Describes an atom as a small dense nucleus with electrons orbiting around the nucleus. This model explains different periodic properties of atoms
Electron
A negatively charged subatomic particle which orbits the nucleus at various energy levels. The relative mass of an electron is 1/1836
Ion
A charged atom or molecule
Isotopes
Atoms of the same element with the same number of protons and electrons but different numbers of neutrons. Isotopes of an element have different masses
Mass Number
The total number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom
Mass Spectrometry
An instrument which gives accurate information about relative isotopic mass and the relative abundance of isotopes
Neutron
A neutral subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom. The relative mass of a neutron is 1
Proton
A positively charged subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom. The relative mass of a proton is 1
Relative Abundance
The amount of one substance compared with another
Relative Atomic Mass
The weighted mean mass of an atom compared with 1/12th mass of an atom of carbon-12
Relative Isotopic Mass
The mass of an atom of an isotope compared with 1/12th mass of an atom of carbon-12
Relative Formula Mass
The mass of the formula unit of a compound with a giant structure. For example, NaCl has a relative formula mass of 58.44 g mol^-1
Relative Molecular Mass (Mr)
The mass of a simple molecule
Ammonium ion
An ion with the formula NH4+
Carbonate
An ion with the formula CO3^2-
Hydroxide
An ion with the formula OH-
Ionic Compound
A compound which is made up of oppositely charged ions that are held together by electrostatic forces
Nitrate
An ion with the formula NO3-
Silver ion
Has the formula Ag+
State symbols
Symbols within a chemical equation which indicate the state of each compound under the reaction conditions. (g) gaseous, (l) liquid, (s) solid and (aq) aqueous
Sulfate
An ion with the formula SO4^2-
Zinc ion
Has the formula Zn^2+
Amount of substance
The quantity that has moles as its units, used as a way of counting atoms. The amount of substance can be calculated using mass (n = m/M), gas volumes (n = pV/(RT)) or solution volume and concentration (n = CV)
Anhydrous
A crystalline compound containing no water
Atom Economy
A measure of the amount of starting materials that end up as useful products. A high atom economy means a process is more sustainable as there is less waste produced
Avogadro Constant (NA)
The number of particles per mole of substance (6.02 x 10^23 mol^-1)
Composition by mass
The relative mass of each element in a compound
Empirical Formula
The simplest whole number ratio of atoms of each element present in a compound
Hydrated
A crystalline compound that contains water
Ideal Gas
A gas which has molecules that occupy negligible space with no interactions between them. The ideal gas equation is: pV = nRT
Molar Gas Volume
The volume of 1 mole of gas (units: dm^3 mol^-1)
Molar Mass
Mass per mole of a substance (units: g mol^-1)
Mole (mol)
The amount of any substance containing as many particles as there are carbon atoms in exactly 12g of carbon-12 isotope
Molecular Formula
The number and type of atoms of each element in a molecule
Percentage Yield
The percentage ratio of the actual yield of product from a reaction compared with the theoretical yield
Relative Molecular Mass
The average mass of one molecule of an element or compound compared to 1/12th the mass of an atom of carbon-12
Stoichiometry
The relative quantities of substances in a reaction
Water of Crystallisation
Water molecules that form part of the crystalline structure of a compound
Acid
Compounds that release H+ ions in aqueous solution. Common acids include: HCl, H2SO4, HNO3 and CH3COOH