Chemistry & Math Fundamentals – Vocabulary Review

Key vocabulary terms drawn from the lecture’s practice problems on chemistry basics, math skills, and study strategies.

Chemical

Any form of matter that has a definite composition; a substance composed of atoms or molecules (e.g., sugar).

Light

Electromagnetic energy that has no mass and therefore is not considered a chemical or form of matter.

Observation

The act of noting or recording a natural event or phenomenon without yet drawing conclusions or explanations.

Cramming

Ineffective study method of waiting until the night before an exam to learn material, leading to poor retention.

Tens Place

The second digit to the left of the decimal point in a number, representing groups of ten (e.g., the 1 in 12.345).

Negative Sign Rule

Rule stating that the product or quotient of two numbers with the same sign is positive, and with different signs is negative.

Linear Equation

An algebraic equation of the first degree (e.g., 2x + 14 = –2) that can be solved by isolating the variable.

Solubility

The maximum amount of a substance (solute) that can dissolve in a specific amount of solvent at a given temperature (e.g., ~215 g of sugar per 100 mL water at 30 °C).

Scientific Notation

A way to express very large or small numbers as a coefficient between 1 and 10 multiplied by 10 raised to an integer power (e.g., 5.4 × 10⁵).

Negative Exponent

In scientific notation, an exponent that indicates the decimal point is moved to the left, representing numbers less than one (e.g., 3.3 × 10⁻⁷).