chemistry

Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet

Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet 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 Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet rather than just read about it. In short: Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet FRS (5 February 1817 – 24 November 1880) was an English chemist. Biography Brodie was the son of Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet, and his wife Anne (Née Sellon), and was educated at Harrow School and Balliol College, Oxford.

Key takeaways

Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet FRS (5 February 1817 – 24 November 1880) was an English chemist.

Biography Brodie was the son of Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet, and his wife Anne (Née Sellon), and was educated at Harrow School and Balliol College, Oxford. He obtained a second-class honours degree in mathematics in 1838. Because he was an agnostic and would not assent to the Thirty-nine articles, he was refused a MA until 1860. He studied chemistry with Justus von Liebig in Giessen along with Alexander Williamson. At Giessen, he did an original analysis of beeswax for which he was given the Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1849 and awarded the Royal Medal in 1850. Brodie did important original work on peroxides in his private laboratory where he taught Nevil Story Maskelyne chemistry. He was secretary of the Chemical Society from 1850 to 1854 and its president in 1860. However, he opposed the atomic theory and proposed in 1866 his Calculus of Chemical Operations as a non-atomic alternative to the atomic theory. He saw an advertisement for wooden balls and wire for building models of molecules. This provoked him into describing atomic theory as a "thoroughly materialistic bit of joiner's work". Despite opposition from some theological fellows, he was elected to the Aldrichan Chair (later renamed as the Waynflete Professor of Chemistry) at Oxford University 1865 to 1872, and is chiefly known for his investigations on the allotropic states of carbon and his discovery of graphitic acid. Brodie married Philothea Margaret, daughter of John Vincent Thompson, in 1848. They had one son and five daughters. He died in November 1880, aged 63, and was succeeded in the baronet by his only son Benjamin. Lady Brodie died in 1882.

References

Bibliography HYLE Biography Leigh Rayment's list of baronets Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet 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 Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet 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 Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet 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 Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet

In research: Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet 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 Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet 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: Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1817 births, 1880 deaths, 19th-century English chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet 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 Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet 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 Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet in simple terms?

Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet FRS (5 February 1817 – 24 November 1880) was an English chemist. Biography Brodie was the son of Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet, and his wife Anne (Née Sellon), and was educated at Harrow School and Balliol College, Oxford.

Why does Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet 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 Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet?

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 Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 2nd Baronet.