Chapter 2. Atomic Structure, Isotopes, Mass Spectrometry, and Chemical Nomenclature

Vocabulary flashcards covering atomic structure, subatomic particles, isotopes, ions, mass spectrometry, periodic table families, and chemical nomenclature for ionic, covalent, acid, and organic compounds.

Law of Conservation of Matter

The principle stating that mass is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical process, but is merely moved around.

Law of Multiple Proportions

The principle stating that when two elements form a series of compounds, the ratio of the masses of each element can always be reduced to a whole number.

Atomic Mass Unit (amu)

A unit used to describe atomic mass, defined as $1 \text{ amu} = 1.6606 \times 10^{-24}\,g$; also known as a dalton (symbol: Da, u, or amu).

Proton ($p^+$)

A positively charged subatomic particle densely located in the nucleus of an atom.

Neutron ($n^0$)

A neutral subatomic particle densely located in the nucleus of an atom.

Electron ($e^-$)

A negatively charged subatomic particle of an atom, whose charge was determined via Millikan's oil drop experiment.

Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment

An experiment establishing that protons ($p^+$) and neutrons ($n^0$) are densely spaced inside the atomic nucleus.

Isotope

Atoms of the same element that have the same atomic number of protons but different mass numbers due to varying neutron counts.

Ion

A chemical species with an electrical charge determined by an imbalance between its number of protons and electrons.

Cation

A chemical species with a positive ($+$) electrical charge, resulting from having more protons ($p^+$) than electrons ($e^-$).

Anion

A chemical species with a negative ($-$) electrical charge, resulting from having more electrons ($e^-$) than protons ($p^+$).

Mass Spectrometer

An instrument that converts molecules into ions and separates them based on their mass-to-charge ratio ($m/Z$) to determine molecular mass.

Empirical Formula

The chemical formula derived from mass percent composition that gives the simplest whole-number ratio of elements in a compound.

Molecular Formula

The formula determined from mass percent composition (empirical formula) and mass spectral data (molecular mass) that gives the exact number of each atom in a molecule.

Alkali Metals

Group 1A elements on the periodic table that form ionic cations with a charge of $1+$.

Alkaline Earth Metals

Group 2A elements on the periodic table that form ionic cations with a charge of $2+$.

Halogens

Group 7A elements on the periodic table that form ionic anions with a charge of $1-$.

Noble Gases

Group 8A elements on the periodic table that form species with a charge of $0$.

Binary Ionic Compound

A neutral compound formed between a metal (which loses electrons) and a nonmetal (which gains electrons), represented by the minimum whole-number ratio of ions.

Type II Cation

A transition metal cation that can form multiple oxidation states, requiring a Roman numeral in its name to specify its charge.

Polyatomic Ion

A charged chemical species composed of two or more covalently bonded atoms, such as ammonium ($\text{NH}_4^+$) or sulfate ($\text{SO}_4^{2-}$).

Covalent Compound

A compound formed between two nonmetals in which shared electrons spend time between atoms, held together by proton-electron attraction.

Binary Covalent Prefixes

Greek numerical prefixes used for nonmetal compounds: mono- (1), di- (2), tri- (3), tetra- (4), penta- (5), hexa- (6), hepta- (7), octa- (8), nona- (9), deca- (10).

Acid Without Oxygen

An acid whose anion contains no oxygen, named using the prefix hydro- and the suffix -ic when dissolved in water (e.g., $\text{HCl}(aq)$ is hydrochloric acid).

Oxyacid Naming Rules

Naming convention where the suffix -ic is added to the root if the oxygen-containing anion ends in -ate, and the suffix -ous is added if the anion ends in -ite.

Organic Carbon Chain Prefixes

Prefixes denoting the number of carbon atoms in an organic molecule's longest chain: meth- (1), eth- (2), prop- (3), but- (4), pent- (5), hex- (6), hept- (7), oct- (8), non- (9), dec- (10).

Alkane

An organic hydrocarbon compound containing only single-bonded carbon atoms.

Alkene

An organic hydrocarbon compound containing one or more double-bonded carbon atoms.

Alkyne

An organic hydrocarbon compound containing one or more triple-bonded carbon atoms.

Alcohol

An organic compound characterized by the presence of a functional $\text{-OH}$ group.

Subatomic Particles

Particles that are smaller than atoms; include protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Nucleus

The central part of an atom, composed of protons and neutrons.

Electron Cloud

The region around the nucleus where electrons are likely to be found, defined by probability distributions.

Mass Number (A)

The total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.

Atomic Number (Z)

The total number of protons in the nucleus, which defines the element.

Charge of a Proton

+1 elementary charge, contributes to the positive charge of the atomic nucleus.

Charge of a Neutron

Neutral, meaning it carries no charge.

Charge of an Electron

-1 elementary charge, contributing to the negative charge of an atom.