General Chemistry Review for Organic Chemistry Flashcards

A 30-card vocabulary flashcard set reviewing fundamental general chemistry concepts for organic chemistry students.

Organic Chemistry Focus Elements

The ten predominant elements focused on throughout Organic Chemistry: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, fluorine, bromine, iodine, sulfur, and phosphorus.

Hydrocarbons

Foundational organic compounds composed exclusively of carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Proton

A positively charged subatomic particle located in the nucleus of an atom that identifies the specific element.

Neutron

A neutral subatomic particle located in the nucleus that holds the atom together using the strong nuclear force.

Strong Nuclear Force

The force that holds the atomic nucleus together by buffering the concentrated positive charge in a small volume with non-charged neutrons.

Isotope

An element variant containing the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.

Deuterium

Also known as hydrogen 2 ($H-2$), a hydrogen isotope containing one proton and one neutron, used in isotopic labeling and historic physics experiments.

Tritium

Also known as hydrogen 3 ($H-3$), a hydrogen isotope used in nuclear weapons and high-level physics experiments.

Carbon-12

The most abundant isotope of carbon, accounting for approximately $99.9\%$ of natural carbon abundance.

Carbon-13

An isotope of carbon used for identification of species in carbon NMR spectroscopy.

Carbon-14

A carbon isotope utilized for radiolabeling and the identification of prehistoric species.

Atomic Weight

The mass of a single atom or single compound, expressed on a small scale in atomic mass units.

Atomic Mass Unit

A unit of mass used to express the very small mass of individual subunits, such as single atoms or single compounds.

Molecular Weight

The mass sum of all components in a compound expressed on a molar scale in units of grams per mole ($g\,mol^{-1}$).

Electron

A subatomic particle located in orbitals outside the nucleus that participates in forming bonds with other atoms.

Orbital

A mathematical probability equation describing the region where an electron is likely to be located.

Principal Quantum Number ($n$)

The quantum number that specifies the energy level and distance of an orbital relative to the nucleus.

Magnetic Spin Quantum Number ($m_s$)

The fourth quantum number, which describes the magnetic moment and electron spin inside an orbital.

Pauli Exclusion Principle

An electronic rule stating that no two electrons in the same atom can possess the exact same set of four quantum numbers.

Degenerate Orbitals

Atomic orbitals or subshells that possess identical or similar energy levels.

Hund's Rule

An electronic rule stating that electrons must occupy degenerate orbitals individually with parallel spins before pairing up in the same orbital.

Aufbau Principle

An electronic rule meaning 'building from the ground up,' stating that lower-energy orbitals must be completely filled before higher-energy orbitals are occupied.

s Orbital

A spherically shaped atomic orbital featuring uniform, symmetric electron density surrounding the nucleus with zero nodes.

p Orbital

A dumbbell- or peanut-shaped atomic orbital consisting of two phase regions separated by a single central node.

Node

A region within an orbital where electron density is zero and where an electron is mathematically improbable to be found.

d Orbital

An atomic orbital shape typically resembling a four-leaf clover, containing four distinct electron density lobes and multiple nodes.

Electron Configuration

A coded representation specifying the energy level (number), orbital type (letter), and electron count (exponent) of an atom's subshells.

Core Electrons

Inner electrons with smaller principal quantum numbers that do not participate in bonding with other atoms.

Valence Electrons

Outer shell electrons that participate in interactions with other atoms to form chemical bonds.

Anomalous Series

A group of elements, such as copper ($4s^1 3d^{10}$), that depart from standard electron filling rules due to special stability provided by half-filled or fully filled d subshells.