Mcat General Chemistry

Front 1

Structure of the atom

Back 1

Atom-smallest unit of the element. Nucleus contains protons and neutorns, outside - electrons.
# of electrons = # of protons.

Front 2

Isotope

Back 2

Two atoms of the same element that differ in number of neutrons.

Front 3

Anion

Back 3

Negatively charged ion

Front 4

Cation

Back 4

Positively charged ion

Front 5

First Quantum number

Back 5

Shell number, n.Related to the size and energy of the orbital. Can be any whole number , starting with 1.Greater n, greater e's energy and distance from nucleus.

Front 6

Second Quantum number

Back 6

Subshell #, L. Describes shape of e's orbital. n-1.

Front 7

Third Quantum Number

Back 7

Orbital #, M(l). Describes 3 dimensional orientation of the orbital.

Front 8

Fourth Quantum Numbr

Back 8

Spin number, M(s). E's intrinsic magnetism. Either +1/2 -spin up or -1/2 - spin down.

Front 9

Orbital

Back 9

3 dimensional region around the nucleus in which e'n is most likely to be found.

Front 10

Maximum # of e's that go into subshells

Back 10

s - 2
p-6
d-10
f-14

Front 11

E'n configurations rules

Back 11

1) e's occupy lowest energy levels available
2)E's in the same subshell occupy available orbitals singly before pairing up
3)No two e's can have same set of quantum numbers

Front 12

Diamagnetic Atom

Back 12

Atom that has all of e's paired, leaving no net magnetic field, repelled by external mag. field.

Front 13

Paramagnetic Atom

Back 13

Atom that has e's that are not all spin paired, attracted to external mag field.

Front 14

Strong Nuclear Force

Back 14

Force that holds together protons and neutrons in the nucleus.

Front 15

Alpha Decay

Back 15

Alpha particle - 2 protons and 2 neutrons (He 4/2). parents atomic number reduced by 2, mass number by 4)
Pb (210/84)--> Pb(206/82)

Front 16

Beta Decay

Back 16

beta particle - e'n (0/-1)
Mass # of the daughter nucleus same, atomic # greater by 1
C (14/6)---> C (14/7) + e (0/-1)

Front 17

positron decay

Back 17

positron - e's antiparticle, e'n with positive charge. Mass # of daughter nucleus same, atomic # less by 1
C (14/6)---> C (14/5) + e (0/1)

Front 18

Gamma decay

Back 18

Gamma particle - photon ( high frequency and energy), dont have mass/charge, dont change anyting.

Front 19

Half life

Back 19

t1/2, time it takes for 1/2 of the radioactive sampple to decay.

Front 20

Excited state of e'n

Back 20

E'ns become excited when they gain energy by absorbing photon