A substance used in a chemical reaction to detect, measure, examine, or produce other substances. Reagents are essential components in laboratory analysis and chemical synthesis.
From Latin 're-' (again, back) + 'agere' (to act, do) + '-ent' (agent suffix). First used in chemistry in the 1790s, literally meaning 'something that acts again' or 'acts in response'.
Every time you take a home pregnancy test or check pool water with test strips, you're using reagents! These chemical detectives work by changing color, forming precipitates, or producing other observable changes when they encounter specific substances.
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