Baldessari
Chemistry
Chemistry Chapter 1 Vocabulary
-
Biochemistry The chemistry of living things, including the structure and function of biological molecules and the
mechanism and products of their reactions.
Chemistry - The study of matter and its transformations.
.
dependent variable - A dependent variable changes in response to changes in independent variables. For
example, in an experiment where the vapor pressure of a liquid is measured at several different temperatures,
temperature is the independent variable and vapor pressure is the dependent variable.
environmental chemistry - The study of natural and man-made substances in the environment, including the
detection, monitoring, transport, and chemical transformation of chemical substances in air, water, and soil.
Experiment - An experiment is direct observation under controlled conditions. Most experiments involve carefully
changing one variable and observing the effect on another variable (for example, changing temperature of a water
sample and recording the change volume that results).
Geochemistry - The study of materials and chemical reactions in rocks, minerals, magma, seawater, and soil.
Hypothesis - A hypothesis is a conjecture designed to guide experimentation. Hypotheses are extremely useful in
problem solving, and are essential in developing new theories.
independent variable - An independent variable that can be set to a known value in an experiment. Several
independent variables may be controlled in an experiment. For example, in an experiment where the vapor
pressure of a liquid is measured at several different temperatures, temperature is the independent variable and
vapor pressure is the dependent variable.
Law - Natural laws summarize patterns that recur in a large amount of data. Unlike human laws, natural laws don't
forbid or permit; they describe.
Matter - Matter is anything that has mass. Air, water, coffee, fire, human beings, and stars are matter. Light, X-rays,
photons, gravitons, information, and love aren't matter.
organic chemistry - The study of compounds that contain carbon chemically bound to hydrogen, including
synthesis, identification, modeling, and reactions of those compounds.
Theory - Theories are well-established explanations for experimental data. To become established, the theory
must experimentally tested by many different investigators. Theories usually cannot be proven; a single contrary
experiment can disprove a theory.
Variable - A quantity that can have many possible values. In designing experiments, variables that affect
measurements must be identified and controlled. For example, an experiment that measures reaction rates must
control temperature, because temperature is a variable that can change the rate of reaction.