Chapter 6 Physical Science Vocabulary

Front 1

Chemical bond

Back 1

A chemical bond is a lasting attraction between atoms that enables the formation of chemical compounds. The bond may result from the electrostatic force of attraction between atoms with opposite charges, or through the sharing of electrons as in the covalent bonds.

Front 2

Bond length

Back 2

In molecular geometry, bond length or bond distance is the average distance between nuclei of ... between two different atoms is the sum of the individual covalent radii (these are given in the chemical element articles for each element).

Front 3

Bond angle

Back 3

Molecular geometry is the three-dimensional arrangement of the atoms that constitute a molecule. It determines several properties of a substance including its reactivity, polarity, phase of matter, color, magnetism, and biological activity.

Front 4

Chemical structure

Back 4

A chemical structure determination includes a chemist's specifying the molecular geometry and, when feasible and necessary, the electronic structure of the target molecule or other solid.

Front 5

Ionic bond

Back 5

Ionic bonding is the complete transfer of valence electron(s) between atoms. It is a type of chemical bond that generates two oppositely charged ions. In ionic bonds, the metal loses electrons to become a positively charged cation, whereas the nonmetal accepts those electrons to become a negatively charged anion.

Front 6

Metallic bond

Back 6

Metallic bonding is the force of attraction between valence electrons and the metal ions. It is the sharing of many detached electrons between many positive ions, where the electrons act as a "glue" giving the substance a definite structure.

Front 7

Covalent bond

Back 7

A covalent bond, also called a molecular bond, is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs, and the stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms, when they share electrons, is known as covalent bonding.

Front 8

Polyatomic bond

Back 8

A polyatomic ion, as a molecular ion, is a charged chemical species (ion) composed of two or more atoms covalently bonded or of a metal complex that can be considered to be acting as a single unit. The prefix poly- means "many," in Greek, but even ions of two atoms are commonly referred to as polyatomic.

Front 9

Empirical bond

Back 9

In chemistry, the empirical formula of a chemical compound is the simplest positive integer ratio of atoms present in a compound. A simple example of this concept is that the empirical formula of sulfur monoxide, or SO, would simply be SO, as is the empirical formula of sulfur dioxide, S2O2.

Front 10

Molecular formula

Back 10

A formula giving the number of atoms of each of the elements present in one molecule of a specific compound.

Front 11

Organic compound

Back 11

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon.

Front 12

Carbohydrate

Back 12

Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches and fibers found in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products. Though often maligned in trendy diets, carbohydrates — one of the basic food groups — are important to a healthy life.

Front 13

Amino acid

Back 13

Amino acids are biologically important organic compounds containing amine (- NH2) and carboxyl (-COOH) functional groups, along with a side-chain (R group) ...

Front 14

Polymer

Back 14

Proteins are large biomolecules, or macromolecules, consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions ...

Front 15

Protein

Back 15

Proteins are large biomolecules, or macromolecules, consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions ...