Carbon compounds are the foundation of life on Earth, as well as being present in numerous substances found in our daily lives, from plastics to gasoline and to drugs and food items. The study of carbon compounds is called organic chemistry, and the study of molecules and chemical processes relating to organisms is biochemistry. These linked and important areas of science are covered in this book. This series describes the essentials of chemistry, from the fundamentals of atomic structure, through the periodic table, to descriptions of different types of reactions. The properties of elements are covered, as well as industrial applications for chemical processes.