Chemistry of Life Flashcards
Matter
Anything that takes up space and has mass; made of elements
Element
Substance that can’t be further broken down by chemical reaction
Compound
Two or more elements combined in a fixed ratio
Essential elements
Elements needed for an organism to live and reproduce
Trace elements
Essential elements that are required in small amounts
The four elements ___ make up ___ percent of the human body
Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen
96
Atom
Smallest particles of nature that cannot be divided and retain characteristics of an element
Weight of neutron and proton
1 amu (atomic mass unit) or dalton
Atomic number
Number of protons in an atom of an element (subscript)
1 dalton mass
1.67 ⋅ 10 ^ -24
Mass number
Number of protons + neutrons in an atom of an element/isotope (superscript)
Atomic mass
The relative mass of an element according to the frequency of it’s isotopes
Isotope
Variations of an element with different numbers of neutrons
Heavy elements
Elements with a large number of neutrons that make it unstable and often radioactive
Radioactive isotope
Isotopes with too many or too few neutrons to maintain a stable nucleus and thus spontaneously release protons
Radioactive dating
Using radioactive decay to measure age of elements
Half life
50% of the time it takes for a parent isotope to decay into a daughter isotope
Energy
The capacity to cause change
Potential energy
Energy possessed due to position or structure
Order of electron shells and number of electrons in each
K - 2
L - 8
M - 8
3 fates of an excited electron
- Fall down to original shell releasing same amount of energy as absorbed
- Falls down to original shell passing energy to nearby atom
- The electron is passed to another atom
Resonance energy transfer
Excited electron falls down to original shell passing energy to nearby atom
Compound
Combination of two or more different elements (not O2 or H2)
Electronegativity
The ability for an atom to pull electrons towards it (relevant in covalent bonding)
Polarity
Disproportionate electronegativities in a covalent bond that result in a structure with partial negatives and partial positives
Hydrogen bond
Interaction of the partial positive charge of hydrogen and the partial negative charge of an atom in another molecule
Van der Waals interactions
Random shifts of electrons that create positive and negative areas within molecules or atoms (dipoles)
Chemical equilibrium
The point at which a reaction is stably moving forward and reverse at a fixed ratio (at times fully forward or fully reversed)
Anything that takes up space and has mass; made of elements
Matter
Substance that can’t be further broken down by chemical reaction
Element
Two or more elements combined in a fixed ratio
Compound
Elements needed for an organism to live and reproduce
Essential elements
Essential elements that are required in small amounts
Trace elements
Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen
96
The four elements ___ make up ___ percent of the human body
Smallest particles of nature that cannot be divided and retain characteristics of an element
Atom
1 amu (atomic mass unit) or dalton
Weight of neutron and proton
Number of protons in an atom of an element (subscript)
Atomic number
1.67 ⋅ 10 ^ -24 g
1 dalton mass
Number of protons + neutrons in an atom of an element/isotope (superscript)
Mass number
The relative mass of an element according to the frequency of it’s isotopes
Atomic mass
Variations of an element with different numbers of neutrons
Isotope
Elements with a large number of neutrons that make it unstable and often radioactive
Heavy elements
Isotopes with too many or too few neutrons to maintain a stable nucleus and thus spontaneously release protons
Radioactive isotope
Using radioactive decay to measure age of elements
Radioactive dating
50% of the time it takes for a parent isotope to decay into a daughter isotope
Half life
The capacity to cause change
Energy
Energy possessed due to position or structure
Potential energy
K - 2
L - 8
M - 8
Order of electron shells and number of electrons in each
- Fall down to original shell releasing same amount of energy as absorbed
- Falls down to original shell passing energy to nearby atom
- The electron is passed to another atom
3 fates of an excited electron
Excited electron falls down to original shell passing energy to nearby atom
Resonance energy transfer
Combination of two or more different elements (not O2 or H2)
Compound
The ability for an atom to pull electrons towards it (relevant in covalent bonding)
Electronegativity
Disproportionate electronegativities in a covalent bond that result in a structure with partial negatives and partial positives
Polarity
Interaction of the partial positive charge of hydrogen and the partial negative charge of an atom in another molecule
Hydrogen bond
Random shifts of electrons that create positive and negative areas within molecules or atoms (dipoles)
Van der Waals interactions
The point at which a reaction is stably moving forward and reverse at a fixed ratio (at times fully forward or fully reversed)
Chemical equilibrium
