General Chemistry and Physical Chemistry Review

A set of 50 comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key fundamental concepts, laws, and definitions in general, physical, and organic chemistry.

Atomos

The Greek word meaning "indivisible" from which the word "atom" is derived.

Matter

Anything that occupies space and has mass.

Element

A pure substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances.

Compound

A substance resulting from the combination, in definite proportions of mass, of two or more elements.

Malleability

The physical property of metals that allows them to be rolled or hammered into sheets without breaking.

Luster

The property of metals that causes them to reflect light striking their surfaces, making them appear shiny.

Metalloids

Elements that possess chemical and physical properties intermediate between metals and nonmetals.

Chemical change

A transformation in which a substance is converted into another substance with totally different composition and properties (also called a chemical reaction).

Physical change

A transformation in which a substance alters its appearance without altering its chemical composition.

Homogeneous material

A material characterized by uniform composition and properties throughout.

Heterogeneous material

A material whose composition and properties vary and are not uniform throughout.

Extensive properties

Properties of a material, such as length, volume, or weight, that change when the amount of substance changes.

Intensive properties

Properties of a material, such as color, taste, density, or melting point, that remain unchanged regardless of the amount of substance.

Law of multiple proportions

The principle stating that when two elements form more than one compound, the masses of one element combining with a fixed mass of the other are in ratios of small whole numbers.

Law of definite proportion

The principle stating that the masses of elements in a pure compound are always present in the same proportion.

Atomic number

The number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom, serving as its primary "identity number".

Mass number

The total sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element that have the same number of protons but different masses due to differing numbers of neutrons.

Anion

A negatively charged ion that forms when one or more electrons are added to a neutral atom.

Cation

A positively charged ion that forms when one or more electrons are removed from a neutral atom.

The periodic law

The chemical principle stating that when elements are arranged in order of increasing atomic number, elements with similar properties recur at periodic intervals.

Aufbau principle

The rule stating that electrons fill atomic orbitals one at a time, starting from the lowest energy orbital before proceeding to higher energy levels.

Pauli exclusion principle

The quantum rule stating that no two electrons in the same atom can possess the identical set of four quantum numbers.

Uncertainty principle

The physical principle formulated by Werner Karl Heisenberg stating that one cannot simultaneously determine both the exact position and momentum/energy of a subatomic particle.

Electron affinity

A quantitative measure of an isolated atom's tendency to attract and bind an additional electron.

Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC)

A fifth state of matter formed when gas atoms are cooled to near absolute zero, causing them to coalesce into a single macroscopic quantum entity termed a superatom.

Plasma

A high-energy, electrically charged gaseous state of matter created by heating gas until electrons dissociate from their parent nuclei.

Ductility

The mechanical property of a metal enabling it to be permanently deformed and drawn out into long wires without fracturing.

Ionic bond

The electrostatic attraction that binds oppositely charged ions (cations and anions) together in an ionic solid.

Octet rule

The guiding principle that atoms tend to gain, lose, or share valence electrons until surrounded by a stable octet of eight electrons.

Covalent bond

A chemical link formed through the mutual sharing of one or more pairs of electrons between two atoms.

Bond length

The equilibrium distance separating the nuclei of two bonded atoms in a molecule.

Electronegativity

The relative ability of an atom within a bonded molecule to attract shared electron density toward itself.

Mole

The SI base unit for amount of substance that contains exactly $6.02 \times 10^{23}$ constituent particles.

Molar mass

The mass in grams of one mole of any pure chemical substance, measured in units of grams per mole.

Dalton's law of partial pressure

The law establishing that the overall pressure exerted by a mixture of non-reacting gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures exerted by each individual gas.

Diffusion

The spontaneous mixing and spreading of gaseous particles caused directly by continuous thermal molecular motion.

Effusion

The escape of gas molecules passing from a high-pressure compartment into an evacuated space through an extremely tiny orifice.

Graham's law of effusion

The gas law stating that the rate of effusion of a gas is inversely proportional to the square root of its molar mass.

Intermolecular forces

The attractive electrostatic forces that operate externally between neighboring molecules in a compound.

Molar heat of fusion

The total quantity of thermal energy required to convert one mole of a solid substance into a liquid at its melting point.

Molar heat of vaporization

The quantity of heat required to transition one mole of a liquid substance into the vapor phase at its boiling point.

Solvation

The physical process in which solute ions or molecules become surrounded and stabilized by solvent molecules.

Solubility

The maximum amount of solute that dissolves in a given quantity of solvent to form a stable, saturated solution at a specified temperature.

Henry's law

The law stating that the solubility of a gas in a liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of that gas over the solution.

Molarity

A concentration unit defined as the number of moles of solute dissolved per liter of solution.

Molality

A concentration unit defined as the number of moles of solute dissolved per kilogram of pure solvent.

Osmosis

The spontaneous net migration of solvent molecules across a semi-permeable membrane from a region of low solute concentration to one of higher concentration.

Activation energy

The minimum threshold energy barrier that colliding reactant molecules must overcome to trigger a chemical reaction.

Le Chatelier's principle

The principle stating that if a dynamic equilibrium system is perturbed by a change in temperature, pressure, or concentration, the system shifts to counteract that disturbance.