Skip to Content Go to accessibility page Keyboard shortcuts menu

Chemistry: Atoms First 2e

Key Terms

Chemistry: Atoms First 2eKey Terms

aqueous solution: solution for which water is the solvent

Avogadro’s number (N_A): experimentally determined value of the number of entities comprising 1 mole of substance, equal to 6.022 $\times$ 10²³ mol⁻¹

concentrated: qualitative term for a solution containing solute at a relatively high concentration

concentration: quantitative measure of the relative amounts of solute and solvent present in a solution

dilute: qualitative term for a solution containing solute at a relatively low concentration

dilution: process of adding solvent to a solution in order to lower the concentration of solutes

dissolved: describes the process by which solute components are dispersed in a solvent

empirical formula mass: sum of average atomic masses for all atoms represented in an empirical formula

formula mass: sum of the average masses for all atoms represented in a chemical formula; for covalent compounds, this is also the molecular mass

mass percentage: ratio of solute-to-solution mass expressed as a percentage

mass-volume percent: ratio of solute mass to solution volume, expressed as a percentage

molar mass: mass in grams of 1 mole of a substance

molarity (M): unit of concentration, defined as the number of moles of solute dissolved in 1 liter of solution

mole: amount of substance containing the same number of atoms, molecules, ions, or other entities as the number of atoms in exactly 12 grams of ¹²C

parts per billion (ppb): ratio of solute-to-solution mass multiplied by 10⁹

parts per million (ppm): ratio of solute-to-solution mass multiplied by 10⁶

percent composition: percentage by mass of the various elements in a compound

solute: solution component present in a concentration less than that of the solvent

solvent: solution component present in a concentration that is higher relative to other components

volume percentage: ratio of solute-to-solution volume expressed as a percentage

Order a print copy

Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information

If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/chemistry-atoms-first-2e/pages/1-introduction
If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/chemistry-atoms-first-2e/pages/1-introduction

Citation information

Use the information below to generate a citation. We recommend using a citation tool such as this one.
- Authors: Paul Flowers, Edward J. Neth, William R. Robinson, PhD, Klaus Theopold, Richard Langley
- Publisher/website: OpenStax
- Book title: Chemistry: Atoms First 2e
- Publication date: Feb 14, 2019
- Location: Houston, Texas
- Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/chemistry-atoms-first-2e/pages/1-introduction
- Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/chemistry-atoms-first-2e/pages/6-key-terms

© Jun 3, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.