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Atoms have protons (+) and neutrons in the nucleus with electrons (-) around it; the proton count is the atomic number and defines the element, while protons plus neutrons give the mass number.
The periodic table is arranged by atomic number: rows (periods) add electron shells and columns (groups) share valence-electron counts, which is why elements in a group behave alike. Valence electrons — the outermost ones — do all the bonding.
Ionic bonds form when electrons TRANSFER from a metal to a nonmetal, creating attracted opposite ions (NaCl); covalent bonds form when two nonmetals SHARE electron pairs (H2O, CO2).
Atoms bond to reach a full outer shell (the octet rule). Hydrogen bonds — weak attractions between polar molecules, not true bonds within them — explain water’s surface tension and hold DNA’s two strands together.
Acids release hydrogen ions in solution and read below 7 on the pH scale; bases accept hydrogen ions (or release hydroxide) and read above 7; pure water is neutral at 7.
Acid plus base neutralizes to salt plus water. Buffers resist pH change by soaking up added acid or base — the bicarbonate buffer keeps blood in its narrow range, and the body treats deviations as emergencies.
Solids hold shape and volume, liquids hold volume but flow, gases fill their container; phase changes — melting, freezing, vaporization, condensation, sublimation, deposition — are physical changes driven by adding or removing energy.
Sublimation skips the liquid phase entirely — dry ice going straight to gas is the standard example, and deposition is the reverse (frost). Signs of a chemical rather than physical change include gas production, color change, and new precipitate.
In a reaction, reactants rearrange into products while atoms are conserved (balanced equations); a catalyst speeds the reaction without being consumed, and enzymes are the body's protein catalysts.
Reaction rate also rises with temperature, concentration, and surface area — chewing food is a surface-area play. Conservation of mass is why equations balance: the same atoms exit a reaction that entered it.
The cycle of investigation: observe, question, form a testable hypothesis, experiment, analyze data, and conclude — with a hypothesis written as a falsifiable if-then prediction.
Results must be repeatable to count, and a hypothesis that fails its test is revised or discarded — disproof is progress. Peer review and replication by others are what turn one lab’s finding into accepted science.
A sound experiment changes ONE independent variable, measures the dependent variable, holds everything else constant (controlled variables), and compares against a control group that receives no treatment.
A placebo keeps the control group blind to its treatment status, and double-blinding keeps the researchers honest too. Validity asks whether the experiment measures what it claims; reliability asks whether repeating it gives the same result.
Two variables moving together (correlation) does not prove one causes the other — a third factor may drive both, or the direction may be reversed; only controlled experiments establish causation.
Classic confounding: cities with more ice cream sales have more drownings because summer drives both. Researchers approach causation with randomized controlled trials, which spread hidden third factors evenly across groups.