Chemical Reactivity and Mechanisms

A collection of vocabulary flashcards related to chemical reactivity and mechanisms, covering essential concepts and terminology.

Enthalpy (ΔH)

The heat content of a system, representing the energy associated with breaking and forming bonds.

Entropy (ΔS)

A measure of molecular disorder or randomness; reflects how energy is distributed among states.

Gibbs Free Energy (ΔG)

Combines enthalpy and entropy to predict the spontaneity of a reaction; ΔG negative indicates a spontaneous process.

Activation Energy (Ea)

The minimum energy required for a chemical reaction to occur.

Transition State

The highest energy state during a reaction process; unstable and cannot be isolated.

Intermediates

Species that are formed during a reaction and exist for a measurable time, typically at energy minima.

Nucleophile

An electron-rich species that donates an electron pair to an electrophile.

Electrophile

An electron-poor species that accepts an electron pair from a nucleophile.

Bond Dissociation Energy (BDE)

The energy required to break a molecule into its individual atoms; contributes to calculating enthalpy change.

Organic Reaction Mechanism

The step-by-step sequence of events leading to the transformation of reactants into products, detailing bond breaking and formation.