chemistry

Makoto Kumada

Makoto Kumada 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 Makoto Kumada rather than just read about it. In short: Makoto Kumada (熊田誠, Kumada Makoto; 17 January 1920 – 28 June 2007) was a Japanese chemist and was a Professor of Chemistry first at Osaka City University until his retirement in 1983 at Kyoto University in Japan. In 1972, Kumada's group reported nickel-catalyzed cross coupling reactions nearly concurrently with the Corriu group working in France.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Makoto Kumada (熊田誠, Kumada Makoto; 17 January 1920 – 28 June 2007) was a Japanese chemist and was a Professor of Chemistry first at Osaka City University until his retirement in 1983 at Kyoto University in Japan. In 1972, Kumada's group reported nickel-catalyzed cross coupling reactions nearly concurrently with the Corriu group working in France. The Kumada coupling now bears his name. In an interview after the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was announced, Nobel Committee member Jan Bekvall (professor at Stockholm University) said: "If Professor Kumada been alive, he could have won this year's Nobel Prize for his work in developing cross-coupling."

See also Richard F. Heck Ei-ichi Negishi Akira Suzuki Kenkichi Sonogashira

References Kohei Tamao (2007). "Obituary: Makoto Kumada (1920-2007)". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 46 (40): 7538–7539. doi:10.1002/anie.200704157.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Makoto Kumada

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Makoto Kumada 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 Makoto Kumada 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 Makoto Kumada 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 Makoto Kumada

In research: Makoto Kumada 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 Makoto Kumada 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: Makoto Kumada is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1920 births, 2007 deaths, 20th-century Japanese chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Makoto Kumada 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 Makoto Kumada in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Makoto Kumada in simple terms?

Why does Makoto Kumada 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 Makoto Kumada?

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 Makoto Kumada.