CHEM 1: The Chemistry of Engineering Materials

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering material classifications, periodic properties, and chemical bonding principles from Lesson 6: The Chemistry of Engineering Materials.

Engineering Materials

Materials used in engineering applications because their properties meet specific functional requirements.

Materials Science and Engineering

The study and application of the relationships among a material's composition, structure, properties, processing, and performance.

Alloy

A metallic material containing two or more elements, with at least one being metallic.

Ceramics and Glasses

Inorganic, nonmetallic materials (glasses being non-crystalline) characterized by high hardness, stiffness, high-temperature capability, and susceptibility to brittle fracture.

Polymers

Materials composed of long molecular chains formed from repeating structural units, generally possessing relatively low density compared with metals and ceramics.

Composite

A material formed by combining two or more distinct constituent materials—typically a matrix and a reinforcement—to obtain a useful combination of properties.

Semiconductors

Materials whose electrical conductivity is intermediate between conductors and insulators and can be significantly modified by temperature, composition, and impurities.

Atomic Number

The number of protons in an atom's nucleus that determines the identity of the chemical element.

Atomic Radius

A measure of atomic size that generally increases down a group due to additional electron shells and decreases across a period from left to right.

Ionization Energy

The energy required to remove an electron from an isolated gaseous atom, which generally increases across a period and decreases down a group.

Electronegativity

The tendency of an atom in a chemical bond to attract shared electrons toward itself, generally increasing toward the upper-right region of the periodic table.

Primary Bonds

Strong chemical bonds—primarily metallic, ionic, and covalent bonds—that play a major role in holding atoms together within materials.

Metallic Bonding

A primary bonding type where atoms contribute valence electrons to a delocalized system, facilitating electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and plastic deformation.

Ionic Bonding

A primary bonding type resulting from electrostatic attraction between positively and negatively charged ions formed through electron transfer.

Covalent Bonding

A primary bonding type involving the directional sharing of electrons between atoms, often forming strong networks such as that in diamond.

Secondary Bonding

Relatively weak intermolecular forces or interactions arising from electric charges or molecular dipoles, including van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds.

Van der Waals Interaction

A type of secondary bonding resulting from attractive forces associated with temporary or permanent charge distributions in atoms or molecules.

Hydrogen Bonding

A secondary interaction occurring when hydrogen is covalently bonded to a strongly electronegative atom and interacts with another electronegative atom.

Materials Innovation

The development or improvement of materials that enables new technologies, products, and engineering applications.

Bonding–Property Relationship

The fundamental concept connecting the type and strength of chemical bonds to the resulting physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of a material.