Chemistry Vocabulary

Reactant: One or more substances written to the left of the arrow Product: New substance(s) written to the right of the arrow Skeleton Equation: A chemical equation that does not indicate the relative amounts of the reactants and products involved in the reaction Coefficient: Tells the number of rep. Particles of each compound Subscript: Used to balance equations Ion: A charged particle Polyatomic ion: A tightly bound group of atoms that behave as a unit and carry a charge Atom: The representative particle for elements Molecule: The representative particle for covalent compounds Formula Unit: The representative particle for ionic compounds Empirical Formula: A chemical formula written in the lowest whole number ratio Molecular Formula: The chemical formula Limiting Reactant: Yields the least amount of product and is completely consumed Excess Reagent: The remaining reactant(s) after the L.R. is taken away Theoretical Yield: The maximum amount of product that could be formed from given amounts of reactants Actual Yield: The amount of product that actually forms when the reaction is carried out in the lab Percent Yield: The ratio of actual yield to the theoretical yield Activation Energy: The minimum amount of energy that particles must have in order to react; a barrier that reactants must cross to be converted into products Endothermic: When the heat change in a chemical reaction is written as a reactant; heat is being absorbed Exothermic: When the heat change in a chemical reaction is written as a product; heat is being released Catalyst: A substance that increases the rate of reaction without being used up Concentration: the number of reacting particles in a given volume; effects the rate at which reactions occur Le Chateliers Principle: If stress is applied to a system in equilibrium, the system changes to relieve the stress Specific Heat: The amount of heat it takes to raise the temperature of 1g of the substance by 1C Heat Capacity: The amount of heat needed to increase the temperature of any object by exactly 1C Joule: The SI unit of heat and energy; slightly less than of a calorie Enthalpy: The heat content of a system; also change in heat Neutralization Reaction: Used to determine the concentration of an acid or a base in a solution Acid: A compound that produces hydrogen ions [H+] when dissolved in water Base: A compound that produces hydroxide ions [OH-] when dissolved in water Molarity: The number of moles of a solute dissolved per liter of solution Titration: The entire process of adding in the standard solution Buret: Adds in the standard solution; long glass tube Colligative Property: Properties of solutions that depend only upon the number of solute particles and NOT upon their identity