IELTS Vocabulary ebook

To describe acid and alkali, we can use the adjectives ‘acidic’ and ‘alkaline’.

The adjective “acidic” describe something containing an acid and having a pH less than 7. Here are example sentences:

• The water in a polluted lake is acidic
• Carbon dioxide is acidic.
• When an acid is dissolved in water we get an acidic solution.

The adjective “alkaline” describe something containing an alkali and having a pH greater than 7. Here are example sentences:

• Water can become alkaline as it seeps through rocks, picking up minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
• Alkaline chemicals can be harmful to our bodies.

Definition: the medieval forerunner of chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter. It was concerned particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold or to find a universal elixir.

Example sentences:

• In the second decade of the twenty-first century, alchemy is not only about the transmutation of metals, but the shift in consciousness that returns us from the physical to the non-physical.
• Throughout its history, alchemy has shown a dual nature. On the one hand, it has involved the use of chemical substances and so is claimed by the history of science as the precursor of modern chemistry.

To describe acid and alkali, we can use the adjectives ‘acidic’ and ‘alkaline’.

The adjective “acidic” describe something containing an acid and having a pH less than 7. Here are example sentences:

• The water in a polluted lake is acidic
• Carbon dioxide is acidic.
• When an acid is dissolved in water we get an acidic solution.

The adjective “alkaline” describe something containing an alkali and having a pH greater than 7. Here are example sentences:

• Water can become alkaline as it seeps through rocks, picking up minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
• Alkaline chemicals can be harmful to our bodies.

Definition: The chemical element of atomic number 13, a light silvery-grey metal.

Example sentences:

• Officials said materials made of plastic, aluminum, glass and metals will have to be recycled.

Definition: CO2

Example senences:

• Plants give out oxygen and animals expel carbon dioxide and methane.

Definition: A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change

Example senences:

• Chlorine acts as a catalyst promoting the breakdown of ozone

To change from a gaseous state into a liquid state, we can use the verb ‘condense’. Here are example sentences:

• The cooler temperatures cause the gas to condense into a liquid.​
• The steam from the shower condenses quickly when it hits the cool window.

Stronger acids with a lower ph values are corrosive. This means they can attack metals and destroy skin if spilled.

A metal that is ductile is able to be deformed without losing toughness. An example in a sentence:

• Unlike brittle elements such as sulfur, metal is highly ductile.

Definition: Relating to or involving evaporation

Example sentences:

• In the early 19th century, other methods of cooling were explored, and several evaporative refrigerators were patented, although it was another half-century before they made an impact on the food industry.

Definition: Relating to or having the characteristics of a gas

Example sentences:

• gaseous emissions from motor vehicles.

Definition: Convert (a solid or liquid, especially coal) into gas

Example sentences:

• Coal, too, could be made carbon-free, using advanced power plants that gasify the fuel and then generate power while stripping away the carbon for sequestration underground.

Definition: A constituent which impairs the purity of something

Example sentences:

• The impurities dissolve in lead and evaporate leaving behind silver and gold. Aluminium and lead are impurities frequently found in tap water.

Definition: Chemical formula: CH4

Example sentences:

• Trace gases include methane, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and ozone

Definition: Relating to or consisting of molecules

Example sentences:

• Fire is actually a dancing plasma of molecules and molecular fragments, excited into a glowing state by heat.

Definition: The condition of being chemically or electrically neutral

Example sentences:

• A sodium ion was introduced into the system to reach overall electrical neutrality.

A neutron is an atomic particle that has no electrical charg

The nucleus of an atom or cell is the central part of it.

Definition: A table of the chemical elements arranged in order of atomic number, usually in rows, so that elements with similar atomic structure (and hence similar chemical properties) appear in vertical columns.

Example sentences:

• When you move down the periodic table, as the atomic numbers increase, the elements become rarer

Definition: a reply; a change that occurs when substances are mixed

Example sentences:

• Scientists explore the origins of energy in chemical reactions using experimental quantum chemistry.
• Reactions in solids tend to be much more complex than those in liquids, where molecules quickly diffuse into a uniform mixture.

Definition: Cause (something) to become thoroughly soaked with liquid so that no more can be absorbed:

Example sentences:

• The soil is saturated

If we want to use an adjective to describe a substance that can dissolve, we use the adjective ‘soluble’. Likewise, to describe a substance that cannot dissolve, we use the adjective ‘insoluble’. Here are example sentences:

• Salt is soluble in water = Salt can dissolve in water.
• Sand is insoluble in water = Sand cannot dissolve in water

When a substance dissolves in a liquid, we say that the substance is a solute, and the liquid is a solvent. The mixture of the solvent and the solute is called a solution. 

To change from a solid state into a gaseous state, we can use the verb “sublimate”.  Sublimating is the process of sublimating. For example:

• Ice can sublimate at temperatures below freezing.
• During sublimation, solids are transformed directly to vapor without passing through a liquid stage.

Definition: Containing sulphur or sulphuric acid

Example sentences:

• the sulphuric by-products of wood fires.

Definition: (Of a substance) made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product

Example senences:

• Mixtures of several synthetic dyes, or mixtures of natural and synthetic dyes, could produce more subdued colors.

When a liquid like water becomes a visible, gas-like substance floating in the air, it's a vapor. Examples of vapor are fog and mist.

Definition: (Of a substance) easily evaporated at normal temperatures

Example senences:

• Even small amounts of gasoline or other volatile fuels or solvents mixed with kerosene can substantially increase the risk of a fire or an explosion.