Chapter 3

The fundamental units of all elements

Any gas, liquid, or solid that occupies space and has mass

A substance that is made up of one and only one kind of atom

The smallest unit of two or more atoms forming a compound; has all the characteristics of the compound of which it is a unit

Any substance that is made up of two or more different kinds of atoms bonded together

The overall ecosystem of Earth; the sum total of all the biomes and smaller ecosystems, which ultimately are all interconnected and interdependent through global processes such as water cycle and the atmospheric cycle

The Earth’s crust, made up of rocks and minerals

The water on Earth, in all of its liquid and solid compartments; oceans, rivers, lakes, ice, and groundwater

The thin layer of gases surrounding Earth; nitrogen, oxygen. Water vapor, and carbon dioxide are major gases, while many minor gases are also present in trace amounts

Any hard, brittle, stonelike material that occurs naturally in Earth’s crust; all minerals consist of various combinations of positive and negative ions held together by ionic bonds; pure minerals, or crystals, are one specific combination of elements; common rocks are composed of mixtures of two or more minerals

The capacity to do work; common forms of energy are light, heat, electricity, motion, and the chemical bond energy inherent in compounds such as sugar, gasoline, and other fuels

The energy inherent in motion or movement, including molecular movement (heat) and the movement of waves (hence, radiation and therefore light)

The ability to do work that is stored in some chemical or physical state; for example, gasoline is a form of potential energy because the ability to do work is stored in the chemical state and is released as the fuel is burned in an engine

The potential energy that is contained in certain chemicals; most importantly, the energy contained in organic compounds such as food and fuels and that may be released through respiration or buring

A fundamental unit of energy; the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius; all forms of energy can be converted to heat and measured in calories; used in connection with food in kilocalories, or “big” calories, the amount of ht required to raise the temperature of 1 liter of water 1 degree Celsius

The empirical observation, confirmed innumerable times, that energy is never created or destroyed but may be converted from one form to another

The empirical observation, confirmed innumerable times, that energy is never created or destroyed but may be converted from one form to another

The empirical observation confirmed innumerable times, that in every energy conversion, some of the energy is converted to heat and some heat always escapes from the system because it always moves toward a cooler place; therefore, in every energy conversion, a portion of energy is lost, and since, by the first law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be created, the functioning of any system requires an energy input

Degree of disorder; increasing entropy means increasing disorder

Proteins that promote the synthesis or breaking of chemical bonds

Chemical reaction that generally involves a breakdown of some substance through its combining with oxygen; burning and cellular respiration are examples of oxidation; in both cases, organic matter is combined with oxygen and broken down to carbon dioxide and water

A form of respiration carried on by yeast cells in the absence of oxygen; fermentation involves a partial breakdown of glucose (sugar) that yields energy for the yeast and the release of alcohol as a by-product

Lacking oxygen

pathway by which a chemical substance moves through both biotic (biosphere) and abiotic (lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere) compartments of Earth