chap 16 key terms

Question 1

absorbance

Answer 1

Absorbance- A measure of the capacity of a substance to absorb light of a specified wavelength.

Question 2

anhydrous

Answer 2

containing no water

Question 3

bioaccumulation

Answer 3

Bioaccumulation- The build-up of heavy metals or other toxins in higher-order predators in a food chain.

Question 4

calibration curve

Answer 4

Calibration curve- A plot of data involving two variables that is used to determine the values for one of the variables.

Question 5

colorimeter

Answer 5

Colorimeter- An instrument that measures the absorbance of a selected colour of light by a sample solution.

Question 6

complementary colours

Answer 6

Complementary colours- Pair of colours that are often describes as ‘opposites’. When combined with each other, these colours ‘cancel’ each other out to form a greyscale colour such as white or black.

Question 7

electrical conductivity

Answer 7

Electrical conductivity (EC)- The degree to which a specified material or solution conducts electricity.

Question 8

electromagnetic radiation

Answer 8

Electromagnetic radiation- A form of energy that moves through space. Visible light, radio waves and X-rays are forms of electromagnetic radiation.

Question 9

electromagnetic spectrum

Answer 9

Electromagnetic spectrum- All possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation shown in order of their wavelengths or frequencies.

Question 10

eutophication

Answer 10

Eutrophication- A process by which pollution from sources such as chemical fertiliser or sewage cause the over-enrichment of water by nutrients. This causes the overgrowth and decay of plants, deo-oxygenation of water and the death of organisms.

Question 11

gravimetric analysis

Answer 11

Gravimetric analysis- A technique used for the quantitative determination of the amount of solute in a solution based on the mass of a solid.

Question 12

hard water

Answer 12

Hard water- Water that requires a lot of soap to obtain a lather or froth.

Question 13

hardness

Answer 13

Hardness- Water hardness is a measure of the amount of metal ions (mainly calcium and magnesium) in the water; the more minerals in the water, the harder the water. This ‘hardness’ means it is hard to get soapsuds from soap or detergents in this particular water. This happens because the metal ions react strongly with the negatively charged ions in soap molecules to form insoluble compounds. This effectively removes soap from the solution, so more soap is needed to achieve a lather.

Question 14

heavy metals

Answer 14

Heavy metals- A metal with high density; usually used to describe a metal that poses a threat to health.

Question 15

hydrated

Answer 15

Hydrated- An ion surrounded by water molecules. Hydrated ions can be found in aqueous solutions or crystalline solids.

Question 16

mass-mass stoichiometry

Answer 16

Mass-mass stoichiometry- Calculates the mass of an unknown reactant or product using the mass of the known reactant or product, as well as the stoichiometry of that reaction.

Question 17

metal complex

Answer 17

Metal complex- A central metal atom surrounded by molecules or ions.

Question 18

mineral

Answer 18

Mineral- A naturally occurring inorganic substance that is solid and can be represented by a chemical formula, e.g. quartz.

Question 19

monochromator

Answer 19

Monochromator- An instrument that transmits a narrow band of wavelengths of light or other radiation. The name is from the Greek words mono (single) and chroma (colour).

Question 20

organometallic compounds

Answer 20

Organometallic compounds- A substance that contains at least one carbon-metal bond.

Question 21

precipitate

Answer 21

Precipitate- The solid formed during a reaction in which two or more solutions are mixed.

Question 22

precipitation reaction

Answer 22

Precipitation reaction- A reaction between substances in solution in which one of the products in insoluble.

Question 23

salinity

Answer 23

Salinity- The presence of salt in water and soil that can damage plants or inhibit their growth.

Question 24

soil matrix

Answer 24

Soil matrix- The term used to describe all the components of soil, including sand, silt, clay, salts, organic matter and living organisms.

Question 25

soil texture

Answer 25

Soil texture- The classification of soil based on the percentage of sand, silt and clay particles.

Question 26

spectroscopy

Answer 26

Spectroscopy- The study of the way that radiation, such as light and radio waves, interacts with matter.

Question 27

standard solution

Answer 27

Standard solution- A solution that has an accurately known concentration.

Question 28

total dissolved solids (TDS)

Answer 28

Total dissolved solids (TDS)- The total amount of mobile charged ions, including minerals, salts or metal ions dissolved in a given quantity of water.

Question 29

UV- visible spectrophometer

Answer 29

UV- visible spectrophotometer- An analytical device that measures the absorbance of a solution in the UV- visible region of the spectrum.

Question 30

water of hydration

Answer 30

Water of hydration- Water molecules that form an essential part of a crystal arrangement, but that are not directly bonded to the cations and anions in the crystal structure.