Study Guide – Scientific Inquiry & Chemicals of Life Test
Study these things: In your JOURNAL
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Identifying Variables (notes)
Observations & Inferences (notes)
Introduction to Living Organisms (notes)
Chemistry of Life (notes)
Changes in Matter (notes)
Molecules of Life (notes)
Vocabulary = Thinking Like a Scientist
Vocabulary-Chemistry of Life
Study these things: NOT in your journal
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Counting Elements, Atoms, and Molecules!
Graphing Guidelines
And THIS STUDY GUIDE
(And the vocabulary on back of this page!)
Any Textbook pp
Know these things:
1. Vocabulary – Know your vocabulary. And on the back are some more very helpful words for you to know for the
test. (You already KNOW these – I’m just giving you a list of what we’ve been using for the last week!) 
2. Define matter and describe its basic characteristics: composition (atoms), properties (mass & volume), and
changes (physical and chemical).
3. Define “element,” and recognize that molecules and compounds are composed of elements.
4. Describe the relationships between atoms, elements, molecules, and compounds.
5. Distinguish between organic and inorganic compounds. The answer?
(Organic compounds also contain other elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen, and sulfur.)
6. Identify the four types of organic compounds and why they are important to living things.
7. Identify the four major organic compounds essential to life. Describe their functions and be able to give
examples of each.
8. Recognize that large molecules such as carbohydrates are composed of smaller units such as sugars.
9. Describe how matter undergoes change: Physical and chemical change. Be able to recognize examples of each.
10. Recognize that chemical reactions produce new products that are chemically different from the starting
materials. Identify the reactants and products in a chemical reaction.
11. Hypothesis – Use the “If/then” format. Example: If we do this, then here is what will happen.
12. Observations and inferences – Know the difference. Remember: An observation + your own past experiences =
an inference.
13. Variables – Be able to tell if a variable in an experiment is independent, dependent, or constant.
14. Analyze, predict, and draw conclusions from graphs and data tables.
15. Distinguish between bar and line graphs and their appropriate use of each one.
This is a list of the chemistry vocabulary we have been using for the last
week. You will find that you already know these words, but I wanted to
put them all in one place for you to make studying for the test easier. 
1. Matter – Anything that takes up space and has mass.
2. Atom – The smallest unit of an element.
3. Element – A substance that cannot be broken down into any other substances by chemical or physical
means.
4. Molecule – Two or more atoms joined together, of ANY type of atoms. (ex: H2O, CO2, O2, O3)
5. Compound – A substance made of two or more DIFFERENT elements chemically combined in a set
ratio. (ex: H2O, CO2)
6. Macromolecule – A giant molecule, such as a protein or nucleic acid, composed of many smaller units
linked together. A structure of organic compounds.
7. Organic compound – Compounds that contain the element carbon.
8. Inorganic compound – Compounds made from elements other than carbon.
9. Carbohydrates – Organic compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; main source of energy
for cell.
10. Lipids/Fats – Organic compounds that store energy.
11. Proteins – Organic compounds used for building cell parts and as enzymes.
12. Enzymes – Certain types of proteins that speed up chemical reactions.
13. Nucleic acid – Large organic molecules that store important information in cells; ex: DNA
14. Physical change – A change that alters the form or appearance of a substance but does not make the
material into another substance. Ex: Water freezes to become ice.
15. Chemical change – A change in matter that produces new substances. Chemical reactions lead to
chemical changes.
16. Chemical reaction – A change in matter that forms one or more new substances.
17. Reactant – A substance that enters into a chemical reaction. Shown before the arrow.
18. Product – A substance formed as a result of a chemical reaction. Shown after the arrow. The arrow
points to the product.
19. Chemical bond – The force that holds two atoms together.