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Chemistry · Glossary

What is Natural and synthetic species?

Also known as: natural species · synthetic species

Definition 22.1 School Chemistry — Grades 1 to 12 · Chapter 22 — Chemical Species, Natural and Synthetic

A natural species is a chemical species made by a living being or found as such in nature. A synthetic species is made by chemists from other species by chemical reactions. A synthetic species may be identical to a natural one (synthetic vanillin), or have no counterpart in nature (most medicines and plastics).

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