Braches of Chemistry

Organic and Inorganic

Since chemistry is such a broad and vast subject, we can divide it up into more manageable topics to help us more accurately. For example, organic and inorganic chemistry divide up all matter into two categories of study. Organic chemistry is the study of the carbon compounds that make up living things. Inorganic chemistry is the study of everything else.

Biochemistry

Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes that go on in living things and includes the large biological molecules, like DNA, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids.

Analytical Chemistry

Analytical chemistry is the analysis of chemicals, their properties, and how they react. It also involves the development of tools and methods for doing this analytical work. Analytical chemistry is used by chemists of all disciplines, but some professionals focus solely on the development of analytical methods.

Physical Chemistry

Physical chemistry is the study of physical principles that underlie atoms and compounds, in other words, the physics of chemical compounds. This means that physical chemists examine how particles move, how energy is involved in reactions, the speed at which reactions occur, and how light and energy interact with matter.

Organic, inorganic, analytical, and physical chemistry, along with biochemistry, represent the main topics of study by chemists. There's plenty of overlap. For instance, an organic chemist might be interested in the rate of a reaction of an organic compound, which involves physical chemistry. Or, an inorganic chemist may need an analytical method to investigate the crystal structure of an inorganic compound.

In addition to the main categories of chemistry, there are countless subcategories and specializations that can be named. For example, environmental chemistry is the study of chemical processes in the environment. An environmental chemist might study pollutants in the atmosphere. A geochemist studies the composition and chemical processes of the earth, rocks, and soil, and might work for a petrochemical company. A medicinal chemiststudies drugs and how they work to treat diseases. They often work for pharmaceutical companies.