Microsoft Word Basic Chemistry Vocabulary List doc

condensation
: When a vapor reforms a liquid. This is what happens on your 
bathroom mirror when you take a shower.
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conductance
: A measurement of how well electricity can flow through an 
object.
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conjugate acid
: The compound formed when a base gains a proton 
(hydrogen atom).
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conjugate base
: The compound formed when an acid loses a proton 
(hydrogen atom).
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continuous spectrum
: A spectrum that gives off all the colors of light, like a 
rainbow. This is caused by blackbody emission.
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covalent bond
: A chemical bond formed when two atoms share two 
electrons.
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critical mass
: The minimum amount of radioactive material needed to 
undergo a nuclear chain reaction.
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critical point:
The end point of the liquid-vapor line in a phase diagram. Past 
the critical point, you get something called a "supercritical liquid", which has 
weird properties.
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crystal lattice
: see "lattice"
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crystal
: A large chunk of an ionic solid.
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Dalton's law of partial pressures
: The total pressure in a mixture of gases is 
equal to the sums of the partial pressures of all the gases put together.
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decomposition
: When a big molecule falls apart to make two or more little 
ones.
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degenerate
: Things (usually orbitals) are said to be degenerate if they have 
the same energy. This term is used a whole lot in quantum mechanics. Also 
when dealing with kids who steal cars.
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delocalization
: This is when electrons can move around all over a molecule.
This happens when you have double bonds on adjacent atoms in a molecule 
(conjugated hydrocarbon)
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denature
: When the 3-D structure of a protein breaks down due to heat (or 
pH, etc), it's said to be denatured. This means that it unravels because the 
intermolecular forces between atoms in the chain aren't strong enough to hold 
it together anymore.
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diffusion
: When particles move from areas of high concentration to areas of 
low concentration. For example, if you open a bottle of ammonia on one end 
of the room, the concentration of ammonia molecules in the air is very high on 
that side of the room. As a result, they tend to migrate across the room, which 
explains why you can smell it after a little while. Be careful not to mix this up 
with effusion (see definition)
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