Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Caribbean Community and Common Market

(Encyclopedia)Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), organization founded by the Treaty of Chaguaramas (Trinidad; 1973, revised 2001) and including Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica...

parathyroid glands

(Encyclopedia)parathyroid glands pârˌəthīˈroid [key], four small endocrine bodies, located behind the thyroid gland, that govern calcium and phosphorus metabolism. These four masses of tissue (each about the s...

ligand

(Encyclopedia)ligand lĭgˈənd [key], charged or uncharged molecule with one or more unshared pairs of electrons that can attach to a central metallic atom or ion to form an aggregate known as a complex ion (see c...

Common Weights and Measures (table)

(Encyclopedia)Common Weights and Measures Length Area Volume and Capacity (Liquid and Dry) Weight (Mass) ...

Le Châtelier's principle

(Encyclopedia)Le Châtelier's principle, chemical principle that states that if a system in equilibrium is disturbed by changes in determining factors, such as temperature, pressure, and concentration of components...

acids and bases

(Encyclopedia)acids and bases, two related classes of chemicals; the members of each class have a number of common properties when dissolved in a solvent, usually water. Another theory that provides a very broad ...

Formulas for the Volumes of Some Common Solids (table)

(Encyclopedia)Formulas for the Volumes of Some Common Solids 1 Abbreviations: B = area of base; h = height; r = radius; l = length; w = width. ...

ionization

(Encyclopedia)ionization: see ion.

chelating agents

(Encyclopedia)chelating agents kēˈlātĭng [key]. Certain organic compounds are capable of forming coordinate bonds (see chemical bond) with metals through two or more atoms of the organic compound; such organic ...

catalyst

(Encyclopedia)catalyst, substance that can cause a change in the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being consumed in the reaction; the changing of the reaction rate by use of a catalyst is called catalysis...