chemistry

Jan Drenth

Jan Drenth 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 Jan Drenth rather than just read about it. In short: Jan Drenth (20 February 1925 – 11 February 2025) was a Dutch chemist. He was a professor of structural chemistry at the University of Groningen from 1969 to 1990.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Jan Drenth (20 February 1925 – 11 February 2025) was a Dutch chemist. He was a professor of structural chemistry at the University of Groningen from 1969 to 1990.

Life and career Drenth was born in Groningen on 20 February 1925. He obtained his PhD in mathematics and physics under Eelco Wiebenga at the University of Groningen in 1957, with a dissertation titled: Een röntgenografisch onderzoek van excelsine, edestine en tabakszaadglobuline. Drenth subsequently moved to New York, United States, where he became a post-doc and studied protein crystallography under Barbara Low. Drenth then returned to the Netherlands and in 1967 was appointed lector. In 1969 he was appointed professor of structural chemistry, which he remained until his retirement in 1990. Drenth was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1973. Drenth died on 11 February 2025, at the age of 99.

Works Principles of Protein X-Ray Crystallography.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jan Drenth

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jan Drenth 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 Jan Drenth 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 Jan Drenth 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 Jan Drenth

In research: Jan Drenth 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 Jan Drenth 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: Jan Drenth is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1925 births, 2025 deaths, 20th-century Dutch chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Jan Drenth 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.

Affiliate

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

How to study Jan Drenth in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Jan Drenth in simple terms?

Jan Drenth (20 February 1925 – 11 February 2025) was a Dutch chemist. He was a professor of structural chemistry at the University of Groningen from 1969 to 1990.

Why does Jan Drenth 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 Jan Drenth?

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 Jan Drenth.