Matter, Energy, and Measurement Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the introductory concepts of matter, measurement, energy, and the scientific method as presented in Chapter 1.

Chemistry

The study of matter.

Matter

Anything that has mass and takes up space.

Chemical change (chemical reaction)

A process in which substances are used up and others are formed in their place.

Physical change

A change in which matter does not lose its identity, often involving a change of state.

Fact

A statement based on direct experience.

Hypothesis

A statement that is proposed, without actual proof, to explain a set of facts or their relationship.

Theory

The formulation of an apparent relationship among certain observed phenomena, which has been verified to some extent.

Exponential Notation

A method used to represent very large or very small numbers as powers of 10, such as $2 imes 10^{-5}$ or $2 imes 10^{6}$.

Metric Base Units

The primary units for measurement including length in meters ($m$), volume in liters ($L$), mass in grams ($g$), time in seconds ($s$), temperature in kelvin ($K$), and amount of substance in moles ($mol$).

Giga (G)

A metric prefix representing a value of $10^{9}$ or one billion.

Mega (M)

A metric prefix representing a value of $10^{6}$ or one million.

Kilo (k)

A metric prefix representing a value of $10^{3}$ or one thousand.

Deci (d)

A metric prefix representing a value of $10^{-1}$ or one-tenth.

Centi (c)

A metric prefix representing a value of $10^{-2}$ or one-hundredth.

Milli (m)

A metric prefix representing a value of $10^{-3}$ or one-thousandth.

Micro ($\mu$)

A metric prefix representing a value of $10^{-6}$ or one-millionth.

Nano (n)

A metric prefix representing a value of $10^{-9}$ or one-billionth.

Pico (p)

A metric prefix representing a value of $10^{-12}$ or one-trillionth.

Mass

The quantity of matter in an object, which is independent of location.

Weight

The result of mass acted upon by gravity, which depends on the force of gravity at a particular location.

Kelvin (K)

The absolute temperature scale where zero is the lowest possible temperature and $K = ext{}^{\circ}C + 273$.

Conversion factor

A ratio of two different units used as a multiplier to change from one system or unit to another.

Gas

A state of matter that has no definite shape or volume, is highly compressible, and expands to fill its container.

Liquid

A state of matter that has a definite volume but no definite shape and is only slightly compressible.

Solid

A state of matter that has a definite shape and volume and is essentially incompressible.

Density ($d$)

The ratio of mass ($m$) to volume ($V$), calculated using the formula $d = \frac{m}{V}$.

Specific gravity

A dimensionless ratio of the density of a substance compared to the density of water as a standard.

Energy

The capacity to do work.

Kinetic energy (KE)

The energy of motion, which increases with an object’s velocity and mass.

Potential energy

Stored energy or the energy an object has because of its position.

Law of conservation of energy

A principle stating that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only converted from one form to another.

Heat

A form of energy that flows from a hotter object to a cooler one until both reach the same temperature.

Calorie (cal)

The amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of $1\,g$ of liquid water by $1^{\circ}C$.

Joule (J)

The official SI unit of heat, where $1\,cal = 4.184\,J$.

Specific heat (SH)

The amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of $1.00\,g$ of a substance by $1.00^{\circ}C$.