Structure and Properties of Matter - High School

If you want a solid grasp of the properties of matter, review this vocabulary list. You'll learn about the phases of matter, the structure of atoms, and the properties of different elements. It's mind over matter!
121 words 411 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. absorbency
    the property of being absorbent
  2. acid
    a sour water-soluble compound with a pH of less than 7
  3. acidic
    having a pH of less than 7
  4. alkali metal
    any of the monovalent metals of group I of the periodic table (lithium or sodium or potassium or rubidium or cesium or francium)
  5. alkaline-earth metal
    any of the bivalent metals of group II of the periodic table
  6. amorphous
    without real or apparent crystalline form
  7. anion
    a particle with a negative electric charge
  8. atom
    the smallest component of an element
  9. atomic mass
    the property of an atom that causes it to have weight
  10. atomic number
    quantity of protons in the nucleus of an atom of an element
  11. atomic weight
    (chemistry) the mass of an atom of a chemical element expressed in atomic mass units
  12. attraction
    the force that one object exerts on another
  13. attractive
    having the ability to draw or pull
  14. base
    a compound reacting with an acid to form a salt and water
  15. basic
    of or denoting or of the nature of or containing a base
  16. boiling point
    the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level
  17. bond
    an electrical force linking atoms
  18. brittle
    having little elasticity
  19. brittleness
    the trait of being firm but easily broken
  20. buffer
    (chemistry) an ionic compound that resists changes in its pH
  21. buoyancy
    the tendency to float in water or other liquid
  22. catalyst
    substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction
  23. cation
    a particle with a positive electric charge
  24. chemical bond
    an electrical force linking atoms
  25. chemical change
    process determined by substances' composition and structure
  26. chemical property
    a property used to characterize materials in reactions that change their identity
  27. chromatography
    a process used for separating mixtures by virtue of differences in absorbency
  28. composition
    the way in which someone or something is put together
  29. compound
    a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements
  30. concentration
    the strength of a solution
  31. condensation
    process of changing from a gas to a liquid or solid state
  32. conduction
    the transmission of heat or electricity or sound
  33. conductive
    able to easily transmit electricity, heat, sound, or other energy
  34. conductivity
    the property of transmitting heat, electricity, or sound
  35. conductor
    a device designed to transmit electricity or heat
  36. configuration
    an arrangement of parts or elements
  37. covalent bond
    a chemical bond that involves sharing a pair of electrons between atoms in a molecule
  38. crystal
    a solid having a highly regular atomic structure
  39. crystalline
    consisting of or containing or of the nature of crystals
  40. density
    the amount per unit size
  41. dissolve
    pass into a solution
  42. double bond
    a covalent bond in which two pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms
  43. ductile
    capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out
  44. ductility
    capacity to be drawn into threads or hammered into sheets
  45. electric charge
    the quantity of unbalanced electricity in a body (either positive or negative) and construed as an excess or deficiency of electrons
  46. electrical
    relating to or concerned with electricity
  47. electron
    an elementary particle with negative charge
  48. element
    a substance that cannot be separated into simpler substances
  49. evaporate
    change into gas or steam
  50. evaporation
    the process of becoming a suspension of particles in the air
  51. flammability
    the quality of being easily ignited and burning rapidly
  52. flexibility
    the property of being easily bent or shaped
  53. freezing point
    the temperature below which a liquid turns into a solid
  54. gas
    state of matter distinguished from solid and liquid states
  55. halogen
    any of five related nonmetallic elements (fluorine or chlorine or bromine or iodine or astatine) that are all monovalent and readily form negative ions
  56. hardness
    the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure
  57. heterogeneous
    consisting of elements not of the same kind or nature
  58. homogeneous
    all of the same or similar kind or nature
  59. indicator
    a substance that changes color to show something's presence
  60. inert gas
    any of the chemically inert gaseous elements of the helium group in the periodic table
  61. insulator
    a material with little electrical or thermal conductivity
  62. ion
    a particle that is electrically charged positive or negative
  63. ionic bond
    a chemical bond between oppositely charged ions
  64. isotope
    atom with same atomic number, different number of neutrons
  65. kinetic energy
    the mechanical energy that a body has by virtue of motion
  66. law of conservation of mass
    a fundamental principle of classical physics that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system
  67. law of conservation of matter
    a fundamental principle of classical physics that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system
  68. liquid
    fluid matter having no fixed shape but a fixed volume
  69. luster
    the property of something that shines with reflected light
  70. magnetic
    of or relating to or caused by attraction for iron
  71. magnetism
    attraction for iron
  72. malleability
    the property of material that can be shaped without breaking
  73. malleable
    capable of being shaped or bent
  74. mass
    the property of a body that causes it to have weight
  75. matter
    that which has mass and occupies space
  76. melting point
    the temperature at which a solid turns into a liquid
  77. metal
    a chemical element or alloy that is usually a shiny solid
  78. metallic bond
    a chemical bond in which electrons are shared over many nuclei and electronic conduction occurs
  79. metalloid
    a nonmetallic element that has some of the properties of metal
  80. mineral
    a solid inorganic substance occurring in nature
  81. mixture
    a substance consisting of substances blended together
  82. molecule
    the simplest structural unit of an element or compound
  83. monomer
    a simple compound whose molecules can join together to form polymers
  84. neutral
    having no net electric charge
  85. neutralization
    when an acid and base interact with the formation of a salt
  86. neutron
    a subatomic particle with zero charge
  87. nonmetal
    not resembling shiny, malleable, conductive elements
  88. nucleus
    the positively charged dense center of an atom
  89. particle
    a body having finite mass but negligible dimensions
  90. periodic table
    arrangement of chemical elements according to atomic number
  91. pH
    a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution
  92. physical change
    a change from one state (solid or liquid or gas) to another without a change in chemical composition
  93. physical property
    any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions
  94. plasma
    a fourth state of matter distinct from solid, liquid or gas
  95. polymer
    a naturally occurring or synthetic compound
  96. pressure
    the act of putting pressure on something
  97. property
    a basic or essential attribute shared by members of a class
  98. proton
    a stable particle with positive charge
  99. reaction
    a process in which a substance is changed into another
  100. reactivity
    ready susceptibility to chemical change
  101. reflectivity
    the ability to reflect beams or rays
  102. repulsion
    the force by which bodies push back against one another
  103. resistance
    a material's opposition to the flow of electric current
  104. semiconductor
    a substance as germanium or silicon whose electrical conductivity is intermediate between that of a metal and an insulator; its conductivity increases with temperature and in the presence of impurities
  105. solid
    matter with definite shape at room temperature and pressure
  106. solubility
    the quality of being easily dissolved in liquid
  107. solution
    a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances
  108. solvent
    a liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances
  109. specific gravity
    the density of a substance relative to the density of water
  110. specific heat
    the heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance one degree centigrade
  111. stability
    the quality of being enduring and free from change
  112. state of matter
    (chemistry) the three traditional states of matter are solids (fixed shape and volume) and liquids (fixed volume and shaped by the container) and gases (filling the container)
  113. structure
    the building of something and the arrangement of its parts
  114. sublimation
    a change directly from the solid to the gaseous state
  115. surface tension
    phenomenon at a liquid's surface from intermolecular forces
  116. suspension
    a mixture in which fine particles are supported by buoyancy
  117. temperature
    the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment
  118. texture
    the physical composition of something
  119. viscosity
    resistance of a liquid to flowing
  120. volume
    the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
  121. weight
    the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
Created on Thu Feb 23 15:52:43 EST 2017 (updated Wed Apr 19 14:04:22 EDT 2017)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.