chemistry

Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum

Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum 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 Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum rather than just read about it. In short: Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum (12 March 1862 in Kalmar – 1933 in Djursholm) was a Swedish chemist and secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences from 1923 to 1933. Söderbaum enrolled at Uppsala University 1879, and was awarded his Ph.D. in 1888 for the thesis Studier öfver platooxalylföreningar ("Studies of platooxalyl compounds"), and was made docent in chemistry the same year.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum (12 March 1862 in Kalmar – 1933 in Djursholm) was a Swedish chemist and secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences from 1923 to 1933. Söderbaum enrolled at Uppsala University 1879, and was awarded his Ph.D. in 1888 for the thesis Studier öfver platooxalylföreningar ("Studies of platooxalyl compounds"), and was made docent in chemistry the same year. He was made a senior lecturer in chemistry and chemical technology at Chalmers Polytechnic Institute in Gothenburg in 1893. In 1899, he was made professor of agricultural chemistry at Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture's experimental field in 1899. When the experimental field was reorganised as the Central Establishment for Agricultural Trials in 1907, he was made head of this organisation's chemical department, and remained on this post until 1923. Söderbaum's scientific activities until 1896 were devoted partially to the studies complex platinum compounds, and partially and primarily to the synthesis and investigation of organic compounds of various classes. Later, he partially devoted himself to the history of chemistry, and especially to the biography of Jöns Jacob Berzelius (from 1901 he edited the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Berzelius publications) and partially to agricultural chemistry, where his investigations into assimilation of phosphorus and the action of various nitrogen fertilizers were seen as important. His more important works on Berzelius included Berzelius’ werden und wachsen 1779-1821 ("Berzelius' formation and growth 1779-1821", in German) (1899), Jacob Berzelius. Själfbiografiska anteckningar ("Jacob Berzelius. Biographical notes") (1901), Jacob Berzelius. Reseanteckningar ("Jacob Berzelius. Travel notes") (1903) och Jacob Berzelius. Bref ("Jacob Berzelius. Letters") (volumes I-II, 1912, III, 1913, IV, 1915, V, 1918). Söderbaum was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences from 1898, the Academy's president 1912-1913, member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry from 1900, member of the Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg from 1898, member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture from 1901, and of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala from 1921. 1918 he was made deputy secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and was the Academy's secretary from 1923 to his death in 1933. From 1925 he was a member of the board of the Nobel Foundation. Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum was father to the Swedish-German actress Kristina Söderbaum.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum 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 Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum 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 Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum 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 Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum

In research: Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum 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 Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum 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: Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1862 births, 1933 deaths, Academic staff of the Chalmers University of Technology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum 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 Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum in simple terms?

Why does Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum 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 Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum?

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 Henrik Gustaf Söderbaum.