A | B |
matter | anything that occupies space and has mass |
element | pure substance that cannot be broken down into other substances by chemical or physical means |
trace element | element critical to health that makes up less than 0.01 percent of body mass |
compound | substance containing two or more elements chemically combined in a fixed ratio |
ionic bond | chemical bond that occurs when an atom transfers an electron to another atom |
ion | atom that has become electrically charged as a result of gaining or losing an electron |
covalent bond | chemical bond that forms when two atoms share electrons |
molecule | two or more atoms held together by covalent bonds |
chemical reaction | breaking of old and formation of new chemical bonds that result in new substances |
reactant | starting material for a chemical reaction |
product | material created as a result of a chemical reaction |
atom | smallest particle of an element |
proton | subatomic particle with a single unit of positive electric charge |
electron | subatomic particle with a single unit of negative electric charge (-) |
neutron | subatomic particle that has no charge (is electrically neutral) |
nucleus | in an atom, the central core that contains protons and neutrons |
atomic number | number of protons in an atom's nucleus; is unique for each element |
isotope | one of several forms of an element, each containing the same number of protons in their atoms but a different number of neutrons |
radioactive isotope | isotope in which the nucleus decays (breaks down) over time, giving off radiation in the form of matter and energy |
polar molecule | molecule in which opposite ends have opposite electric charges |
hydrogen bond | bond created by the weak attraction of a slightly positive hydrogen atom to a slightly negative portion of another molecule |
cohesion | tendency of molecules of the same kind to stick to one another |
adhesion | attraction between unlike molecules |
thermal energy | total amount of energy associated with the random movement of atoms and molecules in a sample of matter |
temperature | measure of the average energy of random motion of particles in a substance |
solution | uniform mixture of two or more substances |
solvent | substance in a solution that dissolves the other substance and is present in the greater amount |
solute | substance in a solution that is dissolved and is present in a lesser amount |
aqueous solution | solution in which water is the solvent |
acid | compound that donates H+ ions to an aqueous solution and measures less than 7 on the pH scale |
base | compound that removes H+ ions from an aqueous solution and that measures more than 7 on the pH |
pH scale | a range of numbers used to describe how acidic or basic a solution is; ranges from 0 (most acidic) to 14 (most basic) |
buffer | substance that maintains a fairly constant pH in a solution by accepting H+ ions when their levels rise and donating H+ ions when their levels fall |