Science Vocabulary Units
Pick a unit to practice its words with flashcards, matching, quizzes, spelling, and more. Each unit lists the Ohio science standards it supports.
Earth & Space Science
Grade 6
Rocks, Minerals & Soil
How minerals are identified, how the three rock types form, what soil is made of, and how people use these resources.
93 words · Ohio 6.ESS.1, 6.ESS.2, 6.ESS.3, 6.ESS.4, 6.ESS.5
Grade 7
Water Cycle & Ocean Currents
How water moves through Earth’s spheres, and how heat in the ocean and air drives currents and climate.
30 words · Ohio 7.ESS.1, 7.ESS.2
Grade 7
The Atmosphere
What air is made of, how its layers differ, and how gases like ozone and carbon dioxide affect life on Earth.
14 words · Ohio 7.ESS.3
Grade 7
Earth, Moon, Sun & Seasons
How the positions and motions of Earth, the moon, and the sun cause moon phases, eclipses, tides, and seasons.
43 words · Ohio 7.ESS.4, 7.ESS.5
Grade 8
Earth’s Interior & Plate Tectonics
Earth’s layers, how scientists study them with seismic waves, and how moving plates cause earthquakes and volcanoes.
36 words · Ohio 8.ESS.1, 8.ESS.2
Grade 8
Shaping Earth’s Surface & Geologic Time
The forces that build up and wear down land, and how rock layers and fossils record Earth’s history.
24 words · Ohio 8.ESS.3, 8.ESS.4
Life Science
Grade 6
Cells
Cell theory, the parts of a cell and their jobs, how cells divide, and how cells build tissues, organs, and organisms.
55 words · Ohio 6.LS.1, 6.LS.2, 6.LS.3, 6.LS.4
Grade 7
Ecosystems, Energy & Biomes
How matter and energy move through living things, and how conditions in each biome affect the organisms that live there.
49 words · Ohio 7.LS.1, 7.LS.2
Grade 8
Heredity, Reproduction & Change Over Time
How fossils show that species change over time, how organisms reproduce, and how traits pass from parents to offspring.
34 words · Ohio 8.LS.1, 8.LS.2, 8.LS.3
Physical Science
Grades 6–7
Atoms, Matter & the Periodic Table
What matter is made of, how particles move in solids, liquids, and gases, and how the periodic table organizes elements.
40 words · Ohio 6.PS.1, 6.PS.2, 7.PS.1
Grades 6–8
Energy & Energy Conservation
Kinetic and potential energy, the different kinds of stored energy, and how energy moves within open and closed systems without being lost.
18 words · Ohio 6.PS.3, 7.PS.3, 8.PS.1
Grade 7
Electricity, Heat & Waves
The ways energy moves: heat transfer, electric circuits, energy resources, and mechanical and electromagnetic waves.
42 words · Ohio 7.PS.4
Grades 6 & 8
Motion, Forces & Fields
Describing motion with speed and graphs, and how gravitational, electric, and magnetic forces push and pull on objects.
40 words · Ohio 6.PS.4, 8.PS.1, 8.PS.2
Science Practices
Grades 6–8
Scientific Inquiry & Practices
Action words scientists use: observe, predict, measure, conclude, and more.
Definitions are written in plain language for English learners and support WIDA's Standard 4 (Science) English Language Development standard. Standard codes refer to Ohio's Learning Standards for Science (2018).