Inorganic compound

An inorganic compound is a compound that is not organic. The term is not well defined, but in its simplest definition refers simply to compounds that do not contain carbon, and not consisting of or deriving from living matter. Inorganic compounds are traditionally viewed as being synthesized by the agency of geological systems. In contrast, organic compounds are found in biological systems. The distinction between inorganic and organic compounds is not always clear. Organic chemists traditionally refer to any molecule containing carbon as an organic compound and by default this means that inorganic chemistry deals with molecules lacking carbon. As many minerals are of biological origin, biologists may distinguish organic from inorganic compounds in a different way that does not hinge on the presence of a carbon atom. Pools of organic matter, for example, that have been metabolically incorporated into living tissues persist in decomposing tissues, but as molecules become oxidized into the open environment, such as atmospheric CO₂, this creates a separate pool of inorganic compounds. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, an agency widely recognized for defining chemical terms, does not offer definitions of inorganic or organic. Hence, the definition for an inorganic versus an organic compound in a multidisciplinary context spans the division between organic life living (or animate) and inorganic non-living (or inanimate) matter.