chemistry

William McMurtrie

William McMurtrie 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 William McMurtrie rather than just read about it. In short: William McMurtrie (March 10, 1851 – May 24, 1913) was an American chemist. His work helped launch the sugar beet industry in the United States.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

William McMurtrie (March 10, 1851 – May 24, 1913) was an American chemist. His work helped launch the sugar beet industry in the United States.

Life and career Born on a farm near Belvidere, New Jersey, the son of Abram McMurtrie and Almira Smith, William matriculated to Lafayette College where he graduated with a mining engineer degree in 1871—the school did not then offer a degree program in chemistry, his primary interest. He undertook graduate studies at the College during 1871–1872 and was appointed as an assistant chemist with the United States Department of Agriculture. In 1873, he was named chief chemist for the department; a post he held until 1878. He was awarded a Ph.D. from Lafayette in 1875—the first doctorate in chemistry awarded at the school. On April 5, 1876, he was married to Helen Douglass and the couple had two children. McMurtrie traveled to the Paris Exposition in 1878 as representative of the Department of Agriculture. He became a special agent of the department in 1879, collecting information regarding agricultural technology. The following year, he served as a representative for the commissioner of agriculture at an international exhibit in Philadelphia for sheep, wool, and wool products. Published in 1880, his Report on the culture of the sugar beet and the manufacture of sugar therefrom in France and the United States helped to launch the sugar beet industry in the United States. From 1882 until 1888, McMurtrie was professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois. In 1884, he was named chemist for the Illinois State Board of Agriculture, then become chemist for the Illinois Agricultural Station in 1886. He entered the commercial sphere in 1888 when he moved to New York to work as chemist for the New York Tartar Company. In 1896, Dr. McMurtrie was chosen vice president of the chemistry section for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was selected president of the American Chemical Society in 1900. He served as a trustee for Lafayette College from 1906 until 1912. During his career he was the author of numerous reports prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He died in New York City on May 24, 1913, and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Awards and honors Chevalier de Merite Agricole, 1883

References

External links

Works by or about William McMurtrie at the Internet Archive "Search Results: McMurtrie, William, 1851-1913", The Online Books Page, University of Pennsylvania, retrieved August 17, 2013.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William McMurtrie

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William McMurtrie 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 William McMurtrie 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 William McMurtrie 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 William McMurtrie

In research: William McMurtrie 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 William McMurtrie 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: William McMurtrie is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1851 births, 1913 deaths, American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William McMurtrie 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 William McMurtrie in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is William McMurtrie in simple terms?

William McMurtrie (March 10, 1851 – May 24, 1913) was an American chemist. His work helped launch the sugar beet industry in the United States.

Why does William McMurtrie 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 William McMurtrie?

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 William McMurtrie.