AP Chemistry terms – Flashcards
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atom |
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the smallest unit of an element; atoms consist of protons, neutrons, and electrons |
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hypothesis |
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a tentatively accepted explanation of facts |
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postulate |
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a basic principal that may be stated without direct proof |
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scientific law |
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a concise statement that summarizes a fundamental relationship of nature |
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theory |
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an encompassing idea that provides a full explanation for a natural phenomenon |
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boiling point (Tb) |
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the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid in equilibrium with the gas phase equals the atmospheric pressure |
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chemical bond |
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a stabilizing electromagnetic attraction between two atoms |
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chemical change |
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a change to a substance during a chemical reaction; a change in chemical identity |
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chemical property |
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a characteristic that describes how a substance will react chemically |
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compound |
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a substance made up of two or more elements in specific proportions |
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density |
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mass/volume |
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element |
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a substance that cannot be separated by chemical means into simpler substances |
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extensive property |
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a property that depends on the amount of material present |
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gas |
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a phase of matter with a shape and volume defined by the shape and size of the container it occupies |
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heterogeneous |
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varying from region to region |
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heterogeneous mixture |
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physically combined substances that are not in one uniform phase |
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homogeneous |
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uniform throughout |
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homogeneous mixture |
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physically combined substances that are of one uniform phase; a solution |
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intensive property |
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a property of matter that is independent of quantity |
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liquid |
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a phase of matter with a definite volume and a shape defined by the shape of the container it occupies |
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mass (m) |
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the quantity of matter in a substance; the SI unit for mass is the kilogram (kg) |
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matter |
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anything that has mass and occupies space |
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melting |
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a phase change from solid to liquid |
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mixture |
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a substance that can be separated into more than one type of matter by physical means |
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molecule |
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a well-defined group of covalently-bonded atoms |
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phase |
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a physical state of matter, such as gas, liquid, or solid |
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phase change |
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a transformation from one state of matter to another, as from solid to liquid or liquid to gas |
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physical change |
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a change to the form of a substance, but not to its composition |
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physical property |
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a characteristic that can be observed or measured without changing the composition of the substance |
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pure substance |
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matter composed of only one type of chemical substance |
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qualitative property |
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a property that is described in terms of appearance; not associated with a number |
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quantitative property |
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a property that is described in terms of a number (with units); involves a measurement |
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solid |
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a phase of matter with a definite shape and volume |
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state |
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a physical phase of matter, such as gas, liquid, or solid |
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volume |
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the amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object |
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boiling point (Tb) |
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the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid in equilibrium with the gas phase equals the atmospheric pressure |
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chemical bond |
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a stabilizing electromagnetic attraction between two atoms |
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chemical change |
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a change to a substance during a chemical reaction; a change in chemical identity |
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chemical property |
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a characteristic that describes how a substance will react chemically |
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compound |
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a substance made up of two or more elements in specific proportions |
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density |
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mass/volume |
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element |
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a substance that cannot be separated by chemical means into simpler substances |
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extensive property |
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a property that depends on the amount of material present |
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gas |
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a phase of matter with a shape and volume defined by the shape and size of the container it occupies |
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heterogeneous |
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varying from region to region |
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heterogeneous mixture |
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physically combined substances that are not in one uniform phase |
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homogeneous |
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uniform throughout |
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homogeneous mixture |
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physically combined substances that are of one uniform phase; a solution |
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intensive property |
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a property of matter that is independent of quantity |
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liquid |
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a phase of matter with a definite volume and a shape defined by the shape of the container it occupies |
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mass (m) |
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the quantity of matter in a substance; the SI unit for mass is the kilogram (kg) |
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matter |
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anything that has mass and occupies space |
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melting |
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a phase change from solid to liquid |
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mixture |
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a substance that can be separated into more than one type of matter by physical means |
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molecule |
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a well-defined group of covalently-bonded atoms |
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phase |
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a physical state of matter, such as gas, liquid, or solid |
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phase change |
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a transformation from one state of matter to another, as from solid to liquid or liquid to gas |
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physical change |
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a change to the form of a substance, but not to its composition |
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physical property |
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a characteristic that can be observed or measured without changing the composition of the substance |
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pure substance |
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matter composed of only one type of chemical substance |
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qualitative property |
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a property that is described in terms of appearance; not associated with a number |
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quantitative property |
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a property that is described in terms of a number (with units); involves a measurement |
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solid |
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a phase of matter with a definite shape and volume |
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state |
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a physical phase of matter, such as gas, liquid, or solid |
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volume |
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the amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object |
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accuracy |
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the degree of agreement between a measurement or group of measurements and the actual value of a given quantity |
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ampere (A) |
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the SI base unit of electric current; 1 A = 1 C/s |
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atmosphere (atm) |
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a non-SI unit of pressure; 1 atm = 1.013250 x 105 Pa |
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base SI unit |
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one of the seven fundamental SI units; the meter (m) for length, kilogram (kg) for mass, second (s) for time, ampere (A) for electric current, kelvin (K) for temperature, mole (mol) for amount of substance, and candela (cd) for luminous intensity |
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Celsius temperature scale |
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a temperature scale on which the freezing point of pure water at 1 atm pressure is 0° and the boiling point of pure water at 1 atm pressure is 100° |
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charge |
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the property that governs interactions between bodies through electrostatic forces; electric charge |
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coulomb (C) |
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the SI unit of charge; 1 C = 1 A·s |
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current (I) |
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the amount of charge flowing past a point per unit time, measured in amperes (A); electric current |
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density |
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mass/volume |
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derived unit |
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a unit obtained by combining two or more of the base SI units |
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dimensional analysis |
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a method for solving for a quantity by multiplication by conversion factors |
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energy |
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the capacity to do work or transfer heat |
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Fahrenheit temperature scale |
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a temperature scale on which the freezing point of pure water at 1 atm pressure is 32° and the boiling point of pure water at 1 atm pressure is 212° |
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graduated cylinder |
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a piece of glassware used to deliver a known, variable volume |
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joule (J) |
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the unit associated with work; 1 J = 1 kg·m2/s2 |
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kelvin (K) |
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the SI unit of temperature; T(K) = T(°C) + 273.15 |
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Kelvin temperature scale |
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a temperature scale on which absolute zero is 0 and the freezing point of water at 1 atm is 273.15; the unit of the Kelvin temperature scale is the kelvin (K), and is the same size as 1°C |
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kilogram (kg) |
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the base SI unit of mass |
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liter (L) |
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the SI unit of volume; 1 L = 1 dm3 |
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meniscus |
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the interface between a liquid and a gas |
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meter (m) |
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the base SI unit of length; the distance traveled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1/299792458 s |
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mole |
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the amount of substance that contains as many particles as exactly 12 grams of carbon-12; 6.0221367 x 1023 things |
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Newton (N) |
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the SI unit of force; 1 N = 1 kg·m/s2 |
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pascal (Pa) |
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the SI unit of pressure; 1 Pa = 1 N/m2 = 9.869233 x 10-6 atm |
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potential difference |
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DE; the difference in electrical potential between two points, such as between the electrodes of a galvanic cell; voltage |
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power |
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the rate of energy transfer; the SI unit of power is the watt (W), where 1 W = 1 J/s |
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precision |
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reproducibility of a measurement of a given quantity |
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pressure (P) |
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force per unit area |
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random error |
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error associated with the estimation of the last digit of any measurement |
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second (s) |
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the base SI unit of time |
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significant figures |
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digits which reflect the precision of a measured quantity, which include all certain digits and a final one with some uncertainty; zeros that are placeholders are not counted |
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systematic error |
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error inherent to the measurement of a value |
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Systeme International d’Unites (SI) |
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the accepted standard system of units, built upon seven base SI units (the meter, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole, and candela) |
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temperature (T) |
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a measure on the macroscopic level of the degree of hotness of a system, proportional to the average kinetic energy of the components of the system on an atomic-molecular level |
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volt (V) |
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the SI unit of electrical potential difference; 1 V = 1 J/C |
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volume |
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the amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object |
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volumetric pipette |
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a piece of glassware used to deliver a known, fixed volume of liquid |
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watt (W) |
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the SI unit of power; 1 W = 1 J/s = 1 kg·m2/s3 |