chemistry

James Mackay Shewan

James Mackay Shewan 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 James Mackay Shewan rather than just read about it. In short: Dr James Mackay Shewan LLD CBiol FIFST (1909–1988) was a 20th-century Scottish chemist, bacteriologist and amateur historian. He was Head of the Torry Research Station near Aberdeen.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Dr James Mackay Shewan LLD CBiol FIFST (1909–1988) was a 20th-century Scottish chemist, bacteriologist and amateur historian. He was Head of the Torry Research Station near Aberdeen.

Life He was born on 6 December 1909 in Kirkhill, Invernessshire the son of the local schoolmaster, also James Mackay Shewan, and his wife, Jane Ridland. On the death of his father the family moved to Aberdeen. There he was educated at the Central Secondary School and won a scholarship to Aberdeen University where he studied Chemistry and Geology, graduating BSc in 1932. He then did postgraduate studies and received a doctorate (PhD). In 1960 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were George Adam Reay, David Cuthbertson, Vero Wynne-Edwards and Alexander Macdonald. He died on 23 June 1988.

Publications Marine Microbiology - Deep Sea (1963) - translation The Estimation of Trimethylamine in Fish Muscle (1972) The Deeside Field Club (1981) Monumental Inscriptions in Monymusk Churchyard (1986)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Mackay Shewan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Mackay Shewan 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 James Mackay Shewan 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 James Mackay Shewan 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 James Mackay Shewan

In research: James Mackay Shewan 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 James Mackay Shewan 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: James Mackay Shewan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1909 births, 1988 deaths, 20th-century British chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Mackay Shewan 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 “James Mackay Shewan” →

Affiliate

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

How to study James Mackay Shewan in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is James Mackay Shewan in simple terms?

Dr James Mackay Shewan LLD CBiol FIFST (1909–1988) was a 20th-century Scottish chemist, bacteriologist and amateur historian. He was Head of the Torry Research Station near Aberdeen.

Why does James Mackay Shewan 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 James Mackay Shewan?

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 James Mackay Shewan.