Chemistry is the study of matter and how it changes. In this unit, you will learn key vocabulary used to describe matter and build foundational concepts that will appear throughout the entire year. These ideas will give you the tools you need to understand more complex chemical reactions and phenomena later in the course. 

Atoms are the tiny building blocks that make up all matter. In this section, you will explore the structure of an atom, including protons and neutrons in the nucleus and electrons moving around the nucleus in the electron cloud. Understanding how these particles are arranged will help explain many of the chemical behaviors and patterns we will study throughout the year. 

In this section, you will explore the periodic table, the organizational tool chemists use to arrange all known elements. You will learn how elements are grouped based on their properties and how the structure of the table reveals important patterns and trends. Understanding the periodic table will help you predict how different elements behave and interact in chemical reactions.

In this section, you will learn about isotopes and ions and how atoms of the same element can differ. You will practice counting the numbers of protons, neutrons, and electrons in different atoms and ions using information from the periodic table. Understanding these particle counts will help explain why atoms can have different masses or charges while still belonging to the same element.

In this section, you will learn how scientists determine the masses and abundances of isotopes using mass spectrometry. You will explore how a mass spectrum provides information about the different isotopes of an element and how common each isotope is in nature. Using this data, you will practice calculating the average atomic mass of an element.

In this section, you will learn how to write ionic formulas for binary ionic compounds made from a metal and a nonmetal. You will practice determining the charges of ions and combining them in ratios that produce a neutral compound. You will also learn how Roman numerals are used to indicate the charge of transition metals that can form more than one possible ion.

In this section, you will learn about polyatomic ions, which are groups of atoms bonded together that carry an overall charge. These ions appear frequently in many common compounds, so recognizing them quickly will make writing formulas and naming compounds much easier. Because they appear so often in chemistry, memorizing the most common polyatomic ions will help you solve problems more efficiently throughout the course.

In this section, you will learn how to name ionic compounds, including both binary compounds and those that contain polyatomic ions. You will practice identifying the metal and nonmetal in a compound and applying the correct naming rules, including the use of Roman numerals when needed. Understanding these naming patterns will allow you to clearly communicate the composition of ionic compounds in chemistry.

In this section, you will learn about molecules and binary molecular compounds formed when nonmetal atoms bond together. You will explore how these compounds share electrons and how prefixes are used to indicate the number of atoms of each element in a compound. Understanding these patterns will help you correctly name molecular compounds and interpret their chemical formulas.

In this section, you will learn about dimensional analysis, a method chemists use to solve problems by converting units and ensuring calculations make sense. You will practice using conversion factors to change from one unit to another, such as grams to moles or liters to milliliters, while keeping track of units throughout your work. Mastering dimensional analysis will help you solve a wide variety of chemistry problems accurately and efficiently.

In this section, you will learn about density, a physical property that describes how much mass is contained in a given volume of a substance. You will practice calculating density using measurements of mass and volume and use it to compare different materials. Understanding density will help you identify substances and explain why some objects float while others sink.

Complete the graphic organizer for Density.