Themes in Life and Chemistry Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core biological organization, key scientists, cell theory, atomic structure, chemical bonding, and water properties.

C-E-I-R-E

Mnemonic for the 5 properties of life: Cells, Energy, Information, Replication, and Evolution.

Emergent Properties

New properties that appear at a higher biological organization level that were not present at the simpler level.

Form Follows Function

The principle that biological structure or shape is related to what something does.

Domains of Life

The three overarching categories of biological life: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

Prokaryotic

Describing cells that have no nucleus.

Eukaryotic

Describing cells that have a nucleus.

Cell Theory

The biological principle stating that all organisms are made up of cells, and all cells come from preexisting cells.

Cell

The fundamental unit of life.

Hooke

The scientist who observed cork and introduced the term "cells".

Leeuwenhoek

The scientist who discovered microorganisms.

Schleiden & Schwann

The scientists who formulated Cell Theory.

Pasteur

The scientist who disproved spontaneous generation.

Element

A pure substance consisting of one type of atom.

Compound

A substance composed of two or more different elements chemically combined.

Molecule

Two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds.

Proton

A positively charged ($+$) particle located inside the nucleus of an atom.

Neutron

A neutral particle ($0$) located inside the nucleus of an atom.

Electron

A negatively charged ($-$) particle located outside the nucleus of an atom.

Atomic Number

The number of protons in an atom.

Atomic Mass

Approximately the total number of protons plus neutrons in an atom.

Electron Configuration

How electrons are organized around the nucleus of an atom.

Octet Rule

The rule stating that electron shells fill to $8$ electrons, with the exception of the first shell which holds $2$ electrons.

Valence Shell

The outermost electron shell of an atom containing electrons.

Valence

The number of electrons needed to completely fill an atom's valence shell.

Covalent Bond

A chemical bond formed when atoms share electrons.

Nonpolar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond where electrons are shared equally or nearly equally.

Polar Covalent Bond

A covalent bond where electrons are shared unequally.

Electronegativity

An atom's attraction for shared electrons in a bond.

Ionic Bond

A chemical bond formed when electrons are transferred (lost or gained) between atoms.

Ion

A charged atom or molecule.

Cation

A positively charged ion ($+$).

Anion

A negatively charged ion ($-$).

Salt

An ionic compound.

Hydrogen Bond

A weak attraction involving hydrogen and an electronegative atom, usually oxygen or nitrogen in living cells.

Van der Waals Forces

Weak attractions between atoms or molecules when they are positioned very close together.

Hydrophobic

Water-fearing; nonpolar substances that do not mix well with water, such as oil.

Hydrophilic

Water-loving; polar or ionic substances that interact well with water.

Solvent

The substance in a solution that does the dissolving.

Solute

The substance in a solution that gets dissolved.

Aqueous Solution

A liquid mixture in which water is the solvent.

Carbon Skeleton Variations (L-B-D-R)

The four structural variations of carbon chains: Length, Branching, Double bonds, and Rings.