Questions tagged [terminology]
For questions relating to terminology and naming conventions in chemistry.
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Does CsBr have BCC lattice or cubic?
Everywhere I see on the internet, it says BCC, but my professor still says "it is cubic lattice, no matter which book/website might tell you otherwise".
The argument was that for deciding ...
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Why are "vinylic" and "allylic" carbons named so?
I find it hard to remember which is "vinylic" and "allylic" carbon, so I feel it would be easier to remember if I know the reason why they are named so, like their word root ...
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Can species with diffrent number of electrons be isoelectronic?
According to IUPAC gold book-
Does this meam that 2 species with diffrent electron number, but same valence electrons, be considered isoelectronic
Say a molecule XY and ZY where X and Z belong to the ...
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Principal quantum number and 'good' quantum numbers
When we discuss about configurations we specify n, l, m quantum numbers for the individual electrons.
My question is: why when we pass from configurations to atomic terms in order to use the total ...
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How to pronounce Aʹα-helix?
The LOV protein structure contains a Jα- and an Aʹα-helix. Would “A prime alpha helix” be the correct pronunciation for Aʹα-helix?
I'm speaking soon in front of the scientists in the field that I ...
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What is alkalimetry?
I've found two answers. One says its the determination of concentration of unknown alkali solution with the help of standard acid solution.
The other says it as the determination of concentration of ...
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What is the meaning of "proto" in nomenclature?
"Proto" is generally used to describe "first", "foremost" or "earliest form of (something)" indicating something primitive that transforms into something known ...
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Does the word "restraint" have any special meaning in the case of protein or biochemistry?
The following screenshot is taken from the book The Encyclopedia of Physical Science & Technology, volume: Biochemistry, Edition: 3rd, Page-197.
The text says:
FIGURE 3 Schematic representation ...
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Is the hydrolysis of a salt produced by neutralisation a secondary reaction? [closed]
I understand that in a solution, the salt created by a neutralisation reaction can react again with water molecules, which can further affect the pH. Is it correct to say that the hydrolysis of salts ...
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What's the relation between two symmetry groups, if one has all the symmetry of the other and some more?
Question:
Consider two molecular symmetry groups, for example $C_s$ and $C_{2v}$.
$C_s$ has one inversion plane, and two irreductible representations: the symmetric $A'$, and the antisymmetric $A''$.
...
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Looking for terminology for when a hygroscopic chemical gets moisture in it
Scenario: A jar of zinc chloride (which is very hygroscopic) is left on a shelf in a chemistry classroom for several years. You open it and it is hard. What is the word to describe that? It was ...
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What does the 'S' stand for in base-centered cubic crystals and Bravais lattices?
The 'I' used for body-centered systems is for the German word Innenzentriert and the 'F' for face-centered is for Flächenzentriert, also German but what about the 'S' for a, b, or c base-centered ...
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What does it mean when a molecule is described as "optically stable"?
In this question about "Why don't trigonal S and P compounds undergo inversion at room temperature?", phosphines, sulfoniums and sulfoxides are described as "optically stable", ...
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Do hydration (as in "solvation") and "hydration" of salts refer to the same phenomenon?
I've come across two use cases of the word "hydration", presented to me as distinct topics:
Solvation is the process of reorganizing solvent and solute molecules into solvation complexes ...
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Phrasing for processes that "create" Entropy?
In many circumstances, in the real world, systems aren't "closed" in any meaningful sense. So, when I burn a log in a fireplace, I can use words to artificially set up a kind of "log ...
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Is there a good synonym for "a group connected to a N-atom"?
I'm writing a publication in which I compare the effect of alkyl, alkene and similar chains of different length connected to a N-atom of a heterocyclic organic compound. Often I have to refer to these ...
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Standard suffixes for compounds?
Long ago, I learned that suffixes like -ide, -ate, -ose, etc. had specific meanings.
Now, I'm seeing all these drug ads on TV with generic names that all end in -ab or -ib. Do these have a standard ...
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Why is guanine sometimes referred to as "Acyclovir Impurity B"?
"Acyclovir Impurity B" is the name for guanine used by a handful of relatively low-traffic websites. Googling the term shows this. It is nearly always with a capital letter at the beginning ...
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What does "acidic" mean in an article on hydrogen boride nanosheets?
From Rojas et al. [1] (emphasis mine):
On the other hand, we found that proton exchange with HB occurs in water with the estimated $\mathrm{p}K_\mathrm{a}$ of $3.5\pm 0.2,$ even after reactive sites ...
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IUPAC naming of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) heterocyclic core and its locants
Wikipedia article about LSD says its IUPAC name is
(6aR,9R)-N,N-diethyl-7-methyl-4,6,6a,7,8,9-hexahydroindolo[4,3-fg]quinoline-9-carboxamide
which is quite complex. Especially its didehydroergoline ...
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What is the difference between technical-grade and food-grade tripotassium phosphate?
There is an article about tripotassium phosphate that states the following:
Consumers may have health concerns about why this cleaning agent can
be used in food, but that is the technical grade, not ...
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Relation between activation and threshold energies
Activation energy $E_\mathrm{a}$ and threshold energy $E_0$ appear to be equivalent quantities:
In particle physics, the threshold energy for production of a particle is the minimum kinetic energy a ...
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Can an element be a single atom or a molecule made up of atoms of the same element?
Some online websites and some books as well suggest that elements are either atoms (e.g. Ne) or molecules (e.g. $\ce{H2}$, $\ce{O2}$).
Original source: Tro, Chemistry: A Molecular Approach (2008)
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What is a "formal" dimer?
I was researching for this question and I noticed the term "formal dimer":
Hyponitrous acid is a chemical compound with formula $\ce{H2N2O2}$ or $\ce{HON=NOH}$. It is an isomer of nitramide,...
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Definition of mineralisation in context of organic chemistry
What does it mean when an organic compound, say methylene blue, is said to be mineralised? An accompanied equation shows the dye being converted into carbon dioxide and oxygen.
The only results I have ...
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Meaning of equivalents in organic synthesis
The use of "equivalents" as used in titrations/chemical analysis is an obsolete concept except in some countries. The original meaning of equivalent weights is the weight of a compound that ...
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Branch of chemistry that deals with reactions between chemicals [closed]
There are branches of chemistry like physical chemistry that hardly involve chemical reactions. Whereas, inorganic and organic chemistries pretty much definitely have a lot of chemical reactions ...
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Why is active sec-pentyl group called so?
My teacher as well as Wikipedia — Pentyl group use the following names for the “pentyl” groups:
Group name
Structure with attachment point
1
active sec-pentyl
2
sec-pentyl
3
active pentyl
If a ...
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Is there an equivalent term for favourable and non-favourable entropy?
For Gibbs energy, we have 'exergonic' or 'endergonic'
For Enthalpy, we have 'exothermic' or 'endothermic'
It seems logical there should be an equivalent pair of terms for entropy, but I can't seem to ...
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What does the word "dynamics" mean in the context of proteins or biomolecules in general?
What does it mean by “dynamics” when we say “dynamics of protein” or “dynamics of biomolecules”? For instance, McCammon's paper has the title "Protein Dynamics" [1]. What does the word “...
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What is the burette solution called in a titration, when its concentration is unknown?
Generally in titration, the unknown solution is in the conical flask, called the analyte; the standard solution is in the burette, called the titrant. How do the terminologies change when one swaps ...
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How do you write fractional hydrates in words?
Apart from sequihydrate and hemihydrate (1.5 and 0.5 respectively), I can't find a way to write any other fractional hydrates.
Wikipedia states:
The notation "hydrated compound⋅nH2O", where ...
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Can denticity and hapticity be defined simulaneously for a ligand?
I am freshly studying coordination chemistry.
What I understand from denticity and hapticity is:
Denticity - no. of electron donating sites in a ligand.
Hapticity - no. of electron donating atoms in a ...
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Can a spontaneous reaction have zero or negative activation energy?
Is it possible for a certain spontaneous reaction to have zero or negative activation energy?
My high school teacher explains that it shouldn't be possible since it breaks the Arrhenius equation, ...
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Formal way to say bubble / bubbling
I know this question might seem too simplistic but I've been looking everywhere for a better than bubble but I have not found it. The most similar word would be effervescence but that's slightly ...
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Definition of amino acid side chain
Is the α-carbon considered a part of amino acid side chain?
Is the nitrogen atom on the backbone is considered a part of the side chain of the proline?
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Degree of polymerization with structure-based polymer naming
Polymers may be named using either a structure-based or a source-based nomenclature, as detailed in the IUPAC Purple Book.[1] Therefore, the polymer descibed by $\require{enclose}\ce{\enclose{...
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Name of particles in a suspension
What is the proper name given to the particles in a suspension? Suspensae perhaps? When these particles are brought out of suspension, and precipitate down to the bottom of the mixture, what is that ...
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Should chemical names in figures be capitalised? [duplicate]
If I draw a molecule (for example glucose) and I want to name it, should I write glucose or Glucose? My aim is to draw a molecule, add the name below and then use this as a figure in a Word text.
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Why does almost every drug that causes dependence have this "-ine" suffix?
I noticed that many drugs that cause dependence have the suffix word "-ine". For example:
Caffeine, nicotine, benzodiazepine, methamphetamine, cocaine, and morphine.
My questions:
Why do ...
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What is reversible change for ideal gas?
What are the reversible and irreversible changes for an ideal gas? Is it the change that keeps the ideal gas law during the change? Is any reversible change a sum of changes satisfying the ideal gas ...
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Can you coat/ "plate" things with non metals or compounds? [closed]
I was recently watching a video on electro plating I understand that it only works with metals so I wondered if there's a method to do the same thing but with non-metals.
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What is the meaning of a “halide component” for Friedel–Crafts reaction? [closed]
Among the given halides, which one can be used as halide component for Friedel–Crafts reaction?
(a) Isopropyl chloride
(b) Bromobenzene
(c) Chlorobenzene
(d) Chloroethene
I don't understand what a &...
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Is there a canonical variable for period and group?
For example, "Z" is the standard symbol for atomic number. I'm writing a manuscript that uses the group and period of elements within some equations, and so far I'm just denoting them as $G_{...
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How is relative interaction energy defined and quantified?
I understand the interaction energy is the energy associated or caused by the interaction between the objects. So, for atoms it has to be the sum of van der Waals interaction and Coulomb interaction.
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What does “efficiency” refer to for a refrigerator?
A problem from my textbook mentions a refrigerator working with $35\,\%$ efficiency. I thought that in this case the coefficient of performance (COP) was used, specifically $Q_\mathrm{cold}/W,$ which ...
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Naming of the chemical elements and original sentences by the discoverers
Does anyone recall a printed or an online compilation where the names of all the chemical elements are listed along with the original sentence, from a research paper, containing the name of the ...
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What is the name of the physical quantity that is given in kJ/g?
The chemical potential $\mu$ of a pure phase corresponds to the Gibbs free energy $G$ divided by the amount of substance $n$:
$${G\over n} = \mu,$$
so the units of $\mu$ are $\pu{kJ mol^-1}.$
What do ...
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Why use "molecular equation" to refer to a chemical equation describing a precipitation reaction?
When we describe a precipitation reaction using a chemical equation, we have the choice of either writing the net ionic equation (i.e. leaving out spectator ions) or writing the respective ionic ...
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What are skew positions in the conformation of cyclohexane?
I encountered a question which mentioned the skew position during discussion of the conformers of cyclohexane (chair/boat).
Here is the question (grammatical errors have been emended):
Which of the ...
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