How to say chemical

Question

I was trying to find out how to say "chemical" (the noun, not the adjective) in a couple of dictionaries. This dictionary gave me "producto químico", while my physical dictionary gives me "sustancia química". Are these both correct, is one correct, or is there another way to say "chemical"?

Answer 1

I did a little research looking up such terms as química fina and química industrial. It seems that the word química means either the science of chemistry or the adjective chemical in English.

Sometimes there are not direct translations from one language to another and I think in this case you will have to assume that in Spanish you have to use the extra words producto(s) and sustancia(s) to designate chemical products or substances.

Here are the wed sites visited in GoogleChrome:

http://www.ppqf.net/laplanta.cfm?id_idioma=1

http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2012/07/11/valencia/1342022760_566424.html

Answer 2

El producto - therefore químicO

LA sustancia - therefore químicA

Sorry, I don't think I was clear. I know the word for the adjective "chemical" and that it changes with the gender of the noun. I am talking about the noun "chemical" - Maxwell_R, Sep 15, 2012

La químicA is the noun - sustantivo - ian-hill, Sep 15, 2012