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Intro to Basic Chemistry Vocabulary Set 2 Definitions
Endothermic
absorbs heat in a chemical reaction
Exothermic
releases heat in a chemical reaction
Enzyme
protein that acts as a biological catalyst; speeds up chemical reactions in living systems
Substrate
specific substance that an enzyme acts on
Active Site
the region/area on an enzyme that interacts with the substrate
Lock & Key Model
analogy for enzyme (lock) and substrate (key) specificity
Polar
uneven distribution of negative and positive charges in a molecule; ex: H2O (water)
oxygen is electronegative and pulls on electrons found in hydrogen; NH3 (ammonia)
Nonpolar
positive and negative charges are evenly distributed; ex: oil, fats, waxes
Mixture
two or more substances are put together but are not combined chemically
Solvent
substance in which another substance can dissolve in
Solute
substance that dissolves into a solvent
Solution
homogeneous mixture formed when a solute is dissolved in a solvent
Acid
substance that releases hydrogen ions (H+) when in water; has a pH less than 7.
Base
substance that releases hydroxyl ions (OH-) when in water; has a pH greater than 7
pH
measure of concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution
pH scale
range of pH from 0 -14; measures acidity, neutrality and alkalinity of a solution
Hydrophilic
“water loving”; substance that is polar and readily dissolves in water
Hydrophobic
“water fearing”; substance that is non polar and does not dissolve in water
Semi-permeable
aka selectively permeable; allows only certain things to penetrate or go across
Inorganic compound substance that does not contain carbon with the exception of carbon monoxide, carbon
dioxide and a few simple molecules