Chapter 1 Vocab

Question 1

Chemistry

Answer 1

The scientific study of of matter and its properties, the changes it undergoes, and the energy associated with those changes.

Question 2

Matter

Answer 2

Anything that possesses mass and occupies volume.

Question 3

Composition

Answer 3

The types and amounts of simpler substances that make up a sample of matter.

Question 4

Substance

Answer 4

Matter that has a defined, fixed composition.

Question 5

State of matter

Answer 5

One of the three physical forms of matter: solid, liquid, or gas.

Question 6

Solid

Answer 6

One of the three states of matter. A solid has a fixed shape that does not conform to the container of the shape.

Question 7

Liquid

Answer 7

One of the three states of matter. A liquid fills a container to the extent of its own volume and thus forms a surface.

Question 8

Gas

Answer 8

One of the three states of matter. A gas fills its container regardless of the shape because its particles are far apart.

Question 9

Physical property

Answer 9

A characteristic shown by a substance itself, without interacting with or changing into other substances.

Question 10

Physical change

Answer 10

A change in which the physical form (or state) of a substance, but not its composition, is altered.

Question 11

Chemical property

Answer 11

A characteristic of a substance that appears as it interacts with, or transforms into, other substances.

Question 12

Chemical change

Answer 12

(Also a chemical reaction) A change in which one or more substances are converted into one or more substances with different composition and properties.

Question 13

Energy

Answer 13

The ability to do work.

Question 14

Potential energy (Ep)

Answer 14

The energy an object has as a result of its position relative to other objects or because of its composition.

Question 15

Kinetic energy (Ek)

Answer 15

The energy an object has because of its motion.

Question 16

Scientific method

Answer 16

A process of creative proposals and aimed at objective, verifiable discovers of the causes of natural events.

Question 17

Observation

Answer 17

A fact obtained with the senses, often with the aid of instruments. Quantitative observations provide data that can be compared.

Question 18

Data

Answer 18

Pieces of quantitative information obtained by observation.

Question 19

Natural law

Answer 19

(Also law) A summary, often in mathematical form, of a universal observation.

Question 20

Hypothesis

Answer 20

A testable proposal made to explain an observation. If inconsistent with experimental results, a hypothesis is revised or discarded.

Question 21

Experiment

Answer 21

A set of procedural steps that tests a hypothesis.

Question 22

Variable

Answer 22

A quantity that can have more than a single value.

Question 23

Controlled experiment

Answer 23

An experiment that measures the effect of one variable at a time by keeping other variables constant.

Question 24

Model

Answer 24

(Also theory) A simplified conceptual picture based on experiment that explains how a natural phenomenon occurs.

Question 25

Combustion

Answer 25

The process of burning in air, often with release of heat and light.

Question 26

SI unit

Answer 26

A unit composed of one or more of the base units of the Système International d’Unités, a revised form of the metric system.

Question 27

Base unit

Answer 27

(Also fundamental unit) A unit that defines the standard for one of the seven physical quantities in the International System of Units (SI).

Question 28

Derived unit

Answer 28

Any of the various combinations of the seven SI base units.

Question 29

Meter (m)

Answer 29

The SI base unit of length. The distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 second.

Question 30

Volume (V)

Answer 30

The amount of space occupied by a sample of matter.

Question 31

Cubic meter (m3)

Answer 31

The derives SI unit of volume.

Question 32

Liter (L)

Answer 32

A non-SI unit of volume equivalent to 1 cubic decimeter (0.001 m3)

Question 33

Milliliter (mL)

Answer 33

A volume (0.001 L) equivalent to 1 cm3.

Question 34

Mass

Answer 34

The quantity of matter an object contains. Balances are designed to measure mass.

Question 35

Kilogram (kg)

Answer 35

The SI base unit of mass.

Question 36

Weight

Answer 36

The force that is extorted by a gravitational field on an object and is directly proportional to the object’s mass.

Question 37

Second (s)

Answer 37

The SI base unit of time.

Question 38

Conversion factor

Answer 38

A ratio of equivalent quantities that is equal to 1 and used to express a quantity in different units.

Question 39

Dimensional analysis

Answer 39

(Also factor-label method) A calculation method in which arithmetic steps are accompanied by cancelling units that represent physical dimensions.

Question 40

Density (d)

Answer 40

An intensive physical property of a substance at a given temperature and pressure, defined as the ratio of the mass of the volume: d = m/V.

Question 41

Temperature (T)

Answer 41

A measure of how hot or cold a substance is relative to another substance. A measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a sample.

Question 42

Heat

Answer 42

(Also thermal energy) The energy transferred between objects because of a difference in their temperatures only.

Question 43

Thermometer

Answer 43

A device for measuring temperature that contains a fluid that expands or contracts within a graduated tube.

Question 44

Kelvin (K)

Answer 44

The SI base unit of temperature. The kelvin is the same size as the Celsius degree.

Question 45

Celsius scale

Answer 45

(Formerly centigrade scale) A temperature scale in which the freezing and boiling points of water are defined as 0°C and 100°C, respectively.

Question 46

Kelvin scale

Answer 46

The preferred temperature scale in scientific work, which has an absolute zero (0 K, or -273.15°C) as the lowest temperature.

Question 47

Extensive property

Answer 47

A property, such as mass, that depends on the quantity of substance present.

Question 48

Intensive property

Answer 48

A property, such as density, that does not depend on the quantity of substance present.

Question 49

Uncertainty

Answer 49

A characteristic of every measurement that results from the inexactness of the measuring device and the need to estimate when taking a reading.

Question 50

Significant figures

Answer 50

The digits obtained in a measurement. The greater the number of significant figures, the greater the certainty of the measurement.

Question 51

Round off

Answer 51

The process of removing digits based on a series of rules to obtain an answer with the proper number of significant figures (or decimal places).

Question 52

Exact number

Answer 52

A quantity, usually obtained by counting or based on a unit definition, that has no uncertainty associated with it and, therefore, contains as many significant figures as a calculation requires.

Question 53

Precision

Answer 53

(Also reproducibility) The closeness of a measurement to other measurements of the same phenomenon in a series of experiments.

Question 54

Accuracy

Answer 54

The closeness of a measurement to the actual value.

Question 55

Systematic error

Answer 55

A type of error producing values that are all either higher or lower than the actual value, often caused by faulty equipment or a consistent flaw in technique.

Question 56

Random error

Answer 56

Error that occurs in all measurements (with its size depending on the measurer’s skill and the instrument’s precision) and results in values both higher and lower than the actual value.

Question 57

Calibration

Answer 57

The process of correcting for systematic error of a measuring device by comparing it to a known standard.