Chemistry Vocab – Flashcards
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| absolute zero |
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| coldest possible temperature, 0 degrees Kelvin, all motion stops |
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| acid anhydride |
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| nonmetal oxide |
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| activated complex |
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| an intermediate between reactants and products where bonds are breaking and bonds are forming. it is the least stable point on an energy diagram |
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| activation energy |
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| minimum amount of energy needed to start a chemical reaction |
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| alkali |
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| column 1 |
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| alkaline earth |
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| column 2 |
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| allotropes |
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| different forms of the same element (O2, O3 [oxygen and ozone]) (graphite, diamond, coal [carbon]) |
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| alloy |
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| mixture of metals (bronze, brass) |
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| alpha |
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| first letter in the greek alphabet; mass=4 charge=2 symbol:a (or He) |
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| amphoteric |
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| can act as either an acid or a base |
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| anode |
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| site of oxidation in an electrochemical cell |
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| aqueous |
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| dissolved in water |
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| arrhenius acid |
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| something that produces H+ ions when you put it in water |
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| arrhenius base |
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| something that produces hydroxide (OH-) ions when you put it in water |
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| atmosphere |
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| unit of pressure |
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| atomic mass |
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| sum of protons and neutrons in the nucleus |
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| atomic mass unit |
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| 1/12th of a carbon 12 atom |
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| atomic number |
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| the number of protons inside the nucleus equal to the number of electrons outside the nucleus |
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| basic anhydride |
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| metal oxide |
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| beta particle |
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| electrons coming out of the nucleus, mass=0 charge=-1 symbol: B |
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| binary compound |
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| 2 elements bonded together |
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| bright line spectrum |
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| colors given off when an electron falls from an excited state to a ground state |
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| bronsted-lowry acid |
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| donates H+ (protons) |
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| bronsted-lowry base |
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| accepts H+ (protons) |
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| buffer |
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| a solution that resists change in pH. It is made from a weak acid and its salt or a weak base and its salt. |
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| catalyst |
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| speeds up a process but you get it back unaltered at the end |
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| cathode |
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| side of reduction in an electrochemical cell |
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| celsius scale |
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| based on the freezing point (0 degrees) and boiling point (100 degrees) of water |
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| compound |
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| 2 or more elements bonded together |
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| control rods |
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| steel rods laced with cadmium and boron; used to absorb neutrons |
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| coolant |
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| cools down a nuclear reactor |
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| covalent bonds |
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| sharing electrons; electronegativity difference of less than 1.7 |
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| critical mass |
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| the minimum amount of fissionable material that will sustain a chain reaction |
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| density |
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| mass/volume |
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| diatomic elements |
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| H2, N2, O2, and group 17 |
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| distillation |
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| separating elements based on their boiling points |
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| ductile |
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| can be drawn into a wire |
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| electrolyte |
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| a solution that conducts electricity because it contains ions |
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| electron |
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| negatively charged particle that is found outside the nucleus with a mass near 0 |
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| electronegativity |
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| attraction for electrons on a scale of 0-4 |
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| element |
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| basic building block of matter that cant be broken down by ordinary chemical means |
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| empirical formula |
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| the simplest whole number ratio of elements in a compound (CH4--> 1:4, H2O-->2:1) |
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| endothermic |
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| absorbing energy |
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| enthalpy |
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| heat |
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| entropy |
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| chaos |
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| equilibrium |
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| the rate of the forward reaction = the rate of the reverse reaction |
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| esterification |
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| alcohol+organic acid-->water+ester |
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| excited state |
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| not in the order on the periodic table |
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| exothermic |
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| releasing energy |
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| fermentation |
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| reaction that produces CO2 and ethyl alcohol |
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| fission |
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| splitting the atom |
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| fusion |
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| combining light nuclei to make a heavier nucleus |
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| fusion |
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| melting |
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| galvanize |
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| to coat something with zinc to prevent rusting |
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| gamma rays |
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| high energy xrays (no mass no charge) |
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| gas |
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| no definite shape no definite volume |
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| ground state |
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| in the order on the periodic table |
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| group |
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| vertical columns on the periodic table |
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| halflife |
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| the amount of time it takes for half of a radioactive isotope to decay |
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| halogen |
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| group 17 |
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| heavy water |
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| water made with deuterium instead of hydrogen |
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| heterogeneous |
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| not uniform |
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| homogeneous |
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| uniform |
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| ideal gas |
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| actual atoms dont take up any space and they have no attraction for each other; high temperature, low pressure |
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| indicator |
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| substance that changes color depending on the pH |
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| inert gas |
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| column 18 |
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| ion |
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| charged particle |
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| ionic bond |
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| transfer of electrons, electronegativity difference greater than 1.7 |
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| ionization energy |
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| the energy it takes to remove an electron |
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| isomer |
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| same molecular formula, different structure |
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| isotopes |
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| same atomic number, different atomic mass |
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| kilo |
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| one thousand |
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| liquid |
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| no definite shape, definite volume |
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| malleable |
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| can be hammered into shape |
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| metal |
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| lose electrons, charge goes up |
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| metallic bond |
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| sea of mobile electrons |
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| metalloid |
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| on the staircase, properties of metals and nonmetals |
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| mixture |
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| 2 or more things put together but not bonded |
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| moderator |
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| slows down neutrons, most common are graphite and heavy water |
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| mol |
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| 22.4 L at STP |
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| mol |
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| 6.02*10^23 |
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| mol |
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| grams/molecular mass |
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| molarity |
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| mols/liters |
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| network |
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| hardest known substances (diamond, quartz) |
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| neutralization |
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| acid + base --> salt + water |
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| neutron |
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| a particle in the nucleus with a mass of 1 and no charge |
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| nonmetal |
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| gain electrons and the charge decreases |
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| nonpolar |
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| symmetrical |
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| orbital |
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| a region of space in an atom where electrons can most probably be found, holding a maximum of 2 electrons |
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| organic chemistry |
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| the study of carbon |
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| oxidation |
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| loss of electrons, charge goes up |
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| pH |
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| -log[H+] |
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| period |
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| horizontal rows corresponding to energy levels |
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| periodic law |
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| properties of elements are based on atomic number |
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| polar |
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| nonsymmetrical |
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| positron |
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| positive electron coming out of the nucleus, charge +1, mass 0 (B) |
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| pressure |
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| force of collision of the atoms in molecules |
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| proton |
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| positively charged particle in the nucleus with a mass of 1 |
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| reduction |
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| gaining electrons, the charge goes down |
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| salt bridge |
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| allows the flow of ions in an electrochemical cell |
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| saponification |
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| produces soap and glycerin |
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| saturated |
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| contains all single bonds |
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| saturated |
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| maximum amount of something that will dissolve at a certain temperature |
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| solid |
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| definite shape, definite volume |
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| stp |
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| standard temperature and pressure |
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| sublimation |
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| changing from a solid to a gas with no liquid phase (dry ice, iodine) |
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| temperature |
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| average kinetic energy |
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| tincture |
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| a solution made with alcohol instead of water |
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| transition element |
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| D-block/compounds with colors |
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| transmutation |
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| changing one element into another |
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| unsaturated |
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| contains double or triple bonds |
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| unsaturated |
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| not the maximum amount dissolved |
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| valence |
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| outermost energy level |
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| volatile |
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| evaporates easily |
