Chemistry in Context - Climate Change Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes on climate change, carbon cycle, chemical compounds, and climate modeling.

Carbon Cycle Reservoirs

The three main reservoirs for carbon are: The atmosphere, Carbonate-containing rocks, fossil fuels, and soils and Plants and animals.

Ionic Compound

A compound that generally contains both a metal and nonmetal in its chemical formula.

Cations

Positively charged ions formed by elements in Groups 1 and 2 with charges of 1+ and 2+, respectively.

Anions

Negatively charged ions formed by elements in Groups 15, 16, and 17 with charges of -3, -2, and -1, respectively.

Naming Ionic Compounds

The name is: “metal cation” + “nonmetal anion–ide suffix”.

Transition Metal Compounds Naming Convention

“metal cation” + (oxidation state of metal as Roman numeral) + “nonmetal anion–ide suffix”

Atomic Mass

The weighted average of naturally occurring isotopes of an element; expressed in unified atomic mass units (u).

Mole (SI definition)

The number equal to the number of carbon atoms in exactly 12 g of pure C-12.

Avogadro's Number

6.02 ´ 1023, the number of atoms, ions, or molecules in one mole of a substance.

Molar Mass

The mass of one mole of a substance, calculated by adding up the atomic masses of the different types of atoms in the substance.

Greenhouse Effect

The process where infrared (IR) radiation re-emitted by Earth is absorbed by the atmosphere, resulting in an average temperature on Earth of 15 °C (59 °F).

Electronegativity

A measure of an atom’s ability to attract bonded electrons; increases from bottom-top of a group and left-right across a period.

Radiative Forcings

Factors that affect the balance of Earth’s incoming and outgoing radiation.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Established in 1988 by the WMO and UNEP to assess the science related to climate change.

Kyoto Protocol (1997)

Established goals to stabilize and reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases.