chemistry

Gold Bond

Gold Bond is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gold Bond rather than just read about it. In short: Gold Bond is a brand of over-the-counter skin care products produced by Chattem of Chattanooga, Tennessee, now a subsidiary of the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi. It is available as both a powder and a topical cream.

Key takeaways

Gold Bond belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gold Bond to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gold Bond from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gold Bond is a brand of over-the-counter skin care products produced by Chattem of Chattanooga, Tennessee, now a subsidiary of the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi. It is available as both a powder and a topical cream. Gold Bond is used to curb moisture, control odor, and soothe minor skin irritations, notably jock itch. Spin-off products are designed for specific uses, such as foot powders or powders for infants to treat diaper rash.

Ingredients The active ingredient of Original Strength Gold Bond Powder is menthol. Inactive ingredients include corn starch and zinc oxide. The product formerly contained talc.

History The history of Gold Bond dates to 1882, when it was first developed by physicians of the Rhode Island State Medical Association. The formula was purchased by Arthur W. Guilford in 1908, who established the Gold Bond name and began making the product in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. The formula and rights were sold in 1912 to John M. Chapman of New Bedford, Massachusetts, who achieved greater brand recognition and distribution. Timothy F. Shea, who in 1930 joined what was then "The Gold Bond Sterilizing Powder Company", eventually rose to general manager and treasurer, and later took over as sole owner. His son, Robert J. Shea, took over as president of the company in 1965. The Gold Bond company sold rights to three of its brands, including Gold Bond Powder, to Block Drug Corporation in August 1987. The brand was then sold to Martin Himmel Inc. in March 1990. To this point, the brand had remained a regional product of New England; soon after its purchase, Himmel began a national marketing campaign which saw sales increase by over 70% annually. By 1995, Gold Bond was a US$27 million business, and was sold to Chattem in April 1996 for $40 million.

References

External links Official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gold Bond

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gold Bond claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gold Bond before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gold Bond ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gold Bond

In research: Gold Bond appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gold Bond in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gold Bond is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Chattem, Over-the-counter drugs in the United States, Powders, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gold Bond outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gold Bond in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gold Bond means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gold Bond out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gold Bond in simple terms?

Why does Gold Bond matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gold Bond?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gold Bond.