CHM 205: Fundamentals of Chemistry - Stoichiometry & Key Concepts

Vocabulary flashcards covering general chemistry definitions, real-world chemistry applications, atomic structure, mass spectrometry, formula calculations, and reaction stoichiometry.

Chemistry

The study of matter, its properties, and how substances interact.

Maillard reaction

A chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that forms flavorful compounds in food.

Saponification

The chemical reaction in which fatty acids react with sodium hydroxide ($NaOH$) to form soap and glycerol ($\text{Fat} + NaOH \rightarrow \text{Soap} + \text{Glycerol}$).

Sodium lauryl sulfate

A surfactant ($C_{12}H_{25}NaO_4S$) contained in shampoos that traps oil and dirt.

Vulcanization

A chemical process that uses sulfur ($S_8$) to cross-link rubber molecules.

Polylactic acid (PLA)

A bioplastic material derived from renewable resources such as corn starch.

Geosmin

A chemical compound produced by soil bacteria that gives rain its characteristic smell.

Atomic mass

The mass of an atom expressed in atomic mass units ($\text{amu}$), determined relative to the carbon-12 isotope ($^{12}\text{C}$) standard assigned a mass of exactly $12\text{ amu}$.

Mass spectrometer

An instrument used to measure the relative atomic masses and isotopic abundances of elements by vaporizing sample particles, ionizing them with an electron beam, accelerating positive ions through an electric field, and deflecting them with a magnetic field onto a detector plate.

Avogadro's number ($N_A$)

The number of entities (atoms, molecules, or ions) in $1\text{ mole}$ of a substance, defined as $6.022 \times 10^{23}\text{ mol}^{-1}$.

Average atomic mass

The weighted average of the atomic masses of an element's naturally occurring isotopes, calculated as $\text{Average atomic mass} = \frac{\frac{\text{isotope}}{\text{abundance}} \times \text{atomic mass} + \frac{\text{isotope}}{\text{abundance}} \times \text{atomic mass}}{100}$.

Chloral hydrate

A drug with the molecular formula $C_2H_3Cl_3O_2$ and a molar mass of $165.39\text{ g}\text{mol}^{-1}$ formerly used as a sedative and hypnotic.

Empirical formula

The simplest whole-number ratio of atoms of each element present in a chemical compound.

Molecular formula

A chemical formula that specifies the actual number of atoms of each element in a single molecule of a compound.

Chemical equation

A symbolic representation of a chemical reaction showing reactants on the left side of an arrow and products on the right side, balanced to conserve mass and atoms.

Limiting reactant

The reactant in a chemical reaction that is completely consumed first, thereby limiting the maximum amount of product that can form.

Theoretical yield

The maximum quantity of a given product formed when the limiting reactant is completely consumed in a chemical reaction.

Actual yield

The specific mass or amount of product obtained experimentally from a chemical reaction in the laboratory.

Percent yield

A measure of the efficiency of a reaction, calculated as $\text{Percent yield} = \frac{\text{Actual yield}}{\text{Theoretical yield}} \times 100_percent$.