Properties of Water, Thermal Energy, and pH

Vocabulary flashcards covering water properties, thermal and kinetic energy, solutions, and pH fundamentals based on lecture notes.

Kinetic Energy

The energy associated with movement.

Thermal Energy

The kinetic energy associated specifically with the randomized movement of atoms.

Temperature

The average kinetic energy of the molecules in a body of matter.

Heat

Thermal energy that can be transferred from a warm substance to a cool substance.

Calorie

The amount of heat required to raise $1\,\text{gram}$ of water $1^\circ\text{C}$.

Specific Heat

The amount of heat required to increase the temperature of a substance by $1^\circ\text{C}$.

Evaporation

The process where a molecule moves fast enough to leave a liquid state and enter a gaseous state.

Evaporative Cooling

A process where a body cools down as high-energy water molecules move fast enough to enter the gaseous state and leave the liquid droplet.

Heat of Vaporization

The amount of heat required to convert $1\,\text{gram}$ of a liquid into its gaseous state.

Solvent

Any substance that can dissolve other substances within it.

Solution

A homogeneous mixture of two or more substances that is consistent throughout.

Solute

The substance that is dissolved into a solvent.

Hydrophilic

Refers to a substance that carries a charge and can be dissolved in water.

Hydrophobic

Refers to a nonpolar substance that does not carry a charge and cannot be dissolved in water.

Hydroxide Ion

A negatively charged $OH^-$ group formed when a water molecule dissociates.

Hydronium Ion

An $H_3O^+$ ion (shorthand $H^+$) formed when a water molecule dissociates.

Acid

Any substance that increases the hydronium or $H^+$ ion concentration in a solution.

Base

Any substance that reduces the hydronium or $H^+$ ion concentration in a solution.

Buffer

A substance that minimizes changes in the concentration of either hydronium ($H^+$) or hydroxide ($OH^-$) ions in a solution.