Chemical Bonds - BIOL 1111 Fall 2025

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to chemical bonds from the BIOL 1111 lecture notes.

Matter

Anything that has mass and takes up space; can be in the form of liquid, solid, or gas.

Atomic Number

The number of protons in an atom, unique to each element.

Isotope

Different forms of the same element that have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.

Covalent Bond

A type of chemical bond where atoms share electrons.

Ionic Bond

A bond formed by the electrical attraction between oppositely charged ions after the transfer of electrons.

Hydrogen Bond

A weak noncovalent attraction between a hydrogen atom and an electronegative atom.

Electronegativity

A measure of an atom's ability to attract shared electrons in a chemical bond.

Valence Shell

The outermost shell of an atom's electrons that participates in chemical bonding.

Radioisotope

An isotope that is unstable and may release energy or particles.

Radiocarbon Dating

A method used to determine the age of an object by measuring the ratio of Carbon-14 to Carbon-12.

Electron Shells

The regions around an atom's nucleus where electrons are likely to be found; first shell holds 2 electrons, second holds 8, third holds 8.

Nonmetal

Elements that typically are poor conductors of heat and electricity and are found on the right side of the periodic table.

Polarity

The property of having distinct poles or sides, often resulting in unequal sharing of electrons in bonds.

Atom

The basic unit of matter, composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Subatomic Particles

Particles that are smaller than an atom, including protons, neutrons, and electrons.