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AS CHEMISTRY DEFINITIONS

First ionisation energy – the energy needed to remove

the first electron from one mole of gaseous atoms to
Atom – a nucleus that contains protons and neutrons
form one mole of gaseous 1+ ions
and electrons (found on orbitals) around the nucleus

Successive ionisation energy (I.E) - the continuous

Isoelectronic ions – ions have same number of
removal of electron
electrons

The ‘big jump’ in the size of successive I.E happens

Isotopes – atoms of the same element with the same
when an electron is removed from different shell
number of protons and electrons but different number
of neutrons

Relative atomic mass (Ar) – mass of an atom of an

element relative to 1⁄12 of the mass of an atom of
Shells – principal quantum numbers
carbon – 12 which has a mass of 12 atomic mass unit

Sub-shells – regions of the principal quantum shells

where electrons exist in defined areas with particular Relative isotopic mass – mass of an isotope of an
energy element relative to 1⁄12 of the mass of carbon-12
which has a mass of 12 atomic mass unit

Orbitals – a region of space around the nucleus where

there is a high probability finding an electron
Inter-electron repulsion (or spin-pair repulsion) –
where the electrons in the same orbital repel each
other because they have the same charge
Free radicals – a species with one (or more) unpaired
electrons (they are highly reactive species)
Relative molecular mass (Mr) – mass of a molecule or
compound relative to 1⁄12 of the mass of carbon-12
which has a mass of 12 atomic mass unit
Relative formula mass – mass of an ionic compound
relative to 1⁄12 of the mass of carbon-12 which has a
mass of 12 atomic mass unit
Mole (n) – the unit of amount of a substance

Ionisation energy – the energy needed to remove an

electron from a gaseous atom
Compound ion – an ion containing more than one type
of elements
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Electronegativity – power of an atom to attract bonding
electrons towards itself
Ionic bond – a strong electrostatic attraction formed
between positively charged cations and negatively
charged anions
Metallic bond – electrostatic attraction between
positive metals ions and delocalised electrons
Covalent bond – electrostatic attraction between nuclei
of two atoms and a shared pair of electrons
Coordinate bond (dative covalent bond) – one atom
donates its lone pair of electrons to another atom to
form a new covalent bond
Sigma bond (σ bond) – it is formed by head-on or linear
overlap between 2 orbitals
Pi bond (π bond) – it is formed by sideway overlap of
pure p-orbitals
Permanent dipole – this exists in polar molecules
(molecules with polar bonds)
Instantaneous dipole – this exists in non-polar
molecules (molecules with non-polar bonds)
Induced dipole – this is existing in a non-polar molecule
when it is next to a molecule with an instantaneous
dipole
Van der Waals forces (VDWFs) – the intermolecular
forces between molecules other than those due to bond
formation
Permanent dipole – Permanent dipole forces (Pd-Pd) –
intermolecular forces formed between molecules that
have permanent dipoles
Instantaneous dipole - Induced dipole forces (Id-Id) –
intermolecular forces formed between a molecule with
Instantaneous dipole and another molecule with an
induced dipole
Hydrogen bonding – this is a special case of pd – pd
forces which is formed between molecules that have
hydrogen atoms bonded to highly electronegative
atoms (F, O, N)
Pressure – a force caused by constant collisions
between gas molecules and the wall of its container
Kinetic theory of an ideal gas – an ideal gas has the
following features
 Has zero volume
 Has no intermolecular forces
 Are in continuous random motion
 Collisions are elastic (elastic means that
there is no energy loss or gain upon
collision)
 Gas particles have an average kinetic
energy which is proportional to the
absolute temperature
Exothermic reaction – a reaction in which energy is
transferred from the system to the surrounding (∆H⁰ =
negative)
Endothermic reaction – a reaction in which energy is
transferred from the surrounding to the system (∆H⁰ =
positive)
Activation energy (Ea) – the minimum energy reactants
must have for a reaction to happen
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Redox reaction – a reaction that involves the reduction

of a reactant and the oxidation of another reactant
Catalyst – a substance that speeds up the rate of
which occur at the same time
reaction by providing an alternative pathway with lower
activation energy and it remains unchanged at the end
of the reaction
Oxidation – loss of electrons/ increase in oxidation
number/ loss of hydrogen

Enthalpy change of
Reduction - gain of electrons/ decrease in oxidation
The amount of
number/ gain of hydrogen
reactants shown in
Reaction the equation react to
give the expected
products Disproportionation reaction – a reaction in which a
single substance is both oxidised and reduced

1 mole of a
Formation compound is formed Oxidising reagent (oxidant) – is the reactant that causes
from its elements oxidation and is itself reduced in the process
Under standard conditions
Enthalpy change when

1 mole of substance
Combustion is burned in excess Reducing reagent (reductant) – is the reactant that
O2 causes reduction and is itself oxidised in the process

1 mole of water is
Reversible reaction – a reaction which can proceed in
formed by the
Neutralization both directions
reaction of an acid
with an alkali

Dynamic equilibrium – a reaction where the rate of

1 mole of gaseous forward reaction is equal to the rate of the reverse
Atomization atoms is formed reaction and the concentration of reactants and
from its elements products remain constant

1 mole of hydrated
salt is formed from 1
Hydration Le Chatelier’s principle – states that if a change is made
mole of anhydrous
salt to a system at dynamic equilibrium, the position of
equilibrium moves to minimise this change

Bond energy – the amount of energy required to break

apart a mole of molecules into its component atoms Mole fraction (mole ratio) – the ratio of each gas in a
mixture of gases

Hess’s law – states that the total enthalpy change in a

chemical reaction is independent of the route by which Pressure – the force exerted by gas molecules on the
the chemical reaction occurs as long as the initial and sides of the container
final conditions are the same
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Partial pressure of a gas – a measure of the Activation energy – the minimum energy required for
concentration of each respective gas an effective collision to happen

BrØnsted-Lowry acid – a proton donor
 Every acid has a conjugate base
 Conjugate base is formed when the acid
gave away its proton
Boltzmann distribution – a graph showing the number
of molecules with a particular K.E plotted against the
kinetic energy. It is used to explain:
 Effect of temperature on rate
 Effect of catalyst on rate

BrØnsted-Lowry base – a proton acceptor

Catalysis – the acceleration of a chemical reaction by a
 Every base has a conjugate acid
catalyst
 Conjugate acid is formed when the base
accepted protons
Homogenous catalysis – both catalyst and reactants are
Strong acid/base – completely dissociated in solution
in the same physical states

Weak acid/base – partially dissociated in solution

Heterogeneous catalysis – both catalyst and reactants
are in different physical states

Neutralisation – the reaction between an acid and an

alkali to form salt and water
Atomic radius – Using Cl2 as an example, atomic radius
is half the distance between the nuclei in the Cl2

Indicator – a dye which changes colour at the end point

of a titration
Displacement reaction – it happens when a more
reactive halogen displaces a less reactive halogen from
its compound
Rate of reaction – the change in concentration of
reactants or products over time
Primary pollutant – an air pollutant emitted directly
from a source
Effective collision (successful collision) – this is called
the collision theory, it must undergo

 Must be at the correct orientation Secondary pollutant – it forms as a result of primary

 Collide with sufficient (K.E) pollutants reacting with the molecules in the
 Have energy (K.E) during the collision ≥ atmosphere
activation energy (Ea)

Acid rain – a mixture of nitric acid and sulphuric acid in

a rain
Frequency of collisions – the number of collisions per
unit time
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Eutrophication – the enrichment of a body of water

with an excess of nutrients

Hydrocarbons – compounds which contain hydrogen

and carbon only

Free radical – an atom or molecule with an unpaired

electron

Nucleophile – an electron rich species that acts as an

electron pair donor

Electrophile – an electron deficient species that act as

electron pair acceptor

Planar – flat

Isomers – molecules with the same molecular formula

but differ in the way their atoms are arranged

Structural isomers – molecules with the same

molecular formula but their atoms are bonded together
in a different order

Stereoisomers – molecules that have same molecular

formula, their atoms are bonded in the same sequence
but they are arranged differently in space

Chiral carbon/centre – a carbon with four different

groups

Cracking – a process of breaking down long chain

alkanes such as kerosene to form smaller more useful
molecules

Polymer – a long molecule made up of small molecules

called monomers