Unit 4 Chemistry Vocab

Calorie

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of pure water by one degree Celsius.

Calorimeter

An insulated device that is used to measure the amount of heat released or absorbed during a physical or chemical process.

Chemical Potential Energy

The energy stored in a substance because of its composition; most is released or absorbed as heat during chemical reactions or processes.

Collision Theory

States that atoms, ions, and molecules must collide in order to react.

Endothermic

A chemical reaction in which a greater amount of energy is required to break the existing bonds in the reactants.

Energy

The capacity to do work or produce heat; exists as potential energy.

Exothermic

A chemical reaction or process in which more energy is released than is required to break bonds in the initial reactants.

Heat

A form of energy that flows from a warmer object to a cooler object.

Joule

The SI unit of heat and energy.

Law of Conservation of Energy

States that in any chemical reaction or physical process, energy may change from one form to another, but can’t be created or destroyed.

Le Chatelier’s Principle

States that if stress is applied to a system at equilibrium, the system shifts in the direction that relieves the stress.

Specific Heat

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a given substance by one degree Celsius.

Surroundings

In thermochemistry, it includes everything in the universe expect the system.

System

In thermochemistry, the specific part of the universe contains the reaction or process being studied.

Thermochemistry

The study of heat changes that accompany chemical reactions and phase changes.

Universe

In thermochemistry, it is the system plus the surroundings.