The scientific discipline that intersects the areas of chemistry and physics is commonly known as physical chemistry, and it is in that area that a thorough study of thermodynamics takes place.
Physics concerns itself heavily with the mechanics of events in nature.
Thermodynamics is the study of energy changes accompanying physcial and chemical changes. They are also related forms, in that one can be transformed into the other. Work can be transformed into heat, such as might be experienced by rubbing your hands together to warm them up. Work and heat can both be described using the same unit of measure. Heat energy is measured in kilocalories, or 1000 calories.