Stoichiometry, Acids/Bases, Equilibrium, and Nuclear Chemistry Review

This set covers vocabulary and fundamental concepts from Chapter 11 and 12, including stoichiometry mechanics, acid-base theory, chemical equilibrium expressions, reaction kinetics, and nuclear decay types.

Theoretical Yield

The calculated amount of a product, such as a gas or precipitate, that should be formed in a chemical reaction based on stoichiometry.

Percent Yield

The ratio of the actual amount of product collected in the lab to the theoretical yield, calculated to evaluate the efficiency of a reaction.

Limiting Reagent

The reactant that is completely consumed in a reaction and determines the maximum amount of product that can be formed.

Arrhenius Base

A substance, such as $NaOH$, that increases the concentration of hydroxide ions in an aqueous solution.

pH

A numeric scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution; for example, a solution with $[H^+] = 0.0080\,M$ has a pH of $2.10$.

Amphoteric

A description for substances that have the ability to act as both an acid and a base.

Conjugate Base

The species that remains after a Bronsted-Lowry acid has donated a proton; for example, in the reaction identifying $H_2O$ as an acid, $OH^-$ is its conjugate base.

Conjugate Acid

The species formed when a Bronsted-Lowry base accepts a proton; for example, $H_3O^+$ is the conjugate acid of $H_2O$ in the reaction with $NH_4^+$.

Buffer

A solution that resists changes in pH; characterized by its buffer capacity, which is the amount of acid or base it can neutralize before the pH begins to change significantly.

Strong Acid

An acid that fully dissociates in water and has a high acid dissociation constant, such as $HCl$ with a $K_a = 1.3 \times 10^6$.

Strong Base

A base that completely dissociates into ions in an aqueous solution, such as $KOH$.

Equilibrium Constant ($K_{eq}$) >> 1

A condition where the equilibrium position lies to the right, meaning the products are favored over the reactants.

Equilibrium Constant ($K_{eq}$) << 1

A condition where the equilibrium position lies to the left, meaning the reactants are favored over the products.

Reversible Reaction

A chemical reaction that can proceed in both the forward and reverse directions, indicated by a double-arrow symbol.

Chemical Equilibrium

A state reached when the forward and reverse reaction rates are equal and the concentrations of the reactants and products remain constant.

Activation Energy ($E_a$)

The minimum amount of energy required for reactants to collide and initiate a chemical reaction.

Rate of Chemical Reaction

The speed of a reaction, which normally increases as reactant concentration or pressure increases.

Catalyst

A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process.

Beta Decay

A type of radioactive decay where a beta particle is emitted, such as when Technetium-99 undergoes transformation.

Alpha Decay

A nuclear process where an atom emits an alpha particle, exemplified by the decay of Francium-212.

Positron Emission

A nuclear decay process where a positron is emitted from the nucleus, such as in the case of Fluorine-18.

Gamma Radiation

A form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation emitted from an atomic nucleus, such as during the decay of Carbon-13.

Half-Life

The specific duration of time required for half of a radioactive sample to decay; for instance, Os-182 has a half-life of $21.5\,\text{hours}$.