General, Organic, & Biological Chemistry - Lecture Notes Review

Comprehensive practice cards covering matter classification, metric units, conversion factors, significant figures, temperature, and density based on the lecture slides.

Chemistry

The study of matter—its composition, properties, and transformations.

Matter

Anything that has mass and takes up volume.

Solid

A state of matter with a definite volume and shape; its particles lie close together in a regular pattern.

Liquid

A state of matter with a definite volume that takes the shape of its container; its particles are close together but can move past one another.

Gas

A state of matter with no definite shape or volume; its particles are very far apart and move around randomly.

Physical Properties

Characteristics that can be observed or measured without changing the composition of the material, such as boiling point, color, melting point, odor, solubility, and state of matter.

Physical Change

A transformation that alters the material without changing its composition.

Chemical Properties

Characteristics that determine how a substance can be converted into another substance.

Chemical Change

A chemical reaction that converts one substance into another.

Pure Substance

Matter composed of only a single component (atom or molecule) with a constant composition that cannot be broken down by physical change.

Mixture

Matter composed of more than one component with varying composition that can be separated into its components by a physical process.

Element

A pure substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by a chemical change.

Compound

A pure substance formed by chemically joining two or more elements.

Metric Base Units

The primary units for measurement: Meter (m) for length, Gram (g) for mass, Liter (L) for volume, and Second (s) for time.

Giga- (G)

Metric prefix meaning Billion or $1,000,000,000$, expressed in scientific notation as $10^9$.

Mega- (M)

Metric prefix meaning Million or $1,000,000$, expressed in scientific notation as $10^6$.

Kilo- (k)

Metric prefix meaning Thousand or $1,000$, expressed in scientific notation as $10^3$.

Deci- (d)

Metric prefix meaning Tenth or $0.1$, expressed in scientific notation as $10^{-1}$.

Centi- (c)

Metric prefix meaning Hundredth or $0.01$, expressed in scientific notation as $10^{-2}$.

Milli- (m)

Metric prefix meaning Thousandth or $0.001$, expressed in scientific notation as $10^{-3}$.

Micro- (\mu c)

Metric prefix meaning Millionth or $0.000001$, expressed in scientific notation as $10^{-6}$.

Nano- (n)

Metric prefix meaning Billionth or $0.000000001$, expressed in scientific notation as $10^{-9}$.

Mass

A measure of the amount of matter in an object.

Weight

The force that matter feels due to gravity.

Volume

A measure of space calculated as $\text{Length} \times \text{Width} \times \text{Height}$, often measured in liters (L) or milliliters (mL).

Exact Number

A number that results from counting objects or is part of a definition, such as $10\,\text{fingers}$ or $1\,\text{meter} = 100\,\text{centimeters}$.

Inexact Number

A number that results from a measurement or observation and contains some uncertainty.

Significant Figures

All the digits in a measured number, including one estimated digit.

Scientific Notation

A number written as a coefficient (between 1 and 10) multiplied by $10$ raised to an exponent ($x$).

Conversion Factor

A term that converts a quantity in one unit to a quantity in another unit, usually written as an equality or a fraction.

Temperature

A measure of how hot or cold an object is, measured in Degrees Fahrenheit ($^\circ\text{F}$), Degrees Celsius ($^\circ\text{C}$), or Kelvin (K).

Absolute Zero

The lowest possible temperature, defined as $0\,\text{K}$, $-273\,^\circ\text{C}$, or $-460\,^\circ\text{F}$.

Celsius to Kelvin Conversion

$$T_K = T_C + 273.15$$

Fahrenheit to Celsius Conversion

$$T_C = \frac{T_F - 32}{1.8}$$

Density

A physical property that relates the mass of a substance to its volume ($\text{g/mL}$ or $\text{g/cm}^3$).

Specific Gravity

A unitless quantity that compares the density of a substance with the density of water at the same temperature.