Chemistry Lecture Review: Waves, Light, and Quantum Mechanics

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the chemistry lectures on waves, light, and quantum mechanics.

Wavelength

The distance between two consecutive points of a wave, such as crest to crest or trough to trough.

Amplitude

The distance from the midpoint of the wave to the peak (or trough) of the wave.

Frequency

The number of waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time, typically measured in Hertz.

Speed of Light (c)

A constant that is approximately 2.998 x 10^8 meters per second.

Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR)

A form of energy that is propagated through space as waves; includes visible light, radio waves, X-rays, etc.

Atomic Emission Spectrum

The spectrum of light emitted by an element when it releases energy as electrons fall from an excited state to a lower energy level.

Ground State

The lowest energy state of an atom, where electrons are in their closest energy levels to the nucleus.

Excited State

The state of an atom when electrons have absorbed energy and moved to higher energy levels.

Quantum Numbers

A set of four values (n, l, m, s) that describe the unique quantum state of an electron in an atom.

Pauli Exclusion Principle

A principle stating that no two electrons in an atom can have the same set of quantum numbers.

Hund's Rule

A rule stating that electrons will fill degenerate orbitals singly before pairing up.

Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle

The principle that the position and momentum of a particle cannot be simultaneously known with arbitrary precision.

Orbital Filling Diagram

A visual representation of the distribution of electrons among the orbitals of an atom.

Electron Configuration

A notation that shows the distribution of electrons in an atom's orbitals, using numbers and letters.

Bohr Model

A model of the atom where electrons orbit the nucleus in defined energy levels, similar to planets orbiting the sun.

Photon

A particle of light that is emitted when an electron falls to a lower energy level.