AP Chemistry Ch. 1 Vocab
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68 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 experiment | observation of natural phenomena carried out in a controlled manner so that the results can be duplicated and rational conclusions obtained |
| law | concise statement or mathematical equation about a fundamental relationship or regularity of nature |
| hypothesis | tentative explanation of some regularity of nature |
| theory | tested explanation of basic natural phenomena |
| scientific method | the creative process of understanding the physical world that involves hypothesis formation, experimentation, and modification of theory followed by more experimentation. |
| mass | quantity of matter in material |
| matter | whatever occupies space and can be perceived by our senses |
| law of conservation of mass | total mass remains constant during a chemical change/reaction |
| fluids | liquids and gases; kinds of matter that flow easily and change their shapes in response to slight outside forces |
| weight | force of gravity exerted on an object |
| compressibility | property of a gas enabling it to be pressed into a smaller space |
| expansibility | property of a gas enabling it to spread out to fill a given space |
| solid | form of matter characterized by rigidity; has fixed volume and shape |
| liquid | form of matter that is a relatively incompressible fluid; has fixed volume but no fixed shape |
| gas | form of matter that is an easily compressible fluid; has neither fixed volume nor fixed shape |
| vapor | the gaseous state of any matter that normally exists as a liquid or solid |
| states of matter | the three forms in which matter exists: solid, liquid, and gas |
| physical change | change in the form of matter but not in its chemical identity |
| distillation | process in which a liquid is vaporized and then condensed; used to separate substances that differ in volatility |
| condenser | cooled tube in which vapor changes back into liquid |
| receiver | container in which distilled material is collected |
| chemical change (reaction) | change in which one or more kinds of matter are transformed into a new kind of matter or several new kinds of matter |
| physical property | characteristic of a material that can be observed without changing its chemical identity |
| chemical property | characteristic of a material involving its ability to undergo chemical change |
| substance | kind of matter that cannot be separated into other kinds of matter by any physical process |
| element | kind of matter composed of only one chemically distinct type of atom; substance that cannot be chemically decomposed into simpler substances |
| compound | kind of matter composed of atoms of two or more elements chemically combined in fixed proportions; substance that can be chemically decomposed into two or more elements |
| law of definite proportions (constant composition) | a pure compound, whatever its source, always contains definite or constant proportions of the element by mass |
| mixture | material that can be separated by physical means into two or more substances |
| heterogeneous mixture | mixture that consists of physically distinct parts, each with different properties |
| homogeneous mixture | mixture that is uniform in its properties throughout given samples |
| phase | one of several different homogeneous materials present in the portion of matter under study |
| chromatography | technique for separating a mixture that is based on partitioning of the components of the mixture between stationary and mobile phases. |
| paper chromatography | chromatographic procedure in which components of a mixture are dissolved in a solution and carried up a paper strip at different rates |
| column chromatography | chromatographic procedure in which a mixture is placed on a stationary column and washed down with solvent |
| chromato | color |
| gas chromatography (GC) | chromatographic procedure in which a mixture of gases or highly volatile liquids is separated using a carrier gas passing through a solid, or viscous liquid on a solid support, packed in a column |
| carrier | unreactive gas that flows though the solid column in a gas chromatograph |
| retention time | time it takes for a substance to travel through the column to the detector in a gas chromatograph |
| chromatogram | chart recording of peaks corresponding to the passage of different substances by the detector in a gas chromatograph |
| unit | fixed standard of measurement |
| precision | agreement among measured values of quantity |
| accuracy | agreement of a measured value with the true value |
| significant figures | the digits in a measured number that include all certain digits plus a final one having some uncertainty |
| number of significant figures | number of digits reported for the value of a measured or calculated quantity, indicating the precision of the value |
| scientific notation | method of writing numbers in the form A x 10^n, where A is a number with a single nonzero digit to the left of the decimal point, and n is an integer, or whole number |
| exact number | number that arises when we count items or sometimes when we define a unit |
| rounding | dropping nonsignificant digits in a calculation result and adjusting the last digit reported |
| livre | eighteenth-century unit of measurement for the pound, equivalent to 9216 grains |
| metric system | decimal set of weights and measures |
| International System (SI) | group of metric units internationally accepted in 1960 as the standard units of scientific measurement |
| SI base units | SI units from which all others can be derived |
| SI prefix | prefix used in the International System to indicate a power of 10 |
| meter (m) | Si base unit of length |
| angstrom | traditional non-Si unit of length |
| kilogram (kg) | Si base unit of mass |
| second (s) | Si base unit of time; unit on absolute temperature scale |
| Celsius scale | temperature scale in general scientific use in which there are exactly 100 units between the freezing and boiling points of water |
| Kelvin (K) | Si base unit of temperature |
| absolute temperature | temperature reported using a scale on which the lowest point that can be attained theoretically is zero |
| area | length times width |
| speed | rate of change of distance with time |
| SI derived unit | unit obtained by combining SI base units |
| volume | length times width times height |
| liter (L) | traditional unit of volume |
| density | mass per unit volume |
| dimensional analysis | method of calculation that includes the units for quantities and treats them as numbers |
| conversion factor | ratio equivalent to 1 that converts a quantity expressed in one unit to a quantity expressed in another unit |
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