Structure and Properties of Matter - Middle 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!
112 words 2229 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. amorphous
    without real or apparent crystalline form
  5. anion
    a particle with a negative electric charge
  6. atom
    the smallest component of an element
  7. atomic mass
    the property of an atom that causes it to have weight
  8. atomic number
    quantity of protons in the nucleus of an atom of an element
  9. atomic weight
    (chemistry) the mass of an atom of a chemical element expressed in atomic mass units
  10. attraction
    the force that one object exerts on another
  11. attractive
    having the ability to draw or pull
  12. base
    a compound reacting with an acid to form a salt and water
  13. basic
    of or denoting or of the nature of or containing a base
  14. boiling point
    the temperature at which a liquid boils at sea level
  15. bond
    an electrical force linking atoms
  16. brittle
    having little elasticity
  17. brittleness
    the trait of being firm but easily broken
  18. buffer
    (chemistry) an ionic compound that resists changes in its pH
  19. buoyancy
    the tendency to float in water or other liquid
  20. catalyst
    substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction
  21. cation
    a particle with a positive electric charge
  22. chemical bond
    an electrical force linking atoms
  23. chemical change
    process determined by substances' composition and structure
  24. chemical property
    a property used to characterize materials in reactions that change their identity
  25. composition
    the way in which someone or something is put together
  26. compound
    a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements
  27. concentration
    the strength of a solution
  28. condensation
    process of changing from a gas to a liquid or solid state
  29. conduction
    the transmission of heat or electricity or sound
  30. conductive
    able to easily transmit electricity, heat, sound, or other energy
  31. conductivity
    the property of transmitting heat, electricity, or sound
  32. conductor
    a device designed to transmit electricity or heat
  33. configuration
    an arrangement of parts or elements
  34. covalent bond
    a chemical bond that involves sharing a pair of electrons between atoms in a molecule
  35. crystal
    a solid having a highly regular atomic structure
  36. crystalline
    consisting of or containing or of the nature of crystals
  37. density
    the amount per unit size
  38. dissolve
    pass into a solution
  39. ductile
    capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out
  40. ductility
    capacity to be drawn into threads or hammered into sheets
  41. electric charge
    the quantity of unbalanced electricity in a body (either positive or negative) and construed as an excess or deficiency of electrons
  42. electrical
    relating to or concerned with electricity
  43. electron
    an elementary particle with negative charge
  44. element
    a substance that cannot be separated into simpler substances
  45. evaporate
    change into gas or steam
  46. evaporation
    the process of becoming a suspension of particles in the air
  47. flammability
    the quality of being easily ignited and burning rapidly
  48. flexibility
    the property of being easily bent or shaped
  49. freezing point
    the temperature below which a liquid turns into a solid
  50. gas
    state of matter distinguished from solid and liquid states
  51. hardness
    the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure
  52. heterogeneous
    consisting of elements not of the same kind or nature
  53. homogeneous
    all of the same or similar kind or nature
  54. indicator
    a substance that changes color to show something's presence
  55. inert gas
    any of the chemically inert gaseous elements of the helium group in the periodic table
  56. insulator
    a material with little electrical or thermal conductivity
  57. ion
    a particle that is electrically charged positive or negative
  58. ionic bond
    a chemical bond between oppositely charged ions
  59. isotope
    atom with same atomic number, different number of neutrons
  60. kinetic energy
    the mechanical energy that a body has by virtue of motion
  61. law of conservation of mass
    a fundamental principle of classical physics that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system
  62. law of conservation of matter
    a fundamental principle of classical physics that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system
  63. liquid
    fluid matter having no fixed shape but a fixed volume
  64. luster
    the property of something that shines with reflected light
  65. magnetic
    of or relating to or caused by attraction for iron
  66. magnetism
    attraction for iron
  67. malleability
    the property of material that can be shaped without breaking
  68. malleable
    capable of being shaped or bent
  69. mass
    the property of a body that causes it to have weight
  70. matter
    that which has mass and occupies space
  71. melting point
    the temperature at which a solid turns into a liquid
  72. metal
    a chemical element or alloy that is usually a shiny solid
  73. metallic bond
    a chemical bond in which electrons are shared over many nuclei and electronic conduction occurs
  74. metalloid
    a nonmetallic element that has some of the properties of metal
  75. mineral
    a solid inorganic substance occurring in nature
  76. mixture
    a substance consisting of substances blended together
  77. molecule
    the simplest structural unit of an element or compound
  78. neutral
    having no net electric charge
  79. neutron
    a subatomic particle with zero charge
  80. nonmetal
    not resembling shiny, malleable, conductive elements
  81. nucleus
    the positively charged dense center of an atom
  82. particle
    a body having finite mass but negligible dimensions
  83. periodic table
    arrangement of chemical elements according to atomic number
  84. pH
    a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution
  85. physical change
    a change from one state (solid or liquid or gas) to another without a change in chemical composition
  86. physical property
    any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions
  87. plasma
    a fourth state of matter distinct from solid, liquid or gas
  88. pressure
    the act of putting pressure on something
  89. property
    a basic or essential attribute shared by members of a class
  90. proton
    a stable particle with positive charge
  91. reaction
    a process in which a substance is changed into another
  92. reactivity
    ready susceptibility to chemical change
  93. reflectivity
    the ability to reflect beams or rays
  94. repulsion
    the force by which bodies push back against one another
  95. resistance
    a material's opposition to the flow of electric current
  96. 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
  97. solid
    matter with definite shape at room temperature and pressure
  98. solubility
    the quality of being easily dissolved in liquid
  99. solution
    a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances
  100. solvent
    a liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances
  101. specific heat
    the heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance one degree centigrade
  102. stability
    the quality of being enduring and free from change
  103. 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)
  104. structure
    the building of something and the arrangement of its parts
  105. sublimation
    a change directly from the solid to the gaseous state
  106. surface tension
    phenomenon at a liquid's surface from intermolecular forces
  107. suspension
    a mixture in which fine particles are supported by buoyancy
  108. temperature
    the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment
  109. texture
    the physical composition of something
  110. viscosity
    resistance of a liquid to flowing
  111. volume
    the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
  112. weight
    the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity
Created on Thu Feb 23 17:28:48 EST 2017 (updated Wed Apr 19 13:52:35 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.