Honors Chemistry - National Geographic Chapter One, Two & Three Outline

These flashcards cover key concepts, definitions, and terminology related to the topics discussed in the Honors Chemistry lecture from the National Geographic chapters.

Chemistry

The science of matter and its transformations from one form to another.

Hypothesis

An idea that is tentatively proposed as an explanation for some observation and provides a basis for experimentation.

Qualitative Observation

An observation that cannot be measured numerically.

Quantitative Observation

An observation that can be measured numerically.

Physical Properties

Properties that can be observed and measured without changing the composition or identity of a substance.

Density

The ratio of an object's mass to its volume; calculated by the formula D = m/v.

Chemical Properties

Properties that describe the kinds of chemical reactions a substance can undergo.

Heterogeneous Mixture

A mixture in which properties in one region are different from properties in another region.

Homogeneous Mixture

A mixture that is completely uniform and consists of two or more substances in the same phase.

Element

A substance composed of only one kind of atom that cannot be decomposed into two or more substances.

Compound

A substance made of two or more elements chemically combined that can be decomposed.

SI Units

The International System of Units used in science, based on the metric system.

Mass

The quantity of matter in an object.

Weight

The force that gravity exerts on an object.

Volume

The amount of space that matter occupies, measured in cubic units.

Celsius Scale

A temperature scale commonly used in science.

Kelvin Scale

The SI base unit for temperature, referred to as the absolute temperature scale.

Scientific Notation

A method in which numbers are written in the form M x 10^n, where M is a number greater than one but less than ten.

Significant Figures

The digits known with certainty in a measurement, plus one uncertain digit.

Accuracy

Refers to how close a measurement is to the true value.

Precision

Refers to how closely two or more measurements agree with one another.

Dimensional Analysis

A problem-solving method that uses unit factors to convert between different units of measurement.