34 terms

Terms	Definitions
atomic mass	the average mass of one atom of an element
periodic table	A chart of the elements showing the repeating pattern of their properties
nucleus	The central core of an atom containing protons and usually neutrons
proton	positively charged particle in the nucleus of an atom
neutron	A small particle in the nucleus of the atom, with no electrical charge
electron	A tiny, negatively charged particle that moves around the nucleus of an atom
atomic mass unit (amu)	a unit used to measure the mass of particles in atoms; a proton or neutron has the mass of 1 amu
atomic number	the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
chemical symbol	a one or two letter representation of an element
group	elements in the same vertical column of the periodic table; also called family
family	elements in the same vertical column of the periodic table; also called group
period	a horizontal row of elements in the periodic table
valence electron	One of the electrons farthest away from the nucleus of the atom; these electrons are involved in a chemical reaction.
malleable	a term used to describe material that can be rolled or hammered into shapes
ductile	a term used to describe a material that can be pulled out into a long wire
conductor	a substance that transmits heat or electricity easily
magnetic	a characteristic of those metals that are attracted to magnets and can be made into magnets
reactivity	the ease and speed with which an element combines, or reacts, with other elements and compounds
corrosion	the gradual wearing away of a metal element due to a chemical reaction
alloy	a mixture of two or more metals
alkali metal	an element in group 1 of the periodic table
alkaline earth metal	An element in group 2 of the periodic table
transition metal	An Element in group 3 through 12 of the periodic table
lanthanide	an element in the first row of the rare earth elements in the periodic table
actinide	an element in the second row of the rare earth elements in the periodic table
nonmetal	An Element that lacks most of the properties of metals
diatomic molecule	a molecule composed of two atoms
halogen family	the elements in group 17 of the periodic table
noble gas	an element in group 18 of the periodic table
metalloid	an element that has some characteristics of metals and some characteristics of nonmetals
semiconductor	an element that can conduct electricity under some conditions
plasma	a state of matter in which atoms are stripped of their electrons and the nuclei are packed closely together
nuclear fusion	the process in which smaller nuclei combine into larger nuclei, forming heavier elements
supernova	An explosion of a massive star

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