Absolute Temperature

Absolute Temperature is temperature measured on the absolute scale of temperature (i.e. the thermodynamic scale of temperature), and may be reported by adding 273 to the Centigrade temperature.


Absolute Zero of Temperature

The Absolute Zero of Temperature is the lowest temperature on the thermodynamic scale of temperature and is -273 degC.


Absorption

Absorption is the process whereby a gas is taken up and dispersed in the bulk of a solid or a liquid, or where a liquid is taken up and dispersed in the body of a solid.


Absorption Spectra

Absorption Spectra result from the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter, where the energies that are removed from the continuous spectrum of light by the absorption medium show up as black lines or bands. The absorption spectrum of a substance is obtained by passing a beam of light through the substance in a spectrometer and examining the light that emerges. When a substance is capable of emitting a spectrum, the lines of the emission spectrum are in exactly the same positions as the lines and bands in the absorption spectrum.


Natural Abundance of an Isotope

The Natural Abundance of an Isotopes is the ratio of the number of atoms of a particular isotope of an element to the total number of atoms of all the isotopes present. It is often expressed as a percentage.


Abundance of Substances

The Abundance of Substances is the ratio of the total mass of a specified element in the earth's crust to the total mass of the earth's crust. It is often expressed as a percentage.


Acid-Base Indicators

Acid-Base Indicators are used when an acid is titrated against a base in Volumetric Analysis, to give a visual indication of the end-point of the titration. An acid-base indicator usually changes colour over a range of about 2 pH units.

Each indicators change colours at a different and unique pH.


Acid-Base Titration

An Acid-Base Titration is the analytical technique in Volumetric Analysis , where an acid of known concentration is used to neutralise a known volume of a base, and the observed volume of the acid required is used to determine the unknown concentration of the base.

An acid-base indicator is used to determine the end-point of the titration.


Acid or Acyl Halides

These are Organic compounds containing the group ---CO.X , where X is a halogen . Acyl chlorides, have the general formula R.CO.Cl. In systemically naming acyl halides the names end with the suffix -oyl, e.g. ethanoyl chloride CH3COCl.

Reactions of Acyl Chlorides

Acyl chlorides react readily with alcohols,


                   RCOCl   +   R'OH   ===>   RCOOR'   +   HCl

water, phenols and amines they are used in acylaction reaction.

Preparation of Acyl Halides

The --OH group in Carboxlyic acid is replaced by a halogen using a halogenating agent such as PCl5.


Acidic Oxides or Acid Anhydrides

Those oxides which form acidic solutions on reaction with water are called acidic oxides, (or sometimes acid anhydrides).

The acidic oxides are the oxides of the non-metal elements.

The acid anhydrides are called by their systematic names (e.g. sulphur dioxide, nitrogen pentoxide, etc.).

Most acidic oxides are soluble in water and react with it giving acids in solution.

For example, sulphur trioxide reacts with water to produce sulphuric acid.

	SO3	+	H2O	==>	H2SO4	

All acidic oxides react with alkalis to give salt and water only. For example, sulphur trioxide reacts with sodium hydroxide in aqueous solution to produce sodium sulphate and water.

	SO3    +    2 NaOH    ==>    Na2SO4    +    H20	

Similarly, nitric oxide reacts with sodium hydroxide in aqueous solution to produce a mixture of sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite and Water.

 
2 NO2 	+    2 NaOH 	==> 	NaNO2 	+    NaNO3    +      H2O 
Acidic oxides also include the giant molecular lattices (e.g. silicon dioxide).


Acid Rain

Acid Rain results from the burning of fossil fuels containing sulphur, when sulphur dioxide is produced during the combustion process.

Although the nitrogen in the air is normally uncreative, nitrogen oxides are also produced during the high temperature combustion process.

Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, NOx, are toxic acidic gases which readily react with the water in the atmosphere to form a mixture of sulphuric acid, nitric acid and nitrous acid. The dilute solutions of these acids which result give rain water a far greater acidity than normal (i.e. a lower pH) and this is known as acid rain.


Acids and Bases

When the oxides of non-metals reacted with water they formed acids. For example, when sulphur dioxide is dissolved in water, an acidic solution of Sulphurous Acid results.

	SO2   +   H2O   ==>   H2SO3.	

Similarly, the oxides of metals react with water to form bases. For example, when sodium oxide reacts with water, sodium hydroxide (i.e. caustic soda) is formed.

	Na2O   +   H2O   ==>   2 NaOH


Actinides

The Actinides (also called Actinods) are the series of elements from Thorium, Atomic Number 90, to Lawrencium, Atomic number 103.

The Actinides all have two outer s-electrons (i.e. having a7s(2) electronic configuration). The Lanthanoids and Actinides make up the f-block.


Activation Energy

The activation energy of a chemical reaction is the minimum energy required to initiate the chemical reaction (i.e. cause the chemical reaction to take place). It is the energy required to overcome the energy barrier, so that the reaction can proceed.

During the course of a chemical reaction, energy must be supplied to stretch and break the bonds in the reactant molecules, and the energy required for this process is termed the activation energy. New bonds are then reformed during the course of a chemical reaction, to make the products of the reaction.


Acylaction Reaction

This reaction involves the introduction of an acyl group (RCO--) into a compound.

Method

An Alkyl halide is reacted with an alcohol or a carboxylic acid anhydride e.g.


                      RCOCl   +   R'OH   ===>    RCOOR'    +   HCl

The introduction of an acetyl group (CH3CO--) is Acetylation, a process used for protecting --OH groups in Organic synthesis.


Addition Reactions

Addition reactions normally occur with unsaturated compounds and involve the addition of one molecule (called the reactant) across the unsaturated bond (i.e. the double bond or the triple bond) of another molecule (called the substrate) to give a single product, formed by the combination of both reacting molecules.

For example, bromine adds across the double bond of ethene (i.e. Ethylene) in an addition reaction to form dibromoethane.


	CH2=CH2    +    Br    ==>    H2BrCH2Br 
	Ethene 		Bromine 	Dibromoethane


Adsorption

Adsorption is the surface phenomenon involving the attachment of a gas or liquid to the surface of a solid. This surface property of solids is exploited in Chromatography for the separation of mixtures.


Air Pollution

Air pollution is the degradation of the quality of the atmosphere by chemical and particulate contamination. Acid Rain is a manifestation of the deterioration of the quality of the atmosphere as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels. See also Atmospheric Pollution


Alchemy

Alchemy was the so-called black art of renaissance Europe which sought ways of converting everyday substances into gold.


Alcohols Definition

Alcohols are the homologous series of organic compounds of general formula, ROH, where R is any alkyl group or substituted alkyl group. An alcohol may be a primary alcohol, secondary alcohol, or tertiary alcohol, depending on whether the carbon atom attached to the hydroxyl group, -OH, is combined with an alkyl group attached to one, two or three carbon atoms, respectively.


Alicyclic Compounds

Alicyclic compounds are ring compounds containing single and/or multiple carbon to carbon bonds. Alicyclic compounds do not contain the conjugated double bonds which are characteristic of aromatic compounds.


Aliphatic Compound

An aliphatic compound is an organic compound which consists of carbon and hydrogen in a structure which consists of


Alkenes

The alkenes, (i.e. the olefins), are the second homologous series of hydrocarbons, where there is at least one double-bond between the carbon atoms in the molecules.

The alkenes are said to be unsaturated because of the existence of a multiple bond in the molecule. The general structure of the alkene series of hydrocarbons is CnH2n. The first member of the ethene series is ethene, (previously called ethylene). In the case of higher members of the alkene series, the double bond may be between the terminal carbon atoms of the chain, or may be between internal carbon atoms in the chain.


Ethene 	C2H4	CH2=CH2 
Propene C3H6 	CH3CH=CH2 
Butene 	C4H8 	CH3CH2CH=CH2
Pentene C5H10 	CH3CH2CH2CH=CH2 
Heptene C6H12 	CH3CH2CH2CH2CH=CH2
Hexene 	C7H14 	CH3CH2CH2 CH2CH22CH=CH2 
Octene 	C8H16 	CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH=CH2
Nonene 	C9H18 	CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH=CH2 
Decene 	C10H2O 	CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH=CH2
Ethene, propene and butene are planar compounds. The first bond on the unsaturated carbon atoms are sp2 hybrids, and these bonds are arranged as far apart in space as possible (i.e. at 120 degree in the same plane). These are s bonds (sigma bonds) and are formed by the end-on overlap of sp2 hydride orbitals of the carbon atoms. The second bond that makes up the double bond of the unsaturated carbon atoms in alkenes is a p-bond (pi-bond), formed by the side-on overlap of the p-orbitals of the carbon atoms. p-bond (pi-bonds) are much more reactive than the s bonds (sigma bonds).


Alkyl Radical

An alkyl group or an alkyl radical, is structurally similar to an alkane group, where a hydrogen atom is missing. Alkyl radicals are named by replacing the ending "-ane" from the name of the alkane, with the "-yl" suffix.


Reaction of an Acidic Oxide with a Basic Oxide

An acidic oxide and a basic oxide react directly with each other to form salts.

For example, sulphur trioxide reacts with sodium oxide to form sodium sulphate.


	SO3 	+ 	Na2O 	==> 		Na2SO4


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