Which field of study focuses on chemicals containing carbon?

The field of study that focuses on chemicals containing carbon is organic chemistry. Organic chemistry primarily involves the study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and synthesis of carbon-containing compounds, which may also include elements like hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus.

Carbon’s unique ability to form stable covalent bonds with a variety of elements, as well as with itself, leads to the vast diversity of organic compounds, including hydrocarbons, alcohols, acids, and many others. This versatility is a hallmark of organic chemistry, which not only encompasses the study of simple molecules like methane but also complex biomolecules such as proteins and DNA.

In contrast, inorganic chemistry typically focuses on compounds that do not primarily contain carbon, physical chemistry combines principles of physics to understand chemical systems, especially in terms of energy changes and kinetics, and analytical chemistry deals with the qualitative and quantitative analysis of chemical compounds, often regardless of their organic or inorganic nature.