Acids are substances that produce hydrogen ions [H+] when dissolved in water; they are sour-tasting, good conductors of electricity, turn blue litmus paper red and react with bases to form salts and water.

An activity series is a list of chemical elements in order of decreasing reactivity.

The actual yield is the amount of product produced as a result of a chemical reaction.

Anomalous means different than what is normal or expected.

Amplitude is the maximum displacement an object moves from equilibrium in an oscillation, and the maximum distance from the rest position to the top of a crest or bottom of a trough.

The Avogadro constant, 6.02 x 1023, is the number of representative particles in a mole of a substance.

A balanced chemical equation has the same number of atoms of each element on each side of the equation.

Bases are substances that produced hydroxide ions [OH-] when dissolved in water; they are bitter tasting, good conductors of electricity, feel slippery, turn red litmus paper blue and react with acids to form salts and water.

A calorimeter is an insulated device that is used to measure the amount of heat released or absorbed during a physical or chemical process.

A chemical reaction is a process that involves the formation of new substances with new properties.

A closed system is a system that does not gain or lose mass.

A coefficient is a small whole number that appears in front of a formula in a balanced chemical equation.

A combustion reaction is a chemical reaction in which an element or compound reacts with oxygen, releasing energy in the form of heat and light.

A compression is the point on a medium where a longitudinal wave has the maximum density.

A concave mirror has an inwardly curving reflective surface as seen by the observer and reflects parallel light rays towards a common focal point in front of the mirror.

Concentration is a measurement of the amount of solute that is dissolved in a given quantity of solvent; it is usually expressed in moles/Litre (mol/L).

Constructive interference occurs when two interfering waves in a medium have a displacement in the same direction.

A converging lens is thicker at its centre than its edges and refracts parallel rays of light towards a common focal point.

A convex mirror has an outwardly curving reflective surface as seen by the observer and reflects parallel light rays away from a common focal point that appears to be behind the mirror.

The crest of a wave is the point on the medium that exhibits the maximum positive or upward displacement from the rest position.

The critical angle is the angle of incidence that produces an angle of refraction of 90° for any two media.

Cultural perspectives is the learning context that reflects a humanistic perspective which views teaching and learning as cultural transmission and acquisition.

A cycle is one complete back and forth motion or oscillation.

A decomposition reaction is a chemical reaction in which a single compound is broken down into two or more simpler products.

Destructive interference occurs when two interfering waves in a medium have a displacement in the opposite direction.

Diffraction is the change in direction of waves as they pass through an opening or around a barrier.

A diffraction grating is a device, commonly a sheet of glass or plastic etched with a large number of parallel lines, which diffracts light and forms a diffraction pattern of overlapping single-slit interference diffraction patterns.

Diffuse reflection is the scattered, fuzzy reflection produced by reflection of light off of a rough surface.

Dilution refers to reducing the concentration of a chemical.

A diverging lens is thinner at its centre than its edges and refracts parallel rays of light away from a common focal point.

A double-replacement reaction is a chemical reaction that involves an exchange of positive ions between two compounds.

An endothermic reaction absorbs energy from the surroundings.

An excess reagent is a reagent present in a quantity that is more than sufficient to react with a limiting reagent, or any reactant that remains after the limiting reagent is used up in a chemical reaction.

An exothermic reaction releases energy to the surroundings.

Frequency refers to how often the particles of a medium vibrate when a wave passes through the medium; it is represented by the symbol f and measured in Hertz (Hz).

Harmonics are whole number multiples of a fundamental frequency.

Heat is the transfer of thermal energy, which occurs spontaneously from a warmer object to a cooler object; it is represented by the symbol Q and measured in Joules (J).

The heat of reaction is a measure of the change in enthalpy for a chemical reaction.

An ionic compound is a neutral compound that consists of positive and negative ions held together by an ionic bond.

The kinetic molecular theory of matter describes the behaviour of matter in terms of particles in motion.

Latent heat of fusion is the amount of thermal energy required to change 1 kg of a substance from a solid state to a liquid state at its melting point; it is measured in Joules/kilogram (J/kg).

Latent heat of vaporization is the amount of thermal energy required to change 1 kg of a substance from a liquid state to a gaseous state at its boiling point; it is measured in Joules/kilogram (J/kg).

The law of conservation of energy is a physical law that that states that the total energy of a closed system remains constant.

The law of reflection states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection and in the same plane when a ray reflects off of a flat surface.

A limiting reagent is any reactant that is used up first in a chemical reaction and that determines the amount of product that can be formed in the reaction.

In a longitudinal wave, the motion of the medium is parallel to the motion of the wave.

The medium is the substance through which a wave travels.

Molar heat of reaction is the amount of energy absorbed when one mole of reactants reacts; it is measured in Joules (J).

Molarity is the concentration of solute in a solution expressed as the number of moles of solute dissolved in 1 L of solution; it is measured in moles/Litre (mol/L).

Molar mass is a measure of the mass of a mole of a given substance; it is measured in grams (g).

A mole is the SI unit for amount of substance, represented by the symbol mol, and is defined as the amount of chemical substance that contains 6.02 x 1023 representative particles of that substance.

A molecular compound is a neutral compound composed of two or more non-metallic elements held together by covalent bonds.

Neutralization is the reaction between an acid and a base in an aqueous solution to produce a salt and water.

Nomenclature is a system of names or terms; in chemistry this is the system for naming chemical compounds.

Percent error is the percent that a measured value differs from the accepted value.

The period of a wave is the amount of time required for one complete cycle of an oscillation of a wave; it is represented by the symbol T and measured in seconds (s).

Periodic motion is any motion that repeats in a regular cycle.

A plane mirror is a smooth, flat reflecting surface.

A precipitate is a solid that forms and settles out of a liquid mixture.

The principle of superposition states that the resulting amplitude of two interfering waves is equal to the sum of the individual amplitudes.

A pulse is a disturbance of short duration in a medium.

A rarefaction is the point on a medium where a longitudinal wave has the minimum density.

A ray diagram is a diagram showing the result of a light ray interacting with a surface.

A real image is formed when the outgoing rays from a point converge at a real location and thus can be projected onto a screen.

Rectilinear propagation is the movement of light in straight lines through a uniform medium.

Reflection is the change in direction of a wave at an interface between two different media.

Refraction is the change in direction of waves as they pass from one medium to another of different refractive index.

The refractive index of a medium is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in the medium; it is denoted by the symbol n.

Resonance is the increase in amplitude of a wave due to transfer of energy that is in phase with the natural frequency of the wave.

Scientific inquiry is the learning context that reflects an emphasis on understanding the natural and constructed world using systematic empirical processes that lead to the formation of theories that explain observed events and that facilitate prediction.

Scientific literacy is an evolving combination of the knowledge of nature, skills, processes and attitudes students need to develop inquiry, problem-solving and decision-making abilities to become lifelong learners and to maintain a sense of wonder about and responsibility towards the natural and constructed world.

A single replacement reaction is a chemical reaction in which one element replaces a second element in a compound; also called a displacement reaction.

Solubility is the amount of a substance that dissolves in a given quantity of solvent at specified conditions of temperature and pressure to produce a saturated solution.

A solution, also called a homogeneous mixture, is a uniform mixture that can contain solids, liquids or gases.

Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius; it is represented by the symbol c and measured in Joules/gram x degree Celsius (J/g·°C).

Specular reflection is reflection of light off of a smooth surface in which parallel light rays are reflected in parallel.

A standing wave is a wave that remains in a constant position.

Stoichiometry, which is based on the law of conservation of mass, is the calculation of relative quantities of reactants and products in chemical reactions.

STSE decision making is the learning context that reflects the need to engage citizens in thinking about human and world issues through a scientific lens in order to inform and empower decision making by individuals, communities and society.

STSE, which stands for science, technology, society and the environment, is the foundation of scientific literacy that is concerned with understanding the scope and character of science, its connections to technology and the social context in which it is developed.

A synthesis reaction is a chemical reaction in which two or more substances react to form a single new substance; also called a combination reaction.

A system is two or more objects that interact with each other.

Technological problem solving is the learning context that reflects an emphasis on designing and building to solve practical human problems.

Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles in matter; it is measured in degrees Celsius (°C).

Theoretical yield is the maximum amount of product that could form during a chemical reaction from a given amount of reactant.

Thermodynamics is the study of heat changes that accompany chemical reactions and phase changes.

Total internal reflection is the reflection of all incident light back into an optically denser medium when the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle.

In a transverse wave, the motion of the medium is perpendicular to the motion of the wave.

The trough of a wave is the point on the medium that exhibits the maximum negative or downward displacement from the rest position.

A virtual image is an image formed when the outgoing rays appear to come from a point behind the object and cannot be projected onto a screen.

The wavelength of a wave is the length of one complete wave cycle.

Wave-particle duality is the fact that light exhibits both wave-like and particle-like properties.

A wave is a disturbance that moves outward from its source, transferring energy through a medium by means of vibrations.