Glossary

Atom

the nucleus and orbitals of an element or compound

Molecule

group of atoms

Allotrope

different structure of an element

Electron

negative charge which forms part of an atom and which circles around the nucleus

Orbital

a space in which there is more than a 99% chance of finding an electron

Alkane

C-C

Alkene

C=C

Carboxylic acid

-COOH

Coordination number

the number of atoms which are linked with each other atom

Covalent bond

a bond in which atoms share electrons

Ionic bond

a bond where one atom gives electrons to another

Van der Waals force

an electrostatic interaction

Steel

a metal composed of iron and calcium

Aromatic

a type of compound which obeys Hückel's rule (4n + 2 = number of p electrons)

Hybridisation

when the orbitals mix to create hybrid orbitals such as sp²

Chiral molecule

a molecule which has an asymmetric structure and whose mirror image is not super imposable

An original design for a geodesic dome by Buckminster Fuller (from http://www.thirteen.org/bucky/dome.html)	Buckminsterfullerene

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Samantha Shanley, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol