Chapter 2b: Chemistry of water

Hydrophilic: Having a tendency to mix with, dissolve in, or be wetted by water

Hydrophobic: Tending to repel or fail to mix with water

Acid: An acid is a chemical that increases the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution, resulting in a pH below 7.  

Base: a substance with a pH above 7 that accepts hydrogen ions

pH: a logarithmic scale measuring the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in an aqueous solution, indicating its acidity or basicity.

Polarity: molecular polarity, referring to the uneven distribution of electrical charge within a molecule, and cellular/developmental polarity, which describes the asymmetrical distribution of molecules or structures within a cell or organism. 

Electronegativity: an atom's relative ability to attract a shared pair of electrons when forming a chemical bond.

Hydrogen bond: A type of weak chemical bond formed when the slightly positive hydrogen atom of a polar covalent bond in one molecule is attracted to the slightly negative atom of a polar covalent bond in another molecule (or in another region of the same molecule).

Solution: a homogeneous mixture where one substance, the solute, is uniformly dissolved in another, the solvent

Solute: The substance that gets dissolved and is present in the smaller amount.

Solvent: The substance that does the dissolving and is present in the larger amount.

Specific heat: the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1 degree Celsius (°C).