Microsoft Word Basic Chemistry Vocabulary List doc

chemical equation
: The recipe that describes what you need to do to make a 
reaction take place.
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chemical properties
: Properties that can only be described by making a 
chemical change (by making or breaking bonds). For example, color isn't a 
chemical property because you don't need to change something chemically to 
see what color it is. Flammability, on the other hand, is a chemical property, 
because you can't tell if something burns unless you actually try to burn it.
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chirality
: When a molecule has a nonsuperimposable mirror image. To 
imagine this, put your hands together. Although they are mirror images, you 
can't put them right on top of each other so they are interchangeable. Well, 
normal people can't, anyway.
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chromatography
: This is when you use a system containing a mobile phase 
(usually a liquid in general chemistry classes) and a stationary phase 
(something dissolved in the liquid) to separate different compounds. This is 
usually done by exploiting the differing polarities of solutes, though you can do 
it a whole slew o' ways.
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circuit
: The closed path in a circuit through which electrons flow.
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coagulation
: When you destroy a colloid by letting the particles settle out.
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colligative property
: Any property of a solution that changes when the 
concentration changes. Examples are color, flavor, boiling point, melting 
point, and osmotic pressure.
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colloid
: It's a suspension.
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combustion
: When a compound combines with oxygen gas to form water, 
heat, and carbon dioxide
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common ion effect
: When the equilibrium position of a process is altered by 
adding another compound containing one of the same ions that's in the 
equilibrium.

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complex ion
: An ion in which a central atom (usually a transition metal) is 
surrounded by a bunch of molecules like water or ammonia (called "ligands")
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concentration
: A measurement of the amount of stuff (solute) dissolved in a 
liquid (solvent). The most common concentration unit is molarity (M), which is 
equal to the number of moles of solute divided by the number of liters of 
solution.
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