General Chemistry: Course Policies, Matter Classification, Dimensional Analysis, and Measurement Precision

Vocabulary flashcards covering course policies, matter classification, measurement precision, significant figures, SI units, and properties of substances from the lecture material.

Covalent Compound

A compound substance formed by two nonmetals together that forms distinct molecules; treated as synonymous with molecular compound.

Density

The mass of a certain volume of a substance.

Precision

How close together different measurements are.

Accuracy

How close a measurement is to the actual result.

Significant Figures

Digits that represent the degree of precision of a measurement.

Substance

A kind of matter with uniform properties.

Atom

The fundamental unit of a substance.

Molecule

Two or more atoms held in a specific shape by attractive forces.

Elementary Substance

A substance containing only atoms of the same atomic number.

Compound Substance

A substance containing more than one type of atom.

Chemical Formula

A notation where elements are listed with subscripts that tell how many atoms of each type are present.

Molecular Substance

A substance that forms distinct molecules.

Ionic Compound

A substance that forms a crystalline substance with a repeating formula unit.

Matter

Anything that takes up space and has mass.

Solid

A phase of matter with definite volume and definite shape.

Liquid

A phase of matter with definite volume but variable shape.

Gas

A phase of matter with variable volume and variable shape.

Physical Properties

Characteristics observed without a change in the composition of a substance.

Chemical Properties

Characteristics that are only evident if a substance undergoes a chemical change requiring a new substance before and after.

Extensive Properties

Properties of a pure substance that depend on the sample size, such as mass.

Intensive Properties

Properties that are characteristic of a pure substance and do not depend on sample size, such as color and density.

Heterogeneous Mixture

A mixture containing distinguishable parts.

Homogeneous Mixture

A mixture containing indistinguishable parts, also known as a solution.

Pure Substance

A type of matter that cannot be separated by any physical means.

Distillation

A physical separation technique used for saltwater where water is boiled off and salt stays behind.

SI Units

Standardized units of measurement including kilogram ($\text{kg}$) for mass, meter ($\text{m}$) for length, second ($\text{s}$) for time, Kelvin ($\text{K}$) for temperature, mole ($\text{mol}$) for amount of substance, and Coulomb ($\text{C}$) for electrical charge.