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Chemistry LibreTexts

1.6: Key Terms

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    574028
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    alpha particle (α particle)
    positively charged particle consisting of two protons and two neutrons
    anion
    negatively charged atom or molecule (contains more electrons than protons)
    atomic mass
    average mass of atoms of an element, expressed in amu
    atomic mass unit (amu)
    (also, unified atomic mass unit, u, or Dalton, Da) unit of mass equal to 112112 of the mass of a 12C atom
    atomic number (Z)
    number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
    cation
    positively charged atom or molecule (contains fewer electrons than protons)
    chemical symbol
    one-, two-, or three-letter abbreviation used to represent an element or its atoms
    Dalton (Da)
    alternative unit equivalent to the atomic mass unit
    Dalton’s atomic theory
    set of postulates that established the fundamental properties of atoms
    electron
    negatively charged, subatomic particle of relatively low mass located outside the nucleus
    empirical formula
    formula showing the composition of a compound given as the simplest whole-number ratio of atoms
    fundamental unit of charge
    (also called the elementary charge) equals the magnitude of the charge of an electron (e) with e = 1.602 ×× 10−19 C
    ion
    electrically charged atom or molecule (contains unequal numbers of protons and electrons)
    isomers
    compounds with the same chemical formula but different structures
    isotopes
    atoms that contain the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons
    law of constant composition
    (also, law of definite proportions) all samples of a pure compound contain the same elements in the same proportions by mass
    law of definite proportions
    (also, law of constant composition) all samples of a pure compound contain the same elements in the same proportions by mass
    law of multiple proportions
    when two elements react to form more than one compound, a fixed mass of one element will react with masses of the other element in a ratio of small whole numbers
    mass number (A)
    sum of the numbers of neutrons and protons in the nucleus of an atom
    molecular formula
    formula indicating the composition of a molecule of a compound and giving the actual number of atoms of each element in a molecule of the compound.
    neutron
    uncharged, subatomic particle located in the nucleus
    nucleus
    massive, positively charged center of an atom made up of protons and neutrons
    proton
    positively charged, subatomic particle located in the nucleus
    spatial isomers
    compounds in which the relative orientations of the atoms in space differ
    structural formula
    shows the atoms in a molecule and how they are connected
    structural isomer
    one of two substances that have the same molecular formula but different physical and chemical properties because their atoms are bonded differently
    unified atomic mass unit (u)
    alternative unit equivalent to the atomic mass unit

    This page titled 1.6: Key Terms was last modified on Sun, 19 Jul 2026 19:54:32 GMT and is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by OpenStax.

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