Chapter 1: Matter, Measurement, and Problem Solving - Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards defining fundamental chemical concepts, states of matter, scientific classification, and unit measurements from Chapter 1.

Atoms

Submicroscopic particles that constitute the fundamental building blocks of ordinary matter.

Molecules

Particles formed when atoms bind together in specific geometrical arrangements.

Chemistry

The science that seeks to understand the behavior of matter by studying the behavior of atoms and molecules.

Scientific Law

A concise verbal statement or a mathematical equation that summarizes a broad variety of scientific observations.

Theory

An explanation of the general causes of certain phenomena, supported by considerable evidence or facts.

Matter

Anything that occupies space and has mass.

Solid

A state of matter where atoms or molecules pack close to each other in fixed locations, resulting in a fixed shape and fixed volume.

Liquid

A state of matter where atoms or molecules pack closely but are free to move relative to each other, resulting in a fixed volume but no fixed shape.

Gas

A state of matter where atoms or molecules have a lot of space between them and are free to move relative to one another, resulting in no fixed shape and no fixed volume.

Plasma

A state of matter composed of ionized particles with electrons separated from atoms, having no fixed shape, no fixed volume, and being less compressible than gases.

Crystalline Solid

A solid in which atoms or molecules are arranged in patterns with long-range, repeating order.

Amorphous Solid

A solid in which atoms or molecules do not have any long-range order.

Pure Substance

Matter made up of only one component whose composition is invariant, meaning all particles are identical.

Element

A substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances, serving as a basic building block of matter composed of a single type of atom.

Compound

A substance composed of two or more elements that contains two or more kinds of atoms.

Mixture

A physical combination of two or more components that are not chemically bonded to each other and can be separated by physical methods.

Heterogeneous Mixture

A mixture in which the components are not uniformly mixed.

Homogeneous Mixture

A mixture that has a uniform composition throughout the sample, also known as a solution.

Distillation

A separation process in which a homogeneous mixture of liquids is heated to boil off the more volatile liquid, which is recondensed and collected.

Filtration

A separation process used to separate a mixture of an insoluble solid and a liquid.

Physical Change

A change that alters only the state or appearance of a substance, but not its chemical composition.

Chemical Change

A change that alters the composition of matter by rearranging atoms to transform original substances into different substances.

Physical Property

A property that a substance displays without changing its composition.

Chemical Property

A property that a substance displays only by changing its composition via a chemical reaction.

Intensive Property

A property of matter that does not depend on the amount of sample being examined.

Extensive Property

A property of matter that depends on the amount of the sample being examined.

Energy

The capacity to do work.

Work

The action of a force through a distance.

Thermal Energy

The kinetic energy of all the microscopic particles moving inside a substance.

Chemical Energy

The potential energy stored in chemical bonds.

Law of Conservation of Energy

A principle stating that energy is neither created nor destroyed, but can be converted from one form to another.

Mass

A measure of the quantity of matter within an object.

Weight

A measure of the gravitational pull on an object's matter.

Temperature

A measure of the average amount of kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules that compose matter.

Absolute Zero

The coldest temperature possible ($0\,\text{K}$, $-273.15^\circ\text{C}$, or $-459^\circ\text{F}$) at which molecular motion virtually stops.