Glossary of Chemical Terms - E
E
- efficiency
- The ratio of work done or energy developed by a machine or engine, to the energy supplied to it.
- electrochemical
- Describes any effect concerned with the electrical properties of solutions and the ions in solutions.
- electrode
- A metal plate or wire for conducting electrons into or out of solutions.
- electrolysis
- The use of electrical energy to carry out a chemical reaction.
- electrolyte
- A substance that, when dissolved in water produces a solution that conducts electricity.
- electron
- A negatively charged subatomic particle, of extremely low mass found in the space outside the nucleus of an atom.
- electronegative
- Referring to the property of electronegativity.The most electronegative element isfluorine, having an electronegativity of 4.0 on the Pauling scale.Non-metals are more electronegative than metals.
- electronegativity
- The ability of an atom in a molecule to attract electrons toward itself.
- electrophoresis
- A method of separating large molecules (such as DNA fragments or proteins) from a mixture of similar molecules. An electric current is passed through a medium containing the mixture, and each kind of molecule travels through the medium at a different rate, depending on its electrical charge and size. Separation is based on these differences.
- electrostatic
- Having to do with the positive and negative charges on species such as electrons or ions.The important principle is that like charges repel and opposite charges attract.
- element
- A basic building block of matter that cannot be broken down into a simpler substance by ordinary means.
- emollient
- A substance that softens or smoothes.
- emulsifier
- A substance that promotes the dispersion of small globules of one liquid in another liquid when the two liquids will not mix.
- enantiomer
- One of a pair of non-superimposable, mirror-image stereoisomers.
- energy
- The ability to do work and transfer heat.
- entropy
- A measure of the disorder of a system.
- enzymatic
- Relating to the activity of enzymes, which are biological catalysts that play crucial roles in most biological processes, including metabolism and gene expression.
- enzyme
- A biological catalyst that will increase the rate of a chemical reaction, but is not consumed in the course of a reaction.These catalysts are at least hundreds of times more efficient than any man-made catalyst used in industrial processes.
- epimer
- One of two steroisomers with more than one chiral center that differ in stereochemical configuration at only one.
- equilibrium
- A system in which the rates of the forward and the reverse reaction are equal.
- excretion
- The process of ridding the body of metabolic waste products.
- exergonic process
- A process that liberates energy.
- exothermic process
- A thermodynamic process in which heat flows from a system to the surroundings.
- extensive property
- A property that depends on the amount of matter present.
Glossary created by David Shaw (Madison Area Technical College) for The Chemistry Place.
Information Please® Chemistry Place, ©2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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