Mock Boards: Physical and Chemical Principles

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering chemical engineering concepts, nuclear physics, and biochemistry based on the SLU mock board examination transcript.

Hydrogen bonding

The concept that explains why o-nitrophenol is more volatile than p-nitrophenol.

Cracking

The process by which a liquid hydrocarbon is converted into a mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons.

Muconic acid

The product of the biological oxidation of benzene carried out in the body of a dog.

Isomers

Chemical compounds that must have the same molecular formula.

Strong oxidizing agent

A substance characterized by a strong attraction for electrons.

Supersaturated

A solution that causes additional crystals to precipitate when a crystal of the solute (such as $NaClO_3$) is added.

Disengagement zone

The area in an airlift bioreactor where spent gases are released from the liquid.

Intensive property

A property of a system that does not depend on the size of the system.

Third Law of Thermodynamics

The law stating that the entropy of all perfect crystalline solids at absolute zero is $0$.

Methyl tertiary butyl ether

An octane improver of gasoline produced by an acid-catalyzed reaction of methanol with isobutene.

Reingleman chart

A tool used for the evaluation of air pollution.

Dumas method

An analytical technique used in the determination of the molecular weight of a gas.

Fog

A colloidal system consisting of liquid dispersed in gas.

Breeder reactor

A nuclear reactor that produces more fissile nuclear fuel than it consumes.

Binding energy

The energy emitted in the formation of a nuclide from its fundamental particles.

Gamma emission

Radioactive decay that occurs whenever a nucleus is in an activated or excited state.

Buffering capacity

Another name for natural alkalinity.

Fast rinse

A step in water treatment where rinse water flows at the same flow rate as the service flow rate to remove remaining regenerating solution.

Diffuser

A wall with perforations common to the flocculation basin and the sedimentation basin for even flow distribution.

Markownikoff's Rule

The rule predicting that the main product of the reaction between 1-butene and $HOCl$ is 1-chloro-2-butanol.

5-day BOD

A measure of dissolved oxygen required by microorganisms to stabilize organic matter over a five-day period.

Secondary alcohols

Class of alcohols whose oxidation yields ketones.

$$K_M$$

The parameter that indicates the affinity of an enzyme for a given substrate.

Glutamic acid

The amino acid considered as "brain food" that improves mental capacity or memory.

Central Dogma

The sequence showing the flow of information in molecular biology: $DNA \rightarrow RNA \rightarrow protein$.