Term | Definition |
matter | Everything that has mass and takes up space |
element | The ingredients that make up all other
substances. Can't be broken down into other
substances |
metals | good conductors of electricity and heat. Can bend
without breaking. Most have a gray color |
nonmetals | Do not conduct heat / electricity very well. May
be a gas or a solid |
semimetals | sometimes like metals and sometimes like
nonmetals |
atom | the smallest part of an element that still acts like
that element |
atomic theory | states that everything is made of atoms |
compound | a type of matter made of two or more elements |
molecule | smallest particle of a compound that still acts like
that compound |
proton | Positive charge. Found in the nucleus |
neutron | No charge. Found in the nucleus |
electron | Negative charge. Orbits the nucleus |
solid | Has a definite volume or shape. Particles are very close together,
and don’t move past each other. Keeps its shape. |
liquid | Has a definite volume but not shape. Particles can move past each
other. Takes shape of container |
gas | No definite volume or shape. Particles spread out evenly and take
shape of container. Can be squeezed into a smaller volume |
plasma | Like a gas, but conducts electricity like a metal. Occurs with high
temps or electric charge. |
melting point | Solid to liquid OR liquid to solid. Same temperature as freezing point |
evaporation | When liquids become a gas |
condensation | When gas becomes a liquid. Gas particles touch a cold surface and
the temperature drops. |
boiling point | The temperature at which evaporation occurs |
mixture | Two or substances that mix together but each keeps its own identity |
solution | A mixture where substance spreads out evenly and will not settle |
solute | The substance being dissolved |
solvent | What the substance is dissolved in |
solubility | A way to measure how much a material dissolves into another |