BIOLOGY/CHEMISTRY NOTES — MADE EASY

Term,Definition

Atom,The smallest unit of an element that still has the properties of that element.

Protons,Subatomic particles with a positive (+) charge.

Neutrons,Subatomic particles with no charge (neutral).

Electrons,Subatomic particles with a negative (-) charge.

Atomic number,The number of protons in an atom (also equals electrons in a neutral atom).

Mass number,The total number of protons plus neutrons in an atom.

Chemical energy,Energy stored in chemical bonds (e.g. food or ATP).

Electrical energy,Energy caused by moving or charged particles (e.g. batteries).

Mechanical energy,Energy involving physical movement.

Radiant energy,Energy that travels as electromagnetic waves (e.g. sunlight).

Polar molecule,A molecule with a slightly positive side and a slightly negative side (like water).

Universal solvent,Water's nickname because it can dissolve many different substances.

Cohesion,The property of water molecules sticking to other water molecules.

High specific heat,The property where water takes a lot of energy to change its temperature.

High heat of vaporization,The property where water requires a lot of energy to turn from a liquid to a gas.

Water density anomaly,Ice is less dense than liquid water which causes it to float.

Solute,The substance that gets dissolved in a solution (e.g. salt).

Solvent,The substance that does the dissolving in a solution (e.g. water).

Solution,The final mixture created when a solute dissolves completely in a solvent.

Ionic bond,A chemical bond formed when electrons are transferred from one atom to another.

Covalent bond,A chemical bond formed when atoms share electrons.

Polar covalent bond,A bond where electrons are shared unequally creating slight charges.

Nonpolar covalent bond,A bond where electrons are shared equally with no significant charged ends.

Hydrogen bond,A weak attraction between molecules often involving hydrogen and O N or F.

Molecule,Two or more atoms chemically bonded together.

Compound,Two or more different elements chemically bonded together.

Organic compounds,Compounds that contain carbon (especially carbon bonded to hydrogen).

Inorganic compounds,Compounds that generally lack carbon-hydrogen frameworks (e.g. water or salt).

Carbohydrates,Macromolecules used for short-term energy (made of C H O).

Monosaccharide,A single sugar molecule (e.g. glucose).

Disaccharide,A carbohydrate made of two sugar molecules (e.g. sucrose).

Polysaccharide,A complex carbohydrate made of many sugar molecules (e.g. starch glycogen cellulose).

Lipids,Macromolecules used for long-term energy storage cell membranes and insulation.

Proteins,The workers of the cell made of amino acids connected by peptide bonds.

Enzymes,Proteins that speed up chemical reactions in the body.

Nucleic acids,Macromolecules that store and transmit genetic information (e.g. DNA and RNA).

ATP,The cell's usable energy currency that acts like a rechargeable battery.

Cellular respiration,The process cells use to produce ATP from food molecules like glucose.

Hydrolysis,A chemical reaction that uses water to break chemical bonds apart.

pH scale range,A scale from 0 to 14 that measures how acidic or basic a substance is.

Acid,A substance with a pH of 0 to 6 that contains more H+ ions.

Neutral substance,A substance with a pH of 7 (e.g. pure water).

Base,A substance with a pH of 8 to 14 that contains fewer H+ ions.

Normal blood pH,A slightly basic range between 7.35 and 7.45.

Krypton (Kr) valence electrons,Has 8 electrons in its outer shell making it highly stable.

Xenon (Xe) valence electrons,Has 8 electrons in its outer shell making it highly stable.