General Chemistry
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- aromatic hydrocarbon
- A hydrocarbon that contains one or more benzene rings
- complex ion
- an ion containing a central metal cation bonded to one or more molecules or ions
- actual yield
- the amount of product actually obtained in a chemical reaction
- enthalpy of reaction
- the difference between the enthalpies of the products and the enthalpies of the reactants
- activation energy
- the minimum amount of energy required to initiate a chemical reaction
- amorphous solid
- a solid that lacks a regular three dimensional arrangement of atoms or molecules
- base
- a substance that yields hydroxide ions when dissolved in water
- diamagnetic
- repelled by a magnet, a diamagnetic substance contains only paired electrons
- combination reactions
- a reaction in which two or more substances combine together to form a single product
- entropy (S)
- a direct measure of the randomness or disorder of a system
- amines
- Organic Bases that have the functional group -NR2 in which R may be a an alkyl group or an aromatic hydrocarbon
- element
- a substance that cannot be separated into simpliere substances by chemical means
- closed system
- a system that allows the exchange of energy (usually in the form of heat) but not mass with its surroundings
- base ionization constant
- the equilibrium constant for the ionization of a base
- crystallization
- the process in which a dissolved solute comes out of solution and forms crystals
- chemical formula
- an expression showing the chemical composition of a compound in terms of the symbols for the atoms of the elements involved
- enantiomeres
- compounds and their superimposable mirror images
- Boyle's Law
- The volume of a fixed amount of gas is inversely proportional to the gas pressure at a constant temperature
- critical temperature
- the temperature above which a gas will not liquefy
- conformations
- different spatial arrangements of a molecule that are generated by rotation around single bonds
- elementary steps
- a series of simple reactions that represent the overall progress of a reaction at the molecular level
- equilibrium vapor pressure
- the vapor pressure measured for a dynamic equilibrium of condensation and evaporation
- combustion reaction
- a reaction in which the substance reacts with oxygen, usually with the release of heat and light to produce a flame
- cohesion
- the intermolecular attraction between like molecules
- compound
- a substance composed of two or more elements chemically united in fixed proportions
- Absolute Temperature Scale
- A temperature scale on which absolute zero (O K) is the lowest temperature
- denatured protein
- protein that does not exhibit normal biological activities
- effusion
- the process by which a gas under pressure escapes from one compartment of a container to another by passing through a small opening
- condensation
- the phenomenon of going from a gaseous state to a liquid state
- diprotic acid
- an acid capable of producing two hydrogen ions
- covalent bond
- a bond in which two electrons are shared by two atoms
- Acid
- A substance that yields hydrogen ions when dissolved in water
- alkenes
- hydrocarbons that contain one or more carbon-carbon double bonds. They have the general formula CnH2n
- electron affinity
- the negative of the energy change that takes place when an electron is accepted by an atom (or ion) in the gaseous state
- copolymer
- a polymer containing two or more different monomers
- chemical energy
- energy stored within the structural units of chemical substances
- buffer solution
- a solution of a weak acid or base and its salt; both components must be present. Has the ability to resist changes in pH when small amounts of either acid or base are added to it.
- electromotive force
- the voltage difference between electrodes
- dipole moment
- the product of charge and the distance between charges in a molecule
- amino acid
- A special kind of carboxylic acid that contains at least one carboxyl and at least one amino group.
- activated complex
- The species temporarily formed by reactant molecules as a result of a collision before they form the product
- chemical kinetics
- the are of chemistry interested in the speeds of rates at which chemical reactions occur
- electron configuration
- the distribution of electrons among the various orbitals in an atom or molecule
- addition reaction
- a reaction in which one molecule is added to another
- enzyme
- a biological catalyst
- colligative properties
- properties of solutions that depend on the number of solute particles in solution and not on the nature of the solute
- binary compounds
- compounds containing just 2 elements
- cation
- an ion with a net positive charge
- aliphatic hydrocarbons
- hydrocarbons that do not contain the benzene group or a benzene ring
- coordination compound
- a neutral species containing a complex ion
- decomposition reaction
- the breakdown of a compound into two or more components
- cycloalkanes
- hydrocarbons having the general formula Cn2n (n=3,4...)
- diatomic molecule
- a molecule that consists of two atoms
- chemical property
- any property of a substance that cannot be studied without converting the substance into some other substance
- allotropes
- Two or more forms of the same element that differ significantly in chemical and physical properties
- electromagnetic radiation
- a wave that has an electric field and magnetic field components
- energy
- the capacity to do work or to produce change
- Charles's Law (Gay-Lussac's)
- The Volume of a fixed amount of gas is directly proportional to the absolute temperature of the gas when the pressure is held constant
- critical mass
- the minimum mass of fissionable material required to generate a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction
- Accuracy
- The closeness of a measurement to the true value of the quantity being measured
- bronsted base
- a substance capable of accepting a proton in a reaction
- calorimetry
- the measurement of heat changes
- chiral
- compounds or ions that are not superimposable with their mirror images
- catalyst
- a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed during the reaction
- chemical equilibrium
- a state in which the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal and no net changes can be observed
- crystal field splitting
- the energy difference between two sets of d orbitals of a metal atom in the presence of ligands
- anti-bonding molecular orbital
- A molecular orbital that is of higher energy and lower stability than the atomic orbitals from which it was formed
- avogadro's number
- 6.022x10^23, the number of particles in a mol
- equilibrium constant
- a number equal to the ratio of the equilibrium concentrations of products to the equilibrium concentrations of reactants, each raised to the power of its stoichiometric coeffiecent
- aufbau principle (building-up principle)
- as protons are added one by one to the nucleus to build up the elements , electrons similarly are added to the atomic orbitals
- aqueous solution
- a solution in which the solvent is water
- bond energy
- the enthalpy change required to break a bond in a mole of gaseous molecules
- diffusion
- the gradual mixing of molecules of one gas with the molecules of another by virtue of their kinetic properties
- delocalized molecular orbital
- a molecular orbital that is not confined between two adjacent bonding atoms but actually extends over three or more atoms
- enthalpy (H)
- a thermodynamic quantity used to describe heat changes taking place at constant pressure
- dispersion forces
- the attractive forces that arise as a result of temporary dipoles induced in the atoms or molecules
- electrolytic cell
- an apparatus for carrying out electrolysis
- atomic radius
- one half the distance between the nuclei in two adjacent atoms of the same element in a metal. For atoms that exist as diatomic units, the atomic radius is one half the distance between the nuclei of two atoms in a particular molecule.
- adhesion
- attraction between unlike molecules
- displacement reaction
- a reaction in which an atom or an ion in a compound is replaced by an atom of another element
- electronegativity
- the ability of an atom to attract electrons toward itself in a chemical bond
- chelating agent
- a substance that forms complex ions with metal ions in solution
- bimolecular reaction
- an elementary step involving two molecules that is part of a reaction mechanism
- cathode
- the electrode at which reduction occurs
- anode
- the electrode at which oxidation occurs
- electron density
- the probability that an electron will be found at a particular region in an atomic orbital
- diagonal relationship
- similarities between pairs of elements in different groups and periods of the periodic table
- dilution
- a procedure for preparing a less concentrated solution from a more concentrated solution
- alkaline earth metals
- The Group 2A elements (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra)
- electrolyte
- a substance that when dissolved in water results in a solution that can conduct electricity
- atomic mass
- the mass of an atom in atomic mass units
- empirical formula
- an expression using chemical symbols to show the types of elements in a substance and the simplest ratios of the different kinds of atoms
- covalent compounds
- compounds containing only covalent bond
- coordinate covalent bond
- a bond in which the pair of electrons is supplied by one of the two bonded atoms
- alkynes
- Hydrocarbons that contain one or more carbon-carbon triple bonds. They have the general formula CnH2n-2
- corrosion
- the deterioration of metals by an electrochemical process
- atmospheric pressure
- the pressure exerted by the earth's atmosphere
- aldehydes
- compounds with a carbonyl functional group and the general formula RCHO, in which R is an H atom, an alkyl or an aromatic hydrocarbon group
- chemical reaction
- chemical change
- chemical equation
- an equation that uses chemical symbols to show what happens during a chemical reaction
- breeder reactor
- a nuclear reactor that produces more fissionable material than it uses
- dipole-dipole forces
- forces that act between polar molecules
- alkanes
- hydrocarbons having the general formula CnH2n+2 in which n is an interger
- Acid Ionization Constant (Ka)
- The equilibrium constant for acid ionization
- conjugate acid-base pairs
- an acid and it's conjugate base, or an base and it's conjugate acid
- density
- the mass of a substance divided by its volume
- bronsted acid
- a substance capable of donating a proton in a reaction
- chemistry
- the science that studies the properties of substances and how substances react with one another
- electron
- a subatomic particle that has a very low mass and carries a single negative electrical charge
- boiling point
- the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid is equal to the external atmospheric pressure
- donor atom
- the atom in a ligand that is bonded directly to the metal atom
- electrolysis
- a process in which electrical energy is used to bring about a nonspontaneous chemical reaction
- coordination number
- in a crystal lattice it is defined as the number of atoms (or ions) surrounding an atom (or ion). In coordination compounds it is defined as the number of donor atoms surrounding the central metal atom in a complex
- concentration of a solution
- the amount of solute present in a given quantity of solution
- bond order
- the difference between the number of electrons in bonding molecular orbitals and antibonding molecular orbitals, divided by two
- deoxyribonucleic acid
- a type of nucleic acid
- cell voltage
- difference in electrical potential between the anode and the cathode of a galvanic cell
- atom
- the basic unit of an element that can enter into chemical combination
- beta rays (beta particles)
- streams of electrons emitted during the decay of certain radioactive substances
- end point
- occurs in a titration when the indicator changes color
- alpha rays (alpha particles)
- Helium Ions with a charge of +2
- deposition
- process in which vapor molecules are converted directly to the solid phase
- dynamic equilibrium
- the condition in which the rate of a forward process is exactly balanced by the rate of the reverse process
- amphoteric oxide
- an oxide that exhibits acidic and basic properties
- Actinide Series
- Elements that have incompletely filled 5f subshells or readily give rise to cations that have incompletely filled 5f subshells
- alkali metals
- Group 1A elements (Li, Na, Rb, Cs, Fr)
- atomic number (Z)
- the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
- emission spectrum
- the continuous or line spectrum of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a substance
- anion
- an ion with a negative charge
- boundary surface diagram
- diagram of the region containing about 90% of the electron density in an atomic orbital
- crystalline solid
- a solid that possesses rigid and long-range structural order, its atoms molecules or ions occupy specific positions
- avogadros's law
- at constant pressure and temperature, the volume of gas is directly proportional to the number of moles of the gas present
- activity series
- a summary of the results of many possible displacement reactions
- electrochemistry
- the branch of chemistry that deals with the interconversion of electric and chemical energy
- carboxylic acids
- acids that contain the carboxyl group COOH
- Absolute Zero
- Theoretically the lowest attainable temperature
- barometer
- an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure
- atomic mass unit (amu)
- a mass exactly equal to one-twelfth the mass of one carbon-12 atom
- Dalton's Law of partial pressures
- The toatl pressure of a mixture of gases is the sum of the pressures that each gas would exert if it were present alone.
- endothermic processes
- processes that absorb heat from the surroundings
- amplitude
- The vertical distance from the middle of a wave to the peak or trough
- double bond
- a covalent bond in which two atoms share two pairs of electron. one pi and one sigma
- bond length
- the distance between the centers of two bonded atoms in a molecule
- bonding molecular orbital
- a molecular orbital that is of lower energy and greater stability than the atomic orbitals from which it was formed
- alcohol
- an organic compound containing the hydroxyl group
- atomic orbital
- the wave function of an electron in an atom
- critical pressure
- the minimum pressure necessary to bring about liquefaction at the critical temperature
- battery
- a galvanic cell or a series of several connected galvanic cells that can be used as a source of direct electric current at a constant voltage