chemistry

Ume Tange

Ume Tange 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 Ume Tange rather than just read about it. In short: Ume (Umeko) Tange (丹下梅子; 1873–1955) was one of the first three women admitted to a Japanese university in 1913. She previously studied at a women's college.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Ume (Umeko) Tange (丹下梅子; 1873–1955) was one of the first three women admitted to a Japanese university in 1913. She previously studied at a women's college. After graduating from university, she traveled to the US to study, gaining a PhD in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University in 1927, one of the first Japanese women awarded a doctorate in science. Tange returned to Japan to teach and do further research at RIKEN, studying vitamins, especially vitamin B2. She gained a second doctorate, in agricultural science, in 1940, from Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo).

Early life and education Ume Tange was the sixth child of seven siblings in a prosperous family in Kagoshima, southern Japan. She was born on March 17, 1873. While playing with one of her sisters, Tange was injured when she fell on a chopstick, losing the sight in one eye. Tange began her career as a primary school teacher. In 1901, when she was 28, Tange began studying home economics at a women's college, Japan Women's University. After graduating, she worked as an assistant there, and became the first woman to pass the secondary teacher examination in chemistry. In 1913, she was one of the first three women admitted to university study in Japan, when she began studies at Tohoku Imperial University along with chemist Chika Kuroda and mathematician Raku Makita, despite controversy.

Scientific career Tange studied Japan's persimmon tannin while at Tohoku Imperial University. After graduating, at 45 years of age, Tange went to the US to study, spending about 10 years there, including time at Stanford University and Columbia University. Her studies there were sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Education and Home Ministry. At Johns Hopkins, she was awarded a PhD in 1927, with a thesis entitled The preparation and properties of the alophanates of certain sterols. Results of this work were published with Elmer McCollum in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 1928. Tange returned to Japan and taught at Japan Women's University and in 1930 began studies of the vitamin B2 at the RIKEN Institute of Physical and Chemical Research. This work led to her second doctorate, in agriculture, from Tokyo Imperial University in 1940. Tange published multiple scientific papers in the 1930s, including studies on dietary deficiencies in rats on fat-free diets, vitamin B2 deficiencies in rats, and the effects of fatty acids on nutrition.

Honors

Monument in her birthplace, Kagoshima (pictured). Statue in front of the Yamakataya department store, Kagoshima. Tange Memorial Scholarship at Japan Women's University for students excelling in science studies. Biography published by The Chemical Daily (in Japanese) in 2011, Like White Plum Blossoms: Trajectory of Chemist Ume Tange.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ume Tange

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ume Tange 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 Ume Tange 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 Ume Tange 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 Ume Tange

In research: Ume Tange 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 Ume Tange 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: Ume Tange is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1873 births, 1955 deaths, 20th-century Japanese chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ume Tange 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 Ume Tange in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Ume Tange in simple terms?

Ume (Umeko) Tange (丹下梅子; 1873–1955) was one of the first three women admitted to a Japanese university in 1913. She previously studied at a women's college.

Why does Ume Tange 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 Ume Tange?

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 Ume Tange.