Important Biochemical Molecules

Flashcards covering key terms and definitions regarding basic atomic structure, chemical bonding types, intermolecular forces, and properties of solutions.

Element

The smallest structure that can be a pure substance, made of atoms of the same type.

IUPAC

Acronym for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists.

Elemental Families

Also known as groups, these are collections of related elements on the periodic table with similar properties, where metals become more reactive moving down a column and non-metals become more reactive moving up a column.

Matter

Any material that has mass and volume, which makes up the universe.

Atom

The basic building block of chemistry.

Proton

A subatomic particle found in the nucleus with a mass of $1$ and a $+1$ charge.

Neutron

A subatomic particle found in the nucleus with a mass of $1$ and zero charge ($0$).

Electron

A negatively charged subatomic particle that orbits the nucleus in energy levels, where the first level holds $2$ electrons and the second and third levels hold $8$ electrons each.

Octet Rule

The principle stating that atoms seek to stabilize their energy levels by gaining or losing electrons to fill all available spots.

Ion

An atom that has become charged by having electrons added or removed.

Valence

The outer energy level of an atom where electrons are found.

Cation

A positively charged ion.

Anion

A negatively charged ion.

Compound

A combination of elements forming a new substance, also known as a molecule.

Bonds

The connections between different element atoms that form a molecule.

Intramolecular Bonds

Chemical bonds that act within a molecule to hold its constituent atoms together.

Ionic Bonding

A type of chemical bond formed when an atom with a weak hold on its outermost electron loses it to a strongly attracted atom, such as in table salt ($\text{NaCl}$).

Covalent Bonding

Chemical bonds formed when two different atoms of different elements share electrons, such as in water ($\text{H}_2\text{O}$).

Intermolecular Bonding

Bonding forces that occur between separate molecules.

London Dispersion Force

A weak and temporary intermolecular force resulting from the attraction of positive nuclei of one molecule to the negative charge of another molecule.

Dipole-Dipole Bond

A magnet-like intermolecular attraction stronger than London Dispersion forces, occurring when electrons in a covalent bond are shared unequally, making the molecule ends slightly positive and slightly negative.

Hydrogen Bonding

An intermolecular bond formed when hydrogen attempts to obtain $2$ electrons for itself by attaching to unbonded electrons on a different oxygen molecule.

Solution

A mixture composed of a solute and a solvent, such as sugar water.

Solvent

The substance in a solution that does the dissolving, such as water in a sugar water mixture.

Solute

The substance that is dissolved in a solution, such as sugar in a sugar water mixture.

Concentrated Solution

A solution containing high amounts of solute.

Diluted Solution

A solution containing low amounts of solute.

Units of Solute

Standard units used to express solute concentration, including grams per litre ($\text{g/L}$), parts per million ($\text{ppm}$), and milligrams per litre ($\text{mg/L}$).

Acids

Solutions that have a high concentration of hydrogen ions ($\text{H}^+$) and are positively charged.

Bases

A basic solution is a solution in which there is a high hydroxide ion concentration

pH Scale

It is a scale to measure strength of an acid or a base

Buffers

Is a solution in which the pH scale does not change dramatically when acids or bases are added to it

Neutralize

It is a chemical reaction where equal amounts of acid and base produce a neutral solution with a pH of 7