Chapter 2

Question 0

Atom

Answer 0

Minute unit made of subatomic particles that is the basic building block of all chemical elements and thus all matter. The smallest unit of an element that can exist and still have the unique characteristics of that element.

Question 1

Atomic number

Answer 1

Number of protons in the nucleus of an atom

Question 2

Atomic theory

Answer 2

Idea that all elements are made up of Atoms, the most widely accepted scientific theory in chemistry

Question 3

Cells

Answer 3

Smallest living unit of an organism. Each cell is encased in an outer membrane or wall and contains genetic material (DNA) and other parts to perform its life function. Organisms such as bacteria consist of only one cell, but most organisms contain many cells.

Question 4

Chemical change/ chemical reaction

Answer 4

Interaction between chemicals in which the chemical composition of the elements or compounds involved changes

Question 5

Chemical formula

Answer 5

Shorthand way to show the number of atoms in the basic structural unit of a compound. Examples include H2O

Question 6

Chromosome

Answer 6

A grouping of genes and associated proteins in plant and animal cells that carry certain types of genetic information.

Question 7

Compounds

Answer 7

Combination of atoms, or oppositely charged ions, of two or more elements held together by attractive forces called chemical bonds. Examples NaCl

Question 8

Data

Answer 8

Factual information collected by scientists.

Question 9

Electromagnetic radiation

Answer 9

Forms of Kinetic energy traveling as electromagnetic waves. Examples include radio waves, TV waves, microwaves, and infrared radiation.

Question 10

Electrons

Answer 10

Tiny particle moving around outside the nucleus of an atom. each electron has one unit of negative charge and almost no Mass.

Question 11

Elements

Answer 11

Chemical such as hydrogen, iron, sodium, carbon, nitrogen, or oxygen, who’s distinctly different atoms serve as the basic building blocks of all matter. Two or more elements combine to form the compounds that make up most of the world’s matter.

Question 12

Energy

Answer 12

Capacity to do work by performing mechanical, physical, chemical, or electrical task or to cause a heat transfer between two objects at different temperatures.

Question 13

Energy quality

Answer 13

Ability of a form of energy to do useful work. High-temperature heat and the chemical energy in fossil fuels and nuclear fuels are concentrated high-quality energy. Low quality energy such as low temperature heat is dispersed or diluted and cannot do much useful work.

Question 14

Feedback

Answer 14

Any process that increases (positive feedback) or decreases (negative feedback) a change to a system.

Question 15

Feedback loop

Answer 15

Occurs when an output of matter, energy, or information is fed back into the system as an input and leads to changes in that system.

Question 16

first law of thermodynamics/

law of conservation of energy

Answer 16

Whenever energy is converted from one form to another in a physical or chemical change, no energy is created or destroyed, but energy can be changed from one form to another; you cannot get more energy out of something then you put in; in terms of energy quantity, you cannot get something for nothing. This law does not apply to nuclear changes, in which large amounts of energy can be produced from small amounts of matter

Question 17

flows/throughputs

Answer 17

Rate of flow of matter, energy, or information through a system.

Question 18

fossil fuels

Answer 18

Products of partial or complete decomposition of plants and animals; occurs as crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils as a result of exposure to heat and pressure and the earth’s crust over millions of years

Question 19

frontier science/tentative science

Answer 19

Preliminary scientific data, hypotheses, and models that have not been widely tested and accepted.

Question 20

genes

Answer 20

Coded units of information about specific traits that are passed from parents to offspring during reproduction. They consist of segments of DNA molecules found in chromosomes.

Question 21

heat

Answer 21

Total kinetic energy of all randomly moving atoms, ions, or molecules within a given substance, excluding the overall motion of the whole object. Heat always flows spontaneously from a warmer sample of matter to a quarter sample of matter. This is one way to state the second law of thermodynamics.

Question 22

high-quality energy

Answer 22

Energy that is concentrated and has great ability to perform useful work. Examples include high-temperature heat and the energy in electricity, coal, and oil.

Question 23

inorganic compounds

Answer 23

All compounds not classified as organic compounds, meaning it does not have carbon.

Question 24

inputs

Answer 24

Matter, energy, or information entering the system

Question 25

ion

Answer 25

atom or group of atoms with one or more positive or negative electrical charges.

Question 26

isotopes

Answer 26

Two or more forms of a chemical element that have the same number of protons but different mass numbers because they have different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei.

Question 27

kinetic energy

Answer 27

Energy that matter has because of its mass and speed, or velocity

Question 28

low-quality energy

Answer 28

Energy that is dispersed and has little ability to do useful work. An example is low-temperature heat.

Question 29

low-quality matter

Answer 29

Matter that is dilute or dispersed or contains a low concentration of a useful resource.

Question 30

mass number

Answer 30

Some of the numbers of neutrons and the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. It gives approximate mass of that atom.

Question 31

matter

Answer 31

Anything that has mass and takes up space. On the earth, where gravity is present, we weigh objects to determine it's mass.

Question 32

matter quality

Answer 32

Measure of how useful a matter resource is, based on its availability and concentration.

Question 33

model

Answer 33

Approximate representation or simulation of a system being studied.

Question 34

molecule

Answer 34

Combination of two or more atoms of the same chemical element or different chemical elements held together by chemical bonds.

Question 35

negative feedback loop

Answer 35

Feedback loop that causes a system to change in the opposite direction from which it is more.

Question 36

neutrons

Answer 36

Elementary particle in the nuclei of all atoms. It has a relative mass of one and no electric charge.

Question 37

nuclear change

Answer 37

Process in which nuclei of certain isotope spontaneously change, or are forced to change, into one or more different isotopes. The three principal types of nuclear change are natural radioactivity, nuclear fission, or nuclear fusion.

Question 38

nucleus

Answer 38

Extremely tiny center of an atom, making up most of the atoms mass. It contains one or more positively charged protons and one or more neutrons with no electric charge

Question 39

organic compounds

Answer 39

Compounds containing carbon atoms combine with each other and with atoms of one or more other elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine, and flourine.

Question 40

peer review

Answer 40

Process of scientist reporting details of the methods and models they used, the results of their experiments, and the reasoning behind their hypotheses for other scientist working in the same field to examine and criticize.

Question 41

pH

Answer 41

Numeric value that indicates the relative acidity or alkalinity of a substance on a scale of 0 to 14 with the neutral point at seven. Acid solutions have pH values lower than seven; basic or alkaline solutions have pH values greater than seven.

Question 42

physical change

Answer 42

Process that alters one or more physical properties of an element or a compound without changing its chemical composition. Examples include changing the size and shape of a sample of matter and changing a sample of matter from one physical state to another.

Question 43

positive feedback loop

Answer 43

Feedback loop that causes a system to change further in the same direction.

Question 44

potential energy

Answer 44

Energy stored in object because of its position or the position of it's parts.

Question 45

protons

Answer 45

Positively charged particle in the nuclei of all atoms. Each proton has a relative mass of 1 and a single positive charge.

Question 46

science

Answer 46

Attempts to discover order in nature and use that knowledge to make predictions about what is likely to happen in nature.

Question 47

scientific hypothesis

Answer 47

An educated guess that attempts to explain a scientific law or certain scientific observations.

Question 48

scientific (natural) law

Answer 48

Description of what scientists find happening in nature repeatedly in the same way, without known exception.

Question 49

scientific theory

Answer 49

A well tested and widely accepted scientific hypothesis.

Question 50

second law of thermodynamics

Answer 50

Whenever energy is converted from one form to another in a physical or chemical change, we end up with lower quality or less usable energy than we started with. In any conversion of heat energy to useful work, some of the initial energy input is always degraded to lower quality, more dispersed, less useful energy, usually low temperature heat that flows into the environment; you cannot break even in terms of energy quality

Question 51

synergistic interaction/synergy

Answer 51

Interaction of two or more factors or processes so that the combine effect is greater than the sum of their separate effects.

Question 52

system

Answer 52

Set of components that function and interact in some regular and theoretically predictable manner.

Question 53

time delay

Answer 53

In a complex system, the period of time between the input of a feedback stimulus and the system's response to it.

Question 54

tipping point

Answer 54

Threshold level at which an environmental problem causes a fundamental and a irreversible shift in the behavior of a system.