If organic chemistry is defined as the chemistry of hydrocarbon compounds and their
WHAT IS derivatives, inorganic chemistry can be described broadly as the chemistry of "every-
1 NORCAN lC thing else." This includes all the remaining elements in the periodic table, as well as car-
CHEMISTRY? bon, which plays a major role in many inorganic compounds. Organometallic
chemistry, a very large and rapidly growing field, bridges both areas by considering
compounds containing direct metal-carbon bonds, and includes catalysis of many organic
reactions. Bioinorganic chemistry bridges biochemistry and inorganic chemistry,
and environmental chemistry includes the study of both inorganic and organic compounds.
As can be imagined, the inorganic realm is extremely broad, providing essentially
limitless areas for investigation.