 | Term | Definition |
| |
acidic |
A solution whose pH is less than 7. |
| |
alloy |
A metallic solution or a mixture of two or more metals |
| |
anhydrous |
A compound from which the water has been removed |
| |
anion |
A negatively charged ion |
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Arrhenius acid |
A substance that produces hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. |
| |
Arrhenius base |
Substance that produces hydroxide ions when dissolved in water. |
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aqueous |
A solution where water is the solvent. Abbreviated as (aq). |
| |
aqueous salt |
The product in a neutralization reaction in which the salt is disassociated in water |
| |
basic |
A solution whose pH is greater than 7 |
| |
binary molecular compound |
A substance composed of only two different elements |
| |
bond |
An attractive force between two or more atoms or molecules that holds them together in a compound or in solution. |
| |
Brønsted-Lowry acid |
A proton donor. |
| |
Brønsted-Lowry base |
A proton acceptor |
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cation |
A positively charged ion |
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compound |
A form of matter containing two or more elements, combined in fixed proportions |
| |
crystal |
A solid having a highly regular arrangement of atoms or molecules |
| |
dissociate |
To separate a compound into its ions in water |
| |
electrically neutral |
Having no positive or negative charge |
| |
empirical formula |
A chemical formula that shows the relative number of each type of atom in a molecule, using the smallest possible set of integers. |
| |
halogen |
An element in Group VIIA of the periodic table |
| |
hydrate |
A compound in which a specific number of water molecules is associated with each formula unit. |
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metal |
An element that is a shiny solid, a good conductor, malleable, and has a high melting point. |
| |
metalloid |
An element that has some properties characteristic of metals and some of nonmetals. |
| |
molecule |
A group of at least two covalently bonded atoms. |
| |
molecular compound |
A compound made up of molecules. |
| |
molecular formula |
A representation of a compound which shows the absolute number of atoms of each element in a molecule. |
| |
monatomic ion |
An ion formed from a single atom |
| |
neutral |
A solution whose pH equals 7. |
| |
neutralization reaction |
A reaction in which an acid and a base react to form water and a salt. |
| |
nonmetal |
An element that does not demonstrate the classic properties of a metal |
| |
oxyanion |
Polyatomic anion containing an atom of one element and different numbers of oxygen atoms. |
| |
periodic table |
A table that shows the elements, their atomic number, symbol, and average atomic mass; elements with similar chemical properties are grouped together |
| |
pH scale |
A scale that indicates the acidity of a solution; it is based on the concentration of hydrogen ions. |
| |
polyatomic ion |
An ion composed of two or more atoms, covalently bonded together |
| |
product |
Material produced during a chemical reaction |
| |
reactant |
One of the starting materials in a chemical reaction. |
| |
salt |
An ionic compound composed of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions. One type, table salt, is sodium chloride. |
| |
strong electrolytes |
Substance that dissociates completely into its ions when added to water and conducts electricity well. |
| |
coefficient |
The relative number of particles of each substance involved in a chemical reaction |
| |
chemical equation |
A representation of a chemical reaction, showing the relative numbers of reactant and product molecules |
| |
combination reaction |
A reaction in which two or more reactants combine to form one product |
| |
combustion |
An exothermic reaction between a compound and molecular oxygen |
| |
complete ionic equation |
Form of a chemical equation in which all compounds that are strong electrolytes are shown as their aqueous ions. |
| |
concentration |
The amount of solute dissolved in a given amount of solvent |
| |
conservation of matter |
Atoms cannot be created or destroyed in chemical reactions, only rearranged. |
| |
crystal |
A solid having a highly regular arrangement of atoms or molecules, which produces the characteristic shapes. |
| |
decomposition reaction |
A reaction in which a single reactant breaks down into one or more products |
| |
density |
A measure of the amount of mass per unit of volume |
| |
diatomic |
Consisting of two atoms bonded together, the two atoms may be the same element or two different elements. |
| |
electrolyte |
A substance that dissolves in water to give an electrically conducting solution. |
| |
electronegativity |
The tendency of an atom in a molecule to attract shared bonding electrons |
| |
heat capacity |
The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a specified amount of a substance by 1°C or 1 K. |
| |
hydrocarbon |
A molecule that contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms |
| |
hydrogen bond |
A weak to moderate attractive force between a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to certain very electronegative atoms, and a lone pair of electrons on another small, electronegative atom. |
| |
law of conservation of mass |
States that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction |
| |
molecular equation |
A chemical equation that shows entire molecules participating in a reaction rather than their ionic form as found in solution. |
| |
net ionic equation |
Equation showing only the reactants involved in the chemical reaction, spectator ions are omitted. |
| |
nonelectrolyte |
A substance that dissolves in water to give a nonconducting solution |
| |
nonpolar molecule |
A molecule with no net dipole moment |
| |
oxidation |
Loss of electrons |
| |
oxidation number |
The apparent charge on an atom |
| |
oxidizing agent |
The substance that does the oxidizing by accepting electrons in an oxidation-reduction reaction. |
| |
polar |
The condition or degree of having opposite properties (e.g., electric charge) in opposite parts or directions; of bonds, the degree to which electrons are unbalanced toward one of the bonded atoms. |
| |
polar covalent bond |
A covalent bond in which the electrons are unevenly shared between the bonded atoms, resulting from the atoms' different electronegativities |
| |
polar molecule |
A molecule with a nonzero net dipole moment |
| |
precipitate |
The solid that forms in a precipitation reaction. |
| |
precipitation reaction |
A reaction in which two solutions react to form an insoluble solid, which separates from the solution. |
| |
product |
Material produced during a chemical reaction |
| |
reactant |
One of the starting materials in a chemical reaction |
| |
reactivity |
The tendency of an element to gain or lose electrons to form compounds |
| |
redox |
An abbreviation for oxidation-reduction type reaction |
| |
reducing agent |
The substance that does the reducing by donating electrons in an oxidation-reduction reaction. |
| |
reduction |
Gain of electrons |
| |
single replacement reaction |
A reaction in which a single element replaces an element in a compound |
| |
soluble |
The ability of a substance to dissolve in a medium |
| |
solute |
The substance dissolved in the solvent to form a solution |
| |
solution |
Combination of a solute and a solvent |
| |
solvent |
The dissolving medium in a solution |
| |
spectator ion |
An ion in an ionic equation that does not take part in the reaction |
| |
strong electrolytes |
Substance that dissociates completely into its ions when added to water and conducts electricity well. |
| |
surface tension |
The attraction among molecules at the surface of a liquid. It creates a skin-like barrier between air and underlying liquid molecules. |
| |
weak electrolyte |
Substance that dissociates only partially into its ions when added to water, and conducts electricity only weakly. |
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