Study guides · Stuff Every Chemistry Scout Should Know
Practice facts for the Chemistry merit badge. Not an official Scouting America credential. Grab a snack: this guide is the friendly version, with the answers explained and a groan-worthy joke waiting at the end of most cards.
Knowing Chemistry Scout saves you money, time and the occasional embarrassment.
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Short answer: Its properties and hazards
An SDS lists a chemical's properties, hazards, handling, disposal, and toxicity information.
Groan of the day: Don't be SDS-illusioned, read the sheet!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: To protect skin and eyes from exposure
Personal protective equipment shields your body from chemical exposure, depending on toxicity and route of exposure.
Groan of the day: Goggles up, safety on!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: Warnings about dangers
Pictograms are symbols that warn about specific hazards like flammability or toxicity.
Groan of the day: Picture a safer lab!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: To prevent accidents and protect the environment
Safe storage prevents accidental exposure and protects people and the environment.
Groan of the day: Store it right, sleep at night!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: Soap helps lift oils and dirt away
Soap helps remove oils and dirt that plain water leaves behind.
Groan of the day: Soap is a real team player!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: It can reduce microbes on skin
Alcohol can reduce microbial growth, which is why it is used for cleaning.
Groan of the day: Alcohol is no friend to germs!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: They change chemically and brown
Browning is a chemical change where food molecules react and create new flavors and colors.
Groan of the day: Brown food is well done!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: As a pH indicator
Red cabbage indicator changes color to help measure the pH of liquids.
Groan of the day: Cabbage is a colorful chemist!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: To pick the best for tents or boots
Testing waterproofing helps you choose the best treatment for a specific item like a tent or boots.
Groan of the day: Stay dry, aim high!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: The fuel involved
Fire classes group fires by the type of fuel burning, which guides which extinguisher to use.
Groan of the day: Know your class, pass the test!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: It smothers the fire
Baking soda can smother a fire by cutting off the oxygen it needs.
Groan of the day: Baking soda is a fire quitter!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: Fire and torches can be dangerous
Flame tests use open flames, so a knowledgeable adult must supervise to keep everyone safe.
Groan of the day: Flame on, but safety first!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: Making a useful polymer
Nylon synthesis creates a polymer, a large molecule made of repeating units.
Groan of the day: Nylon is a string of success!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: By making them last longer or degrade
Chemistry can create better materials or biodegradable options to reduce environmental impact.
Groan of the day: Reuse is the real winner!
Sources: Scouting America: Chemistry
Short answer: Compounds based on carbon
Organic chemistry focuses on compounds built on a carbon skeleton.
Groan of the day: Carbon is the backbone of fun!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Understand a sample's composition
Analytical chemistry analyzes samples to learn their chemical composition and structure.
Groan of the day: Analyze this, it's a hit!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Chemicals and reactions in living things
Biochemistry studies the chemicals and reactions that happen inside living organisms.
Groan of the day: Life is a chemistry story!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: The nucleus
The nucleus is the dense core of an atom, containing protons and neutrons.
Groan of the day: Nucleus is the core of the matter!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Its number of protons
An element is defined by its atomic number, the number of protons in its atoms.
Groan of the day: Protons call the shots!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: A pure substance of more than one element
A compound is a pure substance made from more than one element chemically combined.
Groan of the day: Compounds are a team effort!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: A collection of substances
A mixture is simply a collection of substances, like air or alloys.
Groan of the day: Mixtures mix it up!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Amount of substance
The mole measures the amount of substance, counting particles like atoms or molecules.
Groan of the day: Mole is a counting star!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Solid, liquid, gas
The most familiar phases are solids, liquids, and gases.
Groan of the day: Phases go through changes!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Electrons transfer between atoms
In an ionic bond, a metal loses electrons and a nonmetal gains them, forming charged ions.
Groan of the day: Ions attract attention!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Atoms sharing valence electrons
In a covalent bond, atoms share pairs of valence electrons to form a molecule.
Groan of the day: Sharing is bonding!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: One that releases heat
An exothermic reaction releases heat to its surroundings.
Groan of the day: Exothermic brings the heat!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: The energy barrier a reaction must overcome
Reactants need to overcome an energy barrier called activation energy for a reaction to occur.
Groan of the day: Clear the barrier, start the reaction!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: A charged atom or molecule
An ion is an atom or molecule that has gained or lost electrons, giving it a charge.
Groan of the day: Ions are charged up!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Hydronium ions
Arrhenius theory says an acid produces hydronium ions when dissolved in water.
Groan of the day: Acids bring the hydronium!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: It is more acidic
Low pH means high hydronium ion concentration, so the solution is more acidic.
Groan of the day: Low pH, high acidity!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: An atom loses electrons
Oxidation is a loss of electrons, which increases the oxidation number.
Groan of the day: Oxidation gives electrons away!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Composition stays unchanged over time
At equilibrium, composition stays constant even though molecules keep reacting.
Groan of the day: Equilibrium keeps it steady!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Anything with mass and volume
Matter is anything that has rest mass and volume and is made of particles.
Groan of the day: Matter matters!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Isotopes
Isotopes are atoms of an element with different mass numbers.
Groan of the day: Isotopes are mass twins!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: The physical and fundamental basis of chemical systems
Physical chemistry studies the energetics and dynamics of chemical systems and processes.
Groan of the day: Physical chemistry has energy!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Solid state components with useful functions
Materials chemistry prepares and understands solid state components or devices with useful functions.
Groan of the day: Materials chemistry builds the future!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Compounds from metals and main group elements
Inorganic chemistry studies the structure and behavior of compounds from metals and main group elements.
Groan of the day: Inorganic is in the elements!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: It connects physics and biology
Chemistry is called the central science because it provides a foundation for other sciences.
Groan of the day: Chemistry is the science hub!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Identify substances by their spectra
Spectroscopy identifies substances by analyzing their characteristic spectral lines.
Groan of the day: Spectra spill the secrets!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Matter with a definite composition
A chemical substance has a definite composition and set of properties.
Groan of the day: Pure substances are definite!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: The atom
The atom is the smallest entity that retains an element's chemical properties.
Groan of the day: Atoms are tiny but mighty!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: A group of atoms bound by covalent bonds
A molecule is a set of atoms bound together by covalent bonds, electrically neutral.
Groan of the day: Molecules are atom teams!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Protons plus neutrons
The mass number is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus.
Groan of the day: That adds up nicely!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Noble gases
The noble gas elements are composed of lone atoms as their smallest discrete unit.
Groan of the day: Those gases keep to themselves!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Amount of substance per volume
Molar concentration is the amount of a particular substance per volume of solution.
Groan of the day: That fact is quite concentrated!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: Atoms having eight electrons in their outer shell
Atoms that combine so each has eight electrons in its valence shell follow the octet rule.
Groan of the day: Eight is great for electrons!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: One with a lower final energy state
A reaction is exergonic if the final state is lower on the energy scale than the initial state.
Groan of the day: That reaction is full of energy!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: One that absorbs heat
In endothermic reactions, the reaction absorbs heat from the surroundings.
Groan of the day: That fact soaks up attention!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: A positively charged ion
When an atom loses an electron and has more protons than electrons, it becomes a positively charged cation.
Groan of the day: Cations are positively charming!
Sources: Chemistry
Short answer: A negatively charged ion
When an atom gains an electron and has more electrons than protons, it becomes a negatively charged anion.
Groan of the day: Anions are negative but still fun!
Sources: Chemistry
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Think of your answer first, then peek.
Its properties and hazards. An SDS lists a chemical's properties, hazards, handling, disposal, and toxicity information.
It smothers the fire. Baking soda can smother a fire by cutting off the oxygen it needs.
A collection of substances. A mixture is simply a collection of substances, like air or alloys.
An atom loses electrons. Oxidation is a loss of electrons, which increases the oxidation number.
The atom. The atom is the smallest entity that retains an element's chemical properties.
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