Chemical Reactions

What is a valence electron? What is it involved in? What does it determine?

An electron in the outermost shell of an atom; involved in bonding; determines reactivity

What are reactants?

The starting substances (on the left side of a chemical equation)

What are products?

The substances formed (on the right side of a chemical equation)

What is a mole?

A unit equal to 6.022 × 10²³ particles of a substance ^{(Avogadro's number; also the atomic/molecular mass in grams)}

What is an ionic bond? (what type of substances are involved (2); what does the bond create?)

A bond formed when electrons are transferred between a metal and a nonmetal, creates oppositely charged ions that attract each other

What is a covalent bond? (type of substances involved)

A bond formed when two nonmetals share electrons instead of transferring them

What is a cation? How does it form?

A positively charged ion formed when an atom loses one or more electrons (Mg²⁺)

What is an anion? How does it form

A negatively charged ion formed when an atom gains one or more electrons (Cl^-)

What is electronegativity?

The tendency of an atom to attract electrons toward itself

What is ionization energy?

The energy required to remove the most loosely held electron from an atom

What is Avogadro's number?

6.022 × 10²³ (the number of particles in one mole of a substance)

What is a polar covalent bond? (e.g. H2O)

A covalent bond where unequal sharing of electrons creates a partially positive side and a partially negative side of the molecule

Does the element Fluorine have more or less electronegativity than Sodium?

has more electronegativity (F can attract more electrons towards itself in a chemical bond)