IGCSE Glossary

In chemistry, a suspension is a heterogeneous mixture that contains solid particles sufficiently large for sedimentation. The particles may be visible to the naked eye, usually must be larger than 1 micrometer, and will eventually settle.

A substance ( usually a liquid like water) which will dissolve another substance

A solution is a liquid mixture in which the minor component (the solute) is distributed within the major components (the solvent)

The minor component in a solution, dissolved in the solvent.

A substance is soluble when is can dissolve in another substance ( the solvent)

A substance able to be dissolved in a liquid.

Solubility is the measure of how much solute can be added to a solvent until it becomes a saturated solution. The solubility is measured in grams of solute per hundred grams of solvent.

A solution becomes a saturated solution when it has the maximum concentration of a solute dissolved in a solvent. After it is saturated any additional solute will not dissolve into the saturated solution.

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. Also known as the atomic number

The period number in the periodic table shows how many shells are occupied by electrons.

Nanoparticles are particles between 1 and 100 nanometres (nm) in size 

More than 70% of the elements of the periodic table are metals.  All metals conduct an electric current and react by losing electrons. Metals  therefore form positively charged ions when they react.

The structure of metals is often described as a lattice of positively charged ions in a "sea" of delocalised electrons.