Chemistry Unit 3 Vocab

periodic law

the principle that chemical properties of the elements are periodic functions of their atomic numbers

periodic table

a tabular arrangement of the chemical elements according to atomic number as based on the periodic law

lanthanide series

the rare-earth elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71; having properties similar to lanthanum

actinide series

a series of 15 radioactive elements with increasing atomic numbers from actinium to lawrencium

alkali metal

any of the monovalent metals of group I of the periodic table

alkaline earth

any of the bivalent metals of group II of the periodic table

transition metal

any of various metallic elements (such as chromium, iron, and nickel) that have valence electrons in two shells instead of only one.

main group elements

any element belonging to the s- and p-blocks in the periodic table

halogen

any of five related nonmetallic elements that are all monovalent and readily form negative ions

atomic radius

the total distance from an atom's nucleus to the outermost orbital of electron

ion

a particle that is electrically charged; an atom or molecule or group that has lost or gained one or more electrons

ionization

the condition of being dissociated into ions

ionization energy

the minimum energy required to remove the most loosely bound electron of an isolated gaseous atom, positive ion, or molecule

electron affinity

the amount of energy released when an electron attaches to a neutral atom or molecule in the gaseous state to form an anion

cation

a positively charged ion

anion

a negatively charged ion

valence electron

an electron in the outer shell of an atom which can combine with other atoms to form molecules

electronegativity

the tendency of an atom or radical to attract electrons in the formation of an ionic bond

monatomic ion

an ion formed from a single atom

binary compound

chemical compound composed of only two elements

nomenclature

the process of naming chemical compounds with different names so that they can be easily identified as separate chemicals

oxyanion

an anion containing one or more oxygen atoms bonded to another element

salt

a chemical compound consisting of an ionic assembly of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, which results in a compound with no net electric charge

oxidation number

the degree of oxidation of an atom or ion or molecule; for simple atoms or ions the oxidation number is equal to the ionic charge

oxidation state

the hypothetical charge of an atom if all of its bonds to different atoms were fully ionic

percentage composition

the percent by mass of each element in a compound

empirical formula

a chemical formula showing the ratio of elements in a compound rather than the total number of atoms