼 1. Brushing Your Teeth: A Neutralization Reaction

When you brush your teeth, you’re not just cleaning — you’re conducting chemistry!

Your toothpaste contains mild bases (like sodium bicarbonate or calcium carbonate) that neutralize acids produced by bacteria in your mouth.

Reaction type: Acid-base neutralization

Example:

HCl (acid from plaque) + NaHCO₃ (base in toothpaste) → NaCl + CO₂ + H₂O

🪥 Result: Cleaner teeth and fresher breath — thanks to chemistry!

🍎 2. Apples Turning Brown: Oxidation Reaction

Ever cut an apple and watched it turn brown after a few minutes? 

That’s oxidation — a chemical reaction between oxygen in the air and enzymes in the fruit.

Reaction type: Oxidation

Process:

Polyphenol oxidase enzyme + oxygen → Brown-colored melanin compounds

💡 Tip: Squeezing lemon juice (acidic) slows down oxidation — that’s chemistry in action again!

🧲 3. Rusting of Iron: Corrosion Reaction

When iron objects (like cars or gates) are exposed to air and moisture, they form reddish-brown rust.

Reaction type: Oxidation (Corrosion)

Chemical Equation:

4Fe + 3O₂ + 6H₂O → 4Fe(OH)₃ → Fe₂O₃·nH₂O (Rust)

🚗 Rusting is a slow but continuous chemical reaction — that’s why we use paint or galvanization to protect metal surfaces.

🔥 4. Cooking Food: Combination and Decomposition

Cooking is full of chemical changes — heat breaks bonds, forms new compounds, and gives food its delicious aroma and taste.

Examples:

• Caramelization of sugar → gives golden-brown color and flavor.
• Protein denaturation in eggs → liquid turns solid when we boil egg.
• Maillard reaction between amino acids and sugars → browning of bread or roasted food.

Reaction types: Combination, Decomposition, and Oxidation reactions.

🍳 Every time you cook, you’re basically doing chemistry in your kitchen lab!

🫧 5. Digestion of Food: Biochemical Reactions

Your stomach is one of the most active chemical reactors in the world.

When you eat food, enzymes and acids break it down into smaller molecules your body can absorb.

Main Reactions:

• Proteins → Amino acids (by pepsin enzyme)
• Carbohydrates → Glucose (by amylase)
• Fats → Fatty acids + Glycerol (by lipase)

Reaction type: Enzymatic hydrolysis

🍽️ Every bite you eat undergoes countless chemical reactions to provide you with energy.

🫧 6. Soap and Cleaning: Saponification Reaction

Soap-making and cleaning involve saponification, a reaction between fats/oils and a strong base (like sodium hydroxide).

Equation:

Fat + NaOH → Glycerol + Soap (Sodium salt of fatty acid)

🧴 When soap molecules interact with grease, they form micelles that trap and remove dirt — that’s pure chemistry working in your bathroom and kitchen!

🔋 7. Batteries and Electricity: Redox Reactions

Your mobile phone, torch, and car battery all depend on redox (reduction-oxidation) reactions.

Inside every battery, one metal loses electrons (oxidation) while another gains electrons (reduction).

This electron flow through a wire creates electricity.

Example:

In a simple zinc-carbon battery:

Zn → Zn²⁺ + 2e⁻ (oxidation)

MnO₂ + H⁺ + e⁻ → MnO(OH) (reduction)

🔋 Every charge, every light, every beep — powered by chemical reactions.

💨 8. Respiration: The Chemistry of Breathing

When you inhale oxygen, it reacts with glucose in your cells to produce carbon dioxide, water, and energy (ATP).

Reaction:

C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + Energy

This reaction is the reverse of photosynthesis — the very reason we and plants complement each other’s existence.

🌬️ Every breath you take is a symphony of chemical reactions.

🕯️ 9. Burning a Candle: Combustion Reaction

When a candle burns, wax (mainly hydrocarbons) reacts with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water vapor, light, and heat.

Reaction:

C₂₅H₅₂ + 38O₂ → 25CO₂ + 26H₂O + Energy

🕯️ A glowing candle is a perfect example of a visible chemical reaction happening before your eyes.

🧴 10. Photosynthesis: The Green Chemistry of Nature

Plants perform one of the most beautiful chemical reactions every day — photosynthesis, converting light energy into chemical energy.

Equation:

6CO₂ + 6H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ (in presence of sunlight and chlorophyll)

🌱 This reaction sustains all life on Earth — it’s chemistry on a planetary scale.

🧪 11. Acid Rain and Environmental Chemistry

When sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) from factories mix with water vapor, they form acids that fall as acid rain.

Reactions:

SO₂ + H₂O → H₂SO₃

2NO₂ + H₂O → HNO₂ + HNO₃

🌧️ Acid rain corrodes metals, damages crops, and affects aquatic life — showing how human activities influence atmospheric chemistry.

🔍 Summary Table of Everyday Chemical Reactions

Chemistry in everyday life at a glance in table below-

Everyday Activity	Type of Reaction	Key Chemical Process
Brushing teeth	Neutralization	Acid + Base → Salt + Water
Apples browning	Oxidation	Enzyme + O₂ → Melanin
Rusting of iron	Corrosion	Fe + O₂ + H₂O → Fe₂O₃·nH₂O
Cooking	Combination/Decomposition	Food molecules rearranged
Digestion	Enzymatic	Hydrolysis of biomolecules
Soap cleaning	Saponification	Fat + Base → Soap
Battery operation	Redox	Electron transfer
Respiration	Oxidation	Glucose + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O
Candle burning	Combustion	Hydrocarbon + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O
Photosynthesis	Endothermic	CO₂ + H₂O + Sunlight → Glucose + O₂

💭 Chemistry Fun Fact!

When you open a soda bottle and see bubbles fizzing — that’s carbonic acid (H₂CO₃) breaking down into CO₂ gas and water.

That little fizz is chemistry saying hello! 🫧

🌟 Conclusion: You’re Living in a Chemical World

Chemistry isn’t confined to labs or textbooks — it’s happening every moment, shaping everything you touch, see, eat, and feel. From the sparkle of a firework to the air you breathe, chemical reactions power life itself.

So the next time you see your iron gate rust, bread rise, or candle burn, remember — you’re witnessing chemistry in action!

🔬 Stay curious. Observe. Question. Because science starts with noticing the chemistry happening around you.

🧠 Related Reads on ChemistryNotesInfo.com

• ⚗️ 100 Scientific Instruments that We Use EveryDay
• 🔋 100+ Famous Scientists and Their Inventions
• 🌿 Fun Facts About Carbon
• 📘 Interesting Facts About All Elements of the Periodic Table

✍️ Written by:

Jitendra Singh Sandhu

Founder of ChemistryNotesInfo.com

Science Educator | Author | Podcaster | Thinker