Quizlet Thermochemistry Vocab

Print Options

This box will be automatically hidden when printing. Return to Set Page


  1. activated complex: transitional structure that results from an effective collision and that persists while old bonds are breaking and new bonds are forming
  2. activation energy: the minimum energy required to transorm the reactants into an activated complex
  3. calorimeter: unit of measure of the energy absorbed or released as heat in a chemical or physical change
  4. catalysis: the action of a catalyst
  5. catalyst: a substance that changes the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being permanently consumed
  6. chemical kinetics: the area of chemistry that is concerned with reaction rates and reaction mechanisms
  7. collision theory: set of assumptions regarding collisions and reactions
  8. enthalpy change: the amount of energy absorbed or lost by a system as heat during a process at constant pressure
  9. entropy: a measure of the degree of randomness of the particles, as as molecules, in a system
  10. free energy: combined enthalpy-entropy function of the system
  11. free-energy change: the difference between the change in enthalpy and the product of the Kelvin temperature and the entropy change
  12. heat: the energy transferred between samples of matter because of a difference in their temperatures
  13. heat of combustion: the energy released as heat by the complete combustion of one mole of a substance
  14. heat of reaction: the quantity of energy released or absorbed as heat during a chemical reaction
  15. Hess's law: the overall enthalpy change in a reaction equal to the sum of enthalpy changes for the individual steps in the process
  16. heterogeneous catalyst: a catalyst that is not in the same phase as all the reactants and products in a reaction system
  17. heterogeneous reactions: involves reactants in two different phases
  18. homogeneous catalyst: a catalyst that is in the same phase as all the ractants and products in a reaction system
  19. homogeneous reaction: a reaction whose reactants and products exist in a single phase
  20. intermediates: species that appear in some steps but not in the net equation
  21. joule: the SI unit of heat, as well as all other forms of energy
  22. molar heat of formation: the energy released or absorbed as heat when one mole of a compound is formed by combination of its element
  23. rate law: an equation that relates reaction rate and concentrations of reactants
  24. rate-determining step: the slowest-rate step for the chemical reaction
  25. reaction mechanism: the step-by-step sequence of reactions by which the overall chemical change occurs
  26. reaction rate: the change in concentration of reactants per unit time as a reaction proceeds
  27. specific heat: the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of substance by one Celsius degree or one Kelvin
  28. temperature: a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a sample of matter
  29. thermochemical equation: an equation that includes the quantity of energy released or absorbed as heat during the reaction as written
  30. thermochemistry: the study of the transfers of energy as heat that accompany chemical reactions and physical changes