Production Of Materials (Hsc Chemistry)

Front 1

Particle accelerators

Back 1

Atomic research tools used to accelerate subatomic particles to high velocities. They use electrostatic and electromagnetic fields to accelerate particles in a straight line.

Front 2

Addition polymerisation

Back 2

A method where simple monomer units join together to form a long-chain polymer by simple addition. No other product is formed.

Front 3

Addition reaction

Back 3

A reaction where a double or triple bond breaks open so that 'new' atoms may be added to the primary compound.

Front 4

Alkane

Back 4

A hydrocarbon that does not contain any double or triple bonds.

Alkanes have the general formula CnH2n+1

Front 5

Alkanols

Back 5

Alcohols derived from saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons by replacing a hydrogen atom with a hydroxyl (-OH) group.

Front 6

Anode

Back 6

An electrode at which oxidation occurs.

It is the negative terminal of a galvanic cell.

Front 7

Atomic number

Back 7

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.

Front 8

Battery

Back 8

A source of direct electric current made up of one or more galvanic cells.

Front 9

Bioethanol

Back 9

Ethanol derived from plant material such as agricultural waste, straw, plant material left from logging, cellulose, or crops.

This ethanol is chemically indistinguishable from that produced from industrial sources, such as the hydration of ethylene.

Front 10

Biomass

Back 10

The total mass, or weight, of living material in a particular area. It includes wood, straw, bagasse (the pulp of sugar cane after the juice has been extracted), animal and other organic wastes.

Front 11

Biopolymers

Back 11

Polymers that are made totally, or in a large part, by living organisms. Examples include cellulose, starch and proteins but also include partly synthesised polymers such as rayon, cellophane and cellulose nitrate.

Front 12

Calorimetry

Back 12

Measurement of the heat changes associated with chemical reactions and physical processes.

Front 13

Catalyst

Back 13

A chemical that can change the rate of a chemical reaction but is itself unchanged at the end of the reaction.

Catalysts are specific for particular reactions.

Front 14

Catalytic cracking

Back 14

Cracking using catalysts to sustain and perpetuate the reaction.

Front 15

Cathode

Back 15

An electrode at which reduction occurs.

It is the positive terminal of a galvanic cell.

Front 16

Condensation polymerisation

Back 16

A method where simple monomer units join together to form a long-chain polymer, with the elimination of some small molecule (such as water) between pairs of monomers

Front 17

Covalent bond

Back 17

A type of chemical bond involving the sharing of electron pairs between atoms.

Front 18

Cracking

Back 18

A process in which heavy hydrocarbon molecules in petroleum are broken down into smaller, lighter molecules.

Front 19

Cyclotron

Back 19

A type of charged particle accelerator in which the particles travel a spiral path in a strong magnetic field, thus repeatedly traversing the same electric field and achieving greater speeds than those attainable with linear accelerators.

Front 20

Dehydration

Back 20

The process of removing water.

Front 21

Disaccharide

Back 21

A carbohydrate that can be hydrolysed into two simple sugars.

Examples include sucrose, maltose and lactose.

Front 22

Dispersion forces

Back 22

Sometimes known as van der Waals forces.

These are weak attractive forces between molecules.

Front 23

Van der Waals forces

Back 23

Also called dispersion forces.

Weak attractive forces between molecules.

Front 24

Displacement reaction

Back 24

An oxidation-reduction reaction in which a more reactive metal displaces a less reactive metal from a solution of its ions.

Front 25

Double bond

Back 25

A bond formed by sharing two pairs of electrons between atoms.

Front 26

Electrode

Back 26

A conductor, usually metal or graphite, through which an electric current can enter or leave a medium, such as a solution.

Front 27

Electrolyte

Back 27

An aqueous solution or molten substance that contains ions that are free to move and allows charges to move between electrons.

Front 28

Electromotive force (emf) (for galvanic cells)

Back 28

The potential difference (voltage) across the electrodes when a negligibly small current is being drawn. This is the maximum voltage the cell can produce.

Front 29

Endothermic reaction

Back 29

A reaction for which the enthalpy change is positive, that is, there is a net absorption of heat when going from reactants to products.

Front 30

Enzymes

Back 30

Protein molecules that act as catalysts.

Front 31

Feedstock

Back 31

A reactant used in an industrial process that is made from raw materials.

Front 32

Fermentation

Back 32

The decomposition of carbohydrates by micro-organisms in the absence of air.

Front 33

Fissionable

Back 33

Describes a nucleus that can be split.

Also called fissile.

Front 34

Fissile

Back 34

Describes a nucleus that can be split.

Also called fissionable.

Front 35

Fossil fuel

Back 35

A naturally occurring energy source formed within the Earth's crust from decomposing plant and animal matter.

Front 36

Fraction

Back 36

A chemical compound separated from a mixture of different compounds.

Front 37

Fractional distillation

Back 37

A process by which substances are vaporised, and then condensed by cooling, and therefore separated by boiling point.

With mixtures of liquids having similar boiling points, multiple still heads in a fractionating column condense and return some of the vapour several times, with the more volatile liquids rising further up the column before being drawn off.

Front 38

Free radicals

Back 38

Atoms or molecules that contain unpaired electrons, making them more reactive than other particles.

Front 39

Fuel cell

Back 39

An electric cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (such as hydrogen) directly into electrical energy without needing to burn the fuel.

Front 40

Functional group

Back 40

A group of connected atoms whose presence in a molecule gives rise to characteristic chemical properties.

Front 41

Galvanic cell

Back 41

An electrochemical cell in which the spontaneous occurrence of electrode reactions produces electrical energy, which can be converted to useful work.

Front 42

Glucose

Back 42

C6H12O6

A naturally occurring six-carbon sugar that comes in two forms, alpha and beta. (You should be able to draw the two forms.)

Front 43

Homologous series

Back 43

A family of similar carbon compounds containing the same functional group but with differing numbers of CH2 groups.

Front 44

Hydrocarbon

Back 44

A carbon compound which is composed of only carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Front 45

Isomer

Back 45

A compound that contains the same numbers and kinds of atoms as another but has a different chemical structure.

(E.g. propan-1-ol and propan-2-ol are isomers.)

Front 46

Isotopes

Back 46

Atoms of the same element with the same atomic number but different mass number (i.e. the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons).

Front 47

IUPAC nomenclature

Back 47

The system for naming chemicals devised by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Front 48

Mass number

Back 48

The number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.

Front 49

Molar heat of combustion

Back 49

The amount of heat generated when one mole of a substance is completely combusted.

Front 50

Monomer

Back 50

A small chemical unit that is linked over and over to form a large chain.

Front 51

Monosaccharide

Back 51

A carbohydrate that cannot be hydrolysed into two or more simpler sugars.

E.g. glucose, galactose and fructose.

Front 52

Oxidant (oxidising agent)

Back 52

An electron acceptor.

It causes other species to be oxidised and is itself reduced.

Front 53

Oxidising agent

Back 53

Also known as an oxidant.

An electron acceptor. It causes other species to be oxidised and is itself reduced.

Front 54

Petroleum

Back 54

A naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbons, usually crude oil, but sometimes also including natural gas.

Front 55

Polylactic acid

Back 55

A biodegradable bioplastic that has applications for biomedical devices, tissue engineering and in fibres.

Front 56

Polymer

Back 56

A substance made of very large molecules (macromolecules) which are themselves made of repeated links of smaller units (monomers).

Front 57

Polysaccharide

Back 57

A carbohydrate made up of a large number of monosaccharide units linked together into a long chain (e.g. starch and cellulose in plants, and glycogen in animals).

Front 58

Qualitative test

Back 58

A test to find out about the nature of what you are testing (e.g. the presence of double bonds) without measurements or calculations (e.g. of the concentration).

Front 59

Radioisotope

Back 59

An isotope of an element that emits radioactive particles.

Front 60

Redox reactions

Back 60

Reduction-oxidation reactions (where electrons are lost and gained).

Front 61

Reductant (or reducing agent)

Back 61

An electron donor.

It causes the other species to be reduced, and is itself oxidised.

Front 62

Reflux

Back 62

A process where the products of a chemical reaction and remaining reactants are returned to the reaction in order to increase conversion or recovery.

Front 63

Ruminants

Back 63

Animals such as cows that regurgitate and re-chew their food once having swallowed it.

Front 64

Salt bridge

Back 64

A bridge, such as a filter paper soaked in an ionic salt, placed between two half-cells of a galvanic cell so that charge neutrality is preserved as the reaction proceeds.

Front 65

Saturated hydrocarbon

Back 65

A carbon compound in which each carbon atom is surrounded by exactly four single bonds.

Front 66

Standard electrode potential

Back 66

The potential, measured in volts, of an electrode in its standard state relative to the standard hydrogen electrode.

Front 67

Thermal cracking

Back 67

Cracking using high temperatures and sometimes pressure.

Front 68

Thermoplastic

Back 68

Soft and capable of being moulded when heated.

Front 69

Transuranic element

Back 69

An element that has an atomic number >92.

(All are artificially made in nuclear reactors, and are radioactive.)

Front 70

Unsaturated hydrocarbon

Back 70

A carbon compound which contains at least one double or triple bond.

Front 71

Yeast

Back 71

A single celled fungus.

Front 72

Zein

Back 72

A protein found in corn which can be used for many applications e.g. coating paper cups, lining soft drink bottle caps, clothing fabric, adhesives.

It can also be processed into resins and other bioplastic polymers.

Front 73

Zeolites

Back 73

Complex aluminosilicates consisting of large lattices of aluminium, silicon and oxygen atoms.