An analysis is presented of the varieties of activities that have been recognized in the Nobel Prizes in chemistry. Five different varieties are identified: exploration, description, synthesis, theorizing, and measurement. Prizes in chemistry have been distributed roughly equally among these five categories. The number of awards in each category is nearly the same for each quarter-century, suggesting that as one area of study matures, new ones open up for exploration. A similar analysis of Nobel Prizes in physics reveals some similarities but also significant differences. In particular, synthesis is an activity unique to chemistry. The results of these analyses show that chemists use and value a variety of scientific methods. Explorations of the reducibility of chemistry to physics need particularly to address the reducibility of synthesis. (Contains 3 tables.)