General, Organic, & Biological Chemistry – Chapter 1: Basic Concepts About Matter

Vocabulary flashcards covering the essential Chapter 1 terms and definitions from the lecture notes.

Matter

Anything that has mass and occupies space.

Mass

The amount of matter present in a sample.

Solid

State of matter with definite shape and definite volume.

Liquid

State of matter with indefinite shape but definite volume; takes the shape of its container.

Gas

State of matter with both indefinite shape and indefinite volume; completely fills its container.

Physical Property

Characteristic that can be observed without changing a substance’s identity (e.g., color, melting point).

Chemical Property

Characteristic that describes how a substance undergoes or resists change to form a new substance (e.g., iron rusting).

Physical Change

Process that alters a substance’s appearance but not its composition (e.g., freezing water).

Chemical Change

Process in which a substance’s chemical composition changes, producing one or more new substances (e.g., burning wood).

Pure Substance

Single kind of matter that cannot be separated by physical means (e.g., water, sucrose).

Mixture

Physical combination of two or more pure substances in which each retains its identity.

Heterogeneous Mixture

Mixture with visibly different phases and non-uniform properties (e.g., soil).

Homogeneous Mixture

Mixture that contains only one visible phase with uniform properties throughout (e.g., gasoline).

Element

Pure substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means (e.g., gold).

Compound

Pure substance that can be broken down into two or more elements by chemical means (e.g., water).

Atom

Smallest particle of an element that retains the properties of that element.

Molecule

Group of two or more atoms tightly bound together that behaves as a single particle.

Homoatomic Molecule

Molecule whose atoms are all of the same element; must be an element.

Heteroatomic Molecule

Molecule containing two or more different kinds of atoms; must be a compound.

Chemical Symbol

One- or two-letter designation for an element with the first letter capitalized (e.g., H, Na).

Chemical Formula

Notation using element symbols and numerical subscripts to show the kinds and numbers of atoms in a compound (e.g., H₂O).

Diatomic Molecule

Molecule that contains exactly two atoms.

Triatomic Molecule

Molecule that contains exactly three atoms.

Pentatomic Molecule

Molecule that contains exactly five atoms.