Chemistry Reactions and Equilibrium Review

These flashcards provide definitions and explanations for key concepts related to chemical reactions and equilibrium based on the lecture notes.

Rate Constant

A constant that relates the rate of a reaction to the concentration of the reactants for a given reaction.

Half-life

The time required for the concentration of a reactant to decrease to half its initial value in a first-order reaction.

First-order kinetics

A reaction in which the rate depends linearly on the concentration of a single reactant.

Elementary Reaction

A single step reaction where reactants convert to products directly without any intermediate steps.

Reaction Intermediate

A species that is formed in one step of a reaction mechanism and consumed in another.

Catalyst

A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without undergoing permanent changes itself.

Equilibrium Constant (Kp)

A constant that expresses the relationship between the concentrations of products and reactants at equilibrium for a gas-phase reaction.

Brønsted-Lowry Acid

A substance that donates protons (H+) in a chemical reaction.

Conjugate Base

The species that remains after an acid donates a proton.

pH

A measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution, calculated as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration.

pOH

A measure of the basicity of an aqueous solution, calculated as the negative logarithm of the hydroxide ion concentration.

Ka

The acid dissociation constant, a measure of the strength of an acid in solution.

Temperature Effect on Equilibrium Constant

Increasing temperature for an exothermic reaction causes the equilibrium constant to decrease; the reverse is true for endothermic reactions.

Rate Law

An expression relating the rate of a reaction to the concentration of reactants raised to their respective powers.

Equilibrium Shift

The change in the concentrations of reactants and products caused by a change in conditions, such as temperature, pressure, or concentration.

Weak Acid

An acid that only partially dissociates in solution, resulting in a relatively low concentration of hydronium ions.