I completed a 5 week accelerated Chem 1 lab followed by a less accelerated 8 week Chem 1 lecture. I encountered a lot of brute force memorization of different constants and could barely recall their proper usage now.
The number one lesson I can take away that I would like to share with you is do NOT, I repeat do NOT waste you time in an “intro to ____” class at the community college level. You are much better served buckling down and studying on your own over the break via self help books, videos from TTC (The Teaching Company), or a tutor. Barron’s “Forgotten___” series of books is a much better alternative. They publish Forgotten Calculus, Forgotten Chemistry, Forgotten Algebra etc.
Save your time and money!
First we have to tell you what a constant is. Simply put… A constant is a number or measurement that is always the same. No matter where, when, or what condition. When you have a formula which asks for a constant it is always the same number. Here are some examples…
6.02 x 1023 NAME: Avogadro’s Number WHAT: It tells you the number of atoms in a mole or the number of molecules in a mole of a substance. |
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9.1×10-31kg NAME: Mass of an Electron WHAT: We talk about electrons spinning around the nucleus of an atom. Well the me is the mass of one of those electrons. |
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1.675×10-24g NAME: Mass of a Neutron WHAT: In the nucleus of an atom there are neutrons and protons. A neutron has this much mass. |
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1.673×10-24g NAME: Mass of a Proton WHAT: In the nucleus of an atom there are neutrons and protons. A proton a mass of this amount. |
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6.63×10-34Js NAME: Planck’s Constant WHAT: Max Planck figured out that energy can be gained and lost by an atom. He used this constant to figure out how much energy. The “J” stands for Joules. |
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3×108m/s NAME: Speed of Light (in a vacuum) WHAT: Scientists figured out that light always travels at the same speed in a vacuum. The number is really 299,792,458 meters per second, but we abbreviate it. |
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9.8 m/s2 NAME: Acceleration of Gravity of Earth WHAT: What if you drop a ball from a height? It speeds up as it falls. The amount it speeds up (acceleration) is because of gravity. |
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1.66×10-27kg NAME: Atomic Mass Unit (also called a Dalton) WHAT: It is 1/12 the mass of a Carbon-12 atom. It is the basis for figuring out the mass all other atoms. |
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1.6×10-19C NAME: Charge of an Electron WHAT: This is the charge of one electron flying around the nucleus. |
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.082 Latm/molK 8.3 J/molK 1.987 cal/Kmol NAME: Universal Gas Constant WHAT: This constant is used in the Universal Gas Law “PV=nRT”. It has the same value for all gases. You use a different value depending on what measurements your formula uses. |
