Lecture Notes Flashcards: Redox Reactions and Solution Concentration

Vocabulary flashcards covering single displacement reactions, activity series, redox half-reactions, and molar concentration concepts from the lecture.

Activity Series

A ranking of elements based on relative reactivity, used to determine if a free metal will displace another metal ion in an ionic salt solution.

Oxidation

The loss of electrons by a substance during a chemical reaction, which increases its oxidation state.

Reduction

The gain of electrons by a substance during a chemical reaction, which decreases its oxidation state.

Spectator Ions

Ions in a reaction mixture that remain completely unchanged throughout the process and do not participate in the net chemical reaction.

Redox

A term combining reduction and oxidation, representing chemical processes where electron transfer reactions occur simultaneously.

Oxidation Half Reaction

The portion of a redox equation that specifically accounts for the loss of electrons.

Reduction Half Reaction

The portion of a redox equation that specifically accounts for the gain of electrons.

Polyatomic Ion

A charged chemical species composed of two or more covalently bonded atoms, such as nitrate ($\text{NO}_3^-$), that often remains intact during a reaction.

Molarity ($M$)

A standard measure of concentration defined as the number of moles of solute per liter of solution.

Aqueous Solution

A homogeneous liquid mixture in which water acts as the solvent.

Solute

The substance that is dissolved into a solvent to form a solution.

Solvent

The substance that dissolves a solute, typically constituting the larger volume component of the solution.

Volumetric Flask

A specialized piece of laboratory glassware calibrated to contain exactly one specific volume of liquid.

Meniscus

The curve formed by a liquid surface in a container, from the bottom of which volume readings are taken.