DEFINITION OF CHEMISTRY

-a science that dealing with the structure, composition and properties of items and with the transformations
that they undergo - the composition and chemical properties of a substance - chemical processes and
phenomena (as of an organism) - a strong mutual attraction, attachment, or sympathy ("they have a special
chemistry")

Organic Chemistry - the study of carbon and its compounds; the study of the chemistry of life.

Inorganic Chemistry - the study of compounds not-covered by organic chemistry; the study of
inorganic compounds or compounds which do not contain a C-H bond. Many inorganic compounds are
those which contain metals.

Analytical Chemistry - the study of the chemistry of matter and the development of tools used to
measure properties of matter.

Physical Chemistry - the branch of chemistry that applies physics to the study of chemistry.
Commonly this includes the applications of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics to chemistry.

Biohemistry - the study of chemical processes that occur inside of living organisms.
Branches of Chemistry
There are several branches of chemistry. Here is a list of the main branches of chemistry, with an overview
of what each branch of chemistry studies.
Agrochemistry - This branch of chemistry may also be called agricultural chemistry. It deals with the
application of chemistry for agricultural production, food processing, and environmental remediation as a
result of agriculture.
Analytical Chemistry - Analytical chemistry is the branch of chemistry involved with studying the
properties of materials or developing tools to analyze materials.
Astrochemistry - Astrochemistry is the study of the composition and reactions of the chemical elements
and molecules found in the stars and in space and of the interactions between this matter and radiation.
Biochemistry - Biochemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical reactions that occur
inside living organisms.
Chemical Engineering - Chemical engineering involves the practical application of chemistry to solve
problems.
Chemistry History - Chemistry history is the branch of chemistry and history that traces the evolution over
time of chemistry as a science. To some extent, alchemy is included as a topic of chemistry history.
Cluster Chemistry - This branch of chemistry involves the study of clusters of bound atoms, intermediate
in size between single molecules and bulk solids.
Combinatorial Chemistry - Combinatorial chemistry involves computer simulation of molecules and
reactions between molecules.
Electrochemistry - Electrochemistry is the branch of chemistry that involves the study of chemical
reactions in a solution at the interface between an ionic conductor and an electrical conductor.
Electrochemistry may be considered to be the study of electron transfer, particularly within an electrolytic
solution.
Environmental Chemistry - Environmental chemistry is the chemistry associated with soil, air, and water
and of human impact on natural systems.
Food Chemistry - Food chemistry is the branch of chemistry associated with the chemical processes of all
aspects of food. Many aspects of food chemistry rely on biochemistry, but it incorporates other disciplines
as well.
General Chemistry - General chemistry examines the structure of matter and the reaction between matter
and energy. It is the basis for the other branches of chemistry.

Geochemistry - Geochemistry is the study of chemical composition and chemical processes associated with
the Earth and other planets.
Green Chemistry - Green chemistry is concerned with processes and products that eliminate or reduce the
use or release of hazardous substances. Remediation may be considered part of green chemistry.
Inorganic Chemistry - Inorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the structure and
interactions between inorganic compounds, which are any compounds that aren't based in carbon-hydrogen
bonds.
Kinetics - Kinetics examines the rate at which chemical reactions occur and the factors that affect the rate of
chemical processes.
Medicinal Chemistry - Medicinal chemistry is chemistry as it applies to pharmacology and medicine.
Nanochemistry - Nanochemistry is concerned with the assembly and properties of nanoscale assemblies of
atoms or molecules.
Nuclear Chemistry - Nuclear chemistry is the branch of chemistry associated with nuclear reactions and
isotopes.
Organic Chemistry - This branch of chemistry deals with the chemistry of carbon and living things.
Photochemistry - Photochemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with interactions between light and
matter.
Physical Chemistry - Physical chemistry is the branch of chemistry that applies physics to the study of
chemistry. Quantum mechanics and thermodyamics are examples of physical chemistry disciplines.
Polymer Chemistry - Polymer chemistry or macromolecular chemistry is the branch of chemistry the
examines the structure and properties of macromolecules and polymers and finds new ways to synthesize
these molecules.
Solid State Chemistry - Solid state chemistry is the branch of chemistry that is focused on the structure,
properties, and chemical processes that occur in the solid phase. Much of solid state chemistry deals with
the synthesis and characterization of new solid state materials.
Spectroscopy - Spectroscopy examines the interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation as a
function of wavelength. Spectroscopy commonly is used to detect and identify chemicals based on their
spectroscopic signatures.
Thermochemistry - Thermochemistry may be considered a type of Physical Chemistry. Thermochemistry
involves the study of thermal effects of chemical reactions and the thermal energy exchange between
processes.
Theoretical Chemistry - Theoretical chemistry applies chemistry and physics calculations to explain or
make predictions about chemical phenomena.

Chemistry
Chemistry is the branch of science that deals with the properties, composition and the structure of matter. It
also deals with chemical reactions, changes in matter, and the principles which govern these changes.
Lighting a fire, making ice cream, and riding in a hot air balloon all deal with chemistry.
Below are the 6 MAIN Branches of chemistry.... but there are many sub-branches
1. Organic chemistry - the study of most carbon-containing compounds.
2. Inorganic chemistry - the study of all substances not classified as organic, mainly those compounds that

do not contain carbon.

3. Physical chemistry - the study of the properties and changes of matter and their relation to energy.
4. Analytical chemistry - the identification of the components and composition of materials.
5. Biochemistry - the study of substances and processes occurring in living things.
6. Theoretical chemistry - the use of mathematics and computers to understand the principles behind
observed chemical behavior and to design and predict the properties of new compounds.
The History and Progression of Chemistry
The birth of the modern atomic theory. In 1750, Rudjer Boscovich, a scientist born in what is now Croatia,
suggested the theory that atoms were "uncuttable" might have been wrong. Boscovich thought that atoms
contain smaller parts, which in turn contain still smaller parts, and so forth down to the fundamental
building blocks of matter. He felt that these building blocks must be geometric points with no size at all.
Today, most atomic physicists accept a modern form of this idea.
Antoine Lavoisier, a French chemist, revolutionized chemistry in the late 1700's. He repeated many of the
experiments of earlier chemists but interpreted the results far differently. Lavoisier paid particular attention
to the weight of the ingredients involved in chemical reactions and of the products that resulted. He found
that the weight of the products of combustion equals that of the original ingredients. His discovery became
known as the law of the conservation of matter.
Lavoisier noted that the weight of the air in which combustion occurred decreases. He found that the weight
loss results from the burning material combining with and removing a substance in the air. That substance
was the same as dephlogisticated air, but Lavoisier renamed it oxygen.
Lavoisier and Pierre Simon Laplace, a French astronomer and mathematician, also carried out experiments
demonstrating that respiration in animals is chemically similar to combustion. Their studies of the chemical
processes of living organisms were among the first experiments in biochemistry. Lavoisier also helped work
out the present-day system of chemical names. He published his ideas on combustion, respiration, and the
naming of compounds in Elementary Treatise on Chemistry (1789), the first modern textbook of chemistry.
The development of the atomic theory advanced greatly when chemistry became an exact science during the
late 1700's. Chemists discovered that they could combine elements to form compounds only in certain fixed
proportions according to mass.
In 1803, a British chemist named John Dalton developed an atomic theory to explain this discovery. Dalton
proposed that each element consists of a particular kind of atom and that the varying properties of the
elements result from differences in their atoms. He believed that all the atoms of a particular element had the
same mass and chemical properties. According to Dalton's theory, when atoms combine and form a
particular compound, they always combine in a specific numerical ratio. As a result, the composition by
mass of a particular compound is always the same. The theory could explain and predict the results of
various experiments.
According to Dalton's theory, a fixed number of atoms of one substance always combined with a fixed
number of atoms of another substance in forming a compound. Dalton realized that substances must
combine in the same proportions by weight as the weight proportions of their atoms. Chemists had already

observed that pure substances do combine in fixed proportions. They called that finding the law of definite
proportions. Dalton's theory explained the law and was gradually accepted.
By 1814, Jons J. Berzelius, a Swedish chemist, had obtained accurate atomic weights for a number of
elements. He also began the system of using letters of the alphabet as symbols for elements.
Formation of the periodic table
In 1869, a Russian chemist named Dmitri Mendeleev and a German chemist named Julius Lothar Meyer
independently announced their discovery of the periodic law. The law is based on their observation that
when elements are arranged in a table according to their atomic weights, elements with similar properties
appear at regular intervals, or periods, in the table. The two chemists rearranged the table in columns so that
elements with similar properties were grouped together. Such an arrangement became known as the periodic
table. Both men left gaps in the table, and Mendeleev correctly predicted that elements with certain
properties would be discovered to fill the gaps. The modern periodic table serves as a guide to the chemistry
of all known elements.