[CHEM 130] - Midterm Exam Guide - Everything you need to know! (16 pages long)
Document Summary
1. 1 chemistry: an atoms-first approach macroscopic world - the world we experience microscopic world - the world of atoms and molecules chemical elements - what makes up our world, similar to the letters of the alphabet. One substance changes to another by reorganizing the way the atoms are attached to each other. 1. 2 the scientific method scientific method : making observations. Qualitative - the sky is blue, the water in a liquid state. Quantitative - water boils at 100 degrees celsius, a chemistry book weighs 2 kilograms. A measurement: suggesting a possible explanation (formulating a hypothesis) Hypothesis - is a possible explanation for an observation: doing experiments to test the possible explanation (testing the hypothesis) Gathering information to decide whether or not the hypothesis is true. Theory/model - a set of tested hypotheses that gives an overall explanation of some natural phenomenon. An interpretation - a possible explanation of why nature behaves in a particular way.
