INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY/SKILLS VOCABULARY
Balance
Boiling point
Celsius
Conclusion
Control
Data
Density
Dependent variable
Gas
Hypotheses
Independent variable
Liquid
Tool, calibrated in grams, used to measure
the mass of an object.
The temperature at which a substance in its
liquid state changes into a gas state.
A temperature scale in which the freezing
point of water is 0° and the boiling point of
water is 100°.
1. The end of a reasoning process involving
data, evidence, or observations from an
investigation.
2. The closing paragraph of a laboratory
report including at least the investigative
question, the hypothesis, and the
explanation of the results
A factor in an investigation that is kept the
same; the standard used for comparison.
Collected information which can be
quantitative (numerical) or qualitative
(descriptive). Factual information used as a
basis for reasoning, discussion, or
calculation.
The amount of material an object has in a
specific amount of space.
Factor whose value depends on the change
the experimenter makes to the independent
variable. It is the effect resulting from the
scientific investigation. This quantity is
plotted along the y-axis of a graph.
The state in which a substance has no
definite shape or volume.
Plural of hypothesis. A hypothesis a
prediction that can be tested and is based
on an observation, experience, or a
scientific reason The statement includes the
expected cause and effect in a given
circumstance or situation.
The factor/value altered by the
experimenter during the scientific
investigation. The changes made affect the
value of the dependent variable. This
quantity is plotted along the x-axis of a
graph.
The state in which a substance flows and
takes up the shape of its container.
CHEM -7
Magnetism
Mass
Matter
Model
Observe
Physical properties
Qualitative
Solid
Solubility
Standard unit
State of matter
Substance
Trend
Variable
Volume
Weight
The field of force produced by a magnet or
an electric current.
A measure of the amount of matter in an
object.
Anything that has volume and mass.
An illustration, description, small
reproduction, or other representation that is
used to explain an object, system, or
concept.
To gather information and direct evidence
by using senses and/or scientific
instruments.
Any property of matter that can be
observed by your senses.
Data that is related to the quality of
observations.
The state in which a substance has a
definite volume and shape and resists
forces which try to change these.
Ability of a substance to dissolve in
another substance.
Inches, feet, yards, centimeters, meters,
grams, ounces, pounds, Celsius degrees,
Fahrenheit degrees, hours and minutes and
non-standard units (i.e. paper clips).
The forms matter can take, as in liquid,
solid, or gas.
Matter of a particular kind, or chemical
makeup.
The general drift, tendency, or direction of
a set of data.
Any factor in an investigation that could
affect the results.
Amount of space an object or substance
takes up; measured in liters or cubic
centimeters.
The measure of the gravitational force
acting on an object.
CHEM -8
Well-designed investigation
A detailed inquiry or systematic
examination which includes the following
criteria:
• only one variable is tested
• testing conditions such as time,
temperature, and surfaces are controlled
• multiple trials are completed
• appropriate materials and equipment are
selected
• clear, logical directions are included
Note: Vocabulary terms in regular font indicate terms from the Maryland State
Voluntary Curriculum Glossary. Those terms in italics indicate vocabulary within
the Baltimore County Curriculum. All appropriate vocabulary must be included
in daily instruction.
CHEM -9
ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM VOCABULARY
Armature
Atom
Battery
Brush
Chemical energy
Commutator
Conduct
Conduction
Electric circuit
Electric current
Electrical conductivity
Electrical energy
Electricity
Electrochemical cell
Electrode
Electrolyte
Electromagnet
Electromagnetic energy
Electron
Energy
Energy conversion
The moving part of an electric motor,
consisting of dozens or hundreds of loops
of wire wrapped around an iron core.
The smallest part of a substance that can
exist and still retain the properties of that
substance.
A combination of two or more
electrochemical cells in series.
The contact point connected to a current
source and the commutator of a motor.
Energy stored in the chemical bonds of
molecules (Form of Energy).
A device that controls the direction of the
flow of current through an electric motor.
Allow energy to flow through a material.
The transfer of heat (or electrical) energy
through a substance or from one substance
to another by direct contact of atoms or
molecules.
Continuous path that can be followed by
charged particles.
The flow of charged particles from one
place to another.
A property of a mineral to transmit
electricity.
Energy of electrical charges as a result of
their position or motion (Form of Energy).
A general term for the physical phenomena
that arise from the interaction of electric
charges.
A device that converts chemical energy into
electrical energy.
A metal part of an electrochemical cell,
which gains or loses electrons.
A liquid or paste that conducts electricity.
A strong magnet that can be turned on and
off; a solenoid with a ferromagnetic core.
The energy of light and other forms of
radiation.
The negatively charged particle that moves
around the nucleus of an atom.
The ability to cause matter to move or
change (Ability to do work).
See energy transformation.
CHEM -10
Energy transformation
Friction
Gravitational
Gravitational Potential Energy
Gravity
Heat energy
Induction
Kinetic energy
Law of Conservation of Energy
Law of Electrostatics
Light
Magnetic
Magnetic domain
Magnetic field
Magnetic field lines (Magnetic lines of
force)
Magnetic pole
Magnetism
Mechanical Energy
Neutral atom
When energy changes from one type to
another.
The force that acts between materials that
touch as they move past each other.
Friction is caused by irregularities in the
surface of objects that are touching.
The mutual force of attraction between
particles of matter. The magnitude depends
on the masses of the particle and the
distance between them.
Potential energy that depends on the height
of an object.
The force of gravitational attraction on or
near the surface of a celestial body.
The energy of a material due to the random
motion of its particles. Also called thermal
energy. The word "heat" is used when
energy is transferred from one substance to
another (Form of Energy).
A method of electrically charging an object
by means of the electric field of another
object.
Energy of motion/Action (Form of Energy).
Energy cannot be created or destroyed only changed from one form to another.
Law that states like charges repel; unlike
charges attract.
Electromagnetic radiation or
electromagnetic waves which are visible to
the human eye.
Having the properties of a magnet.
A region in which the magnetic fields of all
atoms are lined up in the same direction.
A region of space around a magnet in
which objects are affected by the magnetic
force.
Lines that map out the magnetic field
around a magnet.
The ends of a magnetic object, where the
magnetic force is strongest.
The field of force produced by a magnet or
an electric current.
Energy an object has because of its motion
or position (Form of Energy).
An atom with an equal number of protons
and electrons is electrically neutral.
CHEM -11
Particle with a neutral charge located in the
nucleus of an atom.
Energy that is released either by splitting
Nuclear energy
atomic nuclei or by forcing the nuclei of
atoms together.
The core at the center of every atom.
Nucleus
Electrical circuit arranged so that current
Parallel circuit
passes through more than one pathway
simultaneously.
A body suspended from a fixed point so as
Pendulum
to swing freely to and fro under the action
of gravity.
The stored energy of a body because of its
Potential energy
position (Type of Energy).
Positively charged particle in the nucleus
Proton
of an atom.
A device in an electric circuit that uses
Resistor
electrical energy as it interferes with the
flow of electric charge.
An electric circuit in which the current
Series circuit
passes through only one pathway.
An electrical connection that allows
Short circuit
current to take an unintended path.
Energy from the Sun in the form of light
Solar energy
and heat energy.
A current- carrying coil of wire with many
Solenoid
loops that acts as a magnet.
Potential energy in the form of a stationary
Static electric charge
electric charge.
A build up of charges on an object.
Static Electricity
The part of an electrode above the surface
Terminal
of the electrolyte.
Note: Vocabulary terms in regular font indicate terms from the Maryland State
Voluntary Curriculum Glossary. Those terms in italics indicate vocabulary within the
Baltimore County Curriculum. All appropriate vocabulary must be included in daily
instruction
Neutron
CHEM -12
Earth Space Science Vocabulary
Absolute Magnitude
Apparent Magnitude
Asteroid
Asteroid Belt
Athenosphere
Atmosphere
Batholith
Caldera
Canyon
Celestial
Cinder Cone
Chromosphere
Comet
Composite volcano
Compression
Continental Drift
Convection
Convection current
The brightness of a star if it were a
standard distance from Earth
The brightness of a star as seen from Earth
Enormous rocks or boulders that revolve
around the sun, usually between the orbits
of Mars and Jupiter
The region of the solar system between the
orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where many
asteroids are found
The soft layer of the mantle on which the
lithosphere floats
The layers of gases that surround Earth or
another planet
A mass of rock formed when a large body
of magma cooled inside the crust
The large hole at the top of a volcano
formed when the roof of a volcano’s
magma chamber collapses
A deep, narrow valley with steep sides
Pertaining to the sky or visible bodies in
the sky
A steep, cone-shaped hill or mountain
made of volcanic ash, cinders, and bombs
piled up around a volcano’s opening
The middle layer of the sun’s atmosphere
Small frozen masses of ice, dust, and gases
that travel a definite path through the solar
system
A tall, cone-shaped mountain in which
layers of lava alternate with layers of ash
and other volcanic materials
Stress that squeezes rock until it folds or
breaks
The hypothesis that the continents slowly
move across the Earth’s surface
A method of transferring heat energy by
the movement of the heated substance itself
A circular current in a fluid like air, water,
or molten rock. The process occurs when
the fluid is unevenly heated so that part of
the fluid rises, cools, and then sinks
producing the circular movement
CHEM -13
Convergent Boundary
Core
Corona
Crater
Creep
Crust
Crustal plate
Deformation
Density
Deposition
Divergent Boundary
Dome Mountain
Earthquake
Elliptical galaxy
Erosion
Epicenter
Faulting
Flooding
Focus
Folding
Fossil
Galaxy
A plate boundary where two plates move
toward each other
The center of Earth or other celestial body
The outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere
A round pit on the moon’s surface
Slow downhill movement of weathered rock
material
The thin rocky outer layer of the Earth
(also known as Earth's surface)
Any of the huge moving segments of the
Earth's crust which travel over the Earth's
mantle
A change in the volume or shape of Earth’s
crust
The amount of material an object has in a
specific amount of space
Process by which sediments are deposited
in a new location
A plate boundary where two plates move
away from each other
Landform created when molten rock pushes
up rock layers on the earth’s surface and
the layers then are worn away in places,
leaving separate high peaks
The moving and shaking of part of Earth's
crust
A galaxy shaped like a flattened ball,
containing only old stars
The carrying away of weathered soil, rock,
and other materials on the Earth's surface
by gravity, water, and wind
The point on Earth’s surface directly above
an earthquake’s focus
The process of movement along a break or
crack in Earth's crust
An overflowing of a body of water onto
normally dry land
Area along a fault at which slippage first
occurs, initiating an earthquake
The process of bending rock layers in
Earth's crust
The remains or imprint of a prehistoric
plant or animal
A large collection of stars, gas, and dust
held together by mutual gravitation
CHEM -14
Gas Giant
Glacier
Gravity
Groundwater
Gulley
Irregular Galaxy
Land form
Landslide
Lava
Light Year
Lithosphere
Magma
Mantle
Maria
Mass movement
Meander
Meteor
Meteorite
Meteoroid
Mineral
Moment Magnitude Scale
Moon
Moraine
The name given to the first four outer
planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune
A large mass of snow and ice moving
along Earth's surface
The force of gravitational attraction on or
near the surface of a celestial body
Water that is in the porous parts of Earth's
crust
A large channel in soil formed by erosion
A galaxy that does not have a regular
shape
Physical feature of the earth’s surface
Sudden movement of loose rock and soil
down a slope
Liquid magma that reaches the surface;
also the rock formed when liquid lava
hardens
The distance that light travels in one year
A rigid layer made up of the uppermost
part of the mantle and the crust
The molten mixture of rock-forming
substances, gases, and water from the
mantle
The middle layer of the Earth between the
crust and the core
Dark, flat regions on the moon’s surface
Any one of several processes by which
gravity moves sediment downhill
A looplike bend in the course of a river
A meteoroid that burns as it travels through
Earth's atmosphere leaving a streak of light
made of hot gases
A meteoroid that has hit the Earth’s
surface
A chunk of rock or dust in space
A naturally occurring, nonliving solid with
a characteristic crystal, structure and
definite chemical makeup
A scale that rates earthquakes by
estimating the total energy released by an
earthquake
A natural satellite revolving around a
planet
A ridge formed by the till deposited at the
edge of a glacier
CHEM -15
Mountain
Mud flow
Nuclear fusion
Orbit
Oxbow lake
Photosphere
Planet
Plate tectonics
Plucking
Regolith
Retrograde Rotation
Revolution
Richter Scale
Rill
River
Rock
Rock slide
Rotation
Runoff
Sand dune
Satellite
Sea floor spreading
A landform with a high elevation
A downhill movement of mud which
usually occurs after a heavy rainfall
The process by which hydrogen atoms join
together to form helium, releasing energy
A path of one body in its revolution about
another body
A meander cut off from a river
The inner layer of the sun’s atmosphere
A major body (not a comet or asteroid)
orbiting around a star
Large crustal plates moving on the Earth's
surface and resulting in changes in the
Earth's surface
The process by which a glacier picks up
rocks as it flows over the land
Layer of weathered rock fragments
covering much of the moon’s surface
The spinning of a planet from east to west,
opposite to the direction of rotation of most
planets and moons
The movement of a celestial body in an
orbit around another celestial body
A scale that rates seismic waves as
measured by a particular type of
mechanical seismograph
A tiny groove in soil make by flowing water
A natural stream of water with a large
volume
The material that forms Earth’s hard
surface
A mass of rock sliding down a hill or
mountainside
The spinning motion of a planet or other
object on its axis
Water that flows over the ground surface
rather than soaking into the ground
A mound of sand that is deposited by the
wind
An object that moves around Earth or some
other object rather than falling onto it
Process by which new ocean floor is
formed by lava erupting from a rift valley,
pushing the existent floor outward from the
rift
CHEM -16
Sediment
Seismic Wave
Seismometer
Shearing
Shield volcano
Slump
Spiral Galaxy
Solar Flare
Solar System
Star
Subduction
Sun
Sun Spot
Tension
Terrestrial planet
Transform Boundary
Tributary
Tsunami
Uplift
Universe
Small pieces of rock, shell, and plant and
animal matter that is moved and deposited
by water, wind, or ice
A vibration that travels through Earth
carrying the energy released during an
earthquake
A device that measures the actual
movements of the ground
Stress that pushes a mass of rock in
opposite directions
A wide, gently sloping mountain made of
layers of lava and formed by quiet
eruptions
Downhill movement of a large block of soil
under the influence of gravity
A galaxy whose arms curve outward in a
pinwheel pattern. (Milky Way is an
example)
An explosion of hydrogen gas from the
sun’s surface that occurs when loops in
sunspot regions suddenly connect
The Sun with the group of celestial bodies
that revolve around it
A natural, luminous, celestial body
The process by which oceanic crust sinks
beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into
the mantle at a convergent plate boundary
The star around which Earth and the other
planets revolve that provides the main
source of energy for living things on Earth
A dark area of gas on the sun that is cooler
than surroundings gases
Stress that stretches rock so that it becomes
thinner in the middle
The name given to the four inner planets:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
A plate boundary where two plates move
past each other in opposite directions
A stream that flows into a larger stream
Large sea wave produced by submarine
earth movement or volcanic eruption
The raising of an area of land due to
horizontal forces that slowly push on the
area
All of space and everything in it
CHEM -17
Valley
Volcanic eruption:
Volcano
Weathering
A depression on Earth's surface between
ranges of hills or mountains
Process by which lava reaches Earth's
surface
A weak spot in the crust where magma has
come to the surface
A chemical or physical process in which
rocks exposed to the weather are worn
down by water, wind, or ice.
Note: Vocabulary terms in regular font indicate terms from the Maryland State
Voluntary Curriculum Glossary. Those terms in italics indicate vocabulary within
the Baltimore County Curriculum. All appropriate vocabulary must be included
in daily instruction.
CHEM -18
ECOLOGY VOCABULARY
Abiotic
Biome
Biotic
Carrying Capacity
Community
Competition
Consumer
Decomposer
Ecosystem
Environment
Food Chain
Food Web
Habitat
Natural resource
Organism
Population
Predator
Prey
Producer
Species
Nonliving features of an ecosystem such as climate, light, soil
chemistry, and water availability
A large, relatively distinct terrestrial region, encompassing many
interacting ecosystems, and characterized by similar climate, soil,
plants, and animals, regardless of where it occurs on Earth. A
biome is commonly named for its plant cover
Features of the environment of an organism arising from the
activities of other living organisms, as distinct from abiotic
factors
The largest population that an area can support
An association of different species living together at the same
time in a defined habitat with some degree of mutual dependence.
It can be of various sizes from lake sediments to rainforests
The result of a common demand by two or more organisms or
types of organisms for limited resources
Organism that eats other organisms for food
An organism that obtains energy from decaying organic material
A group/community of organisms interacting with their
environment
The physical surroundings of an organism which includes the
living and nonliving components
The feeding relationship of species that transfer energy through
the organisms in a community
The complex interconnection of food chains in an ecosystem
The local environment in which a specified organism, population,
or species lives, characterized by physical and chemical features,
and the presence of certain other species (Compare ecosystem,
biome, environment)
Something from the natural environment (water, air, trees, fuels)
that is used to meet one's needs and wants
A living thing
A group of the same species that live in the same area at the same
time
An organism that is killed and eaten by another organism (prey);
includes animals eating other animals, and animals eating plants
An organism that is killed and eaten by another organism
An organism that makes its own food
Organisms whose members are alike and successfully reproduce
among themselves
CHEM -19