200 vocabulary words for age 14: scientific models and processes
- cell
- tissue
- organ
- nucleus
- membrane
- cytoplasm
- chromosome
- gene
- genome
- heredity
- mutation
- evolution
- variation
- reproduction
- respiration
- digestion
- absorption
- excretion
- metabolism
- nutrition
- enzyme
- hormone
- receptor
- stimulus
- response
- reflex
- immunity
- pathogen
- parasite
- host
- vaccine
- antibiotic
- resistance
- homeostasis
- symbiosis
- atom
- molecule
- element
- mixture
- solvent
- solute
- dilution
- diffusion
- osmosis
- reaction
- reactant
- product
- catalyst
- solubility
- acidity
- alkalinity
- neutralisation
- oxidation
- reduction
- combustion
- fermentation
- distillation
- crystallisation
- sublimation
- deposition
- decomposition
- polymerisation
- velocity
- acceleration
- inertia
- mass
- elasticity
- oscillation
- resonance
- amplitude
- wavelength
- spectrum
- radiation
- refraction
- diffraction
- interference
- conduction
- convection
- insulation
- conductivity
- voltage
- circuit
- magnetism
- tectonics
- geology
- sediment
- fossil
- stratum
- corrosion
- sedimentation
- landscape
- topography
- terrain
- gradient
- watershed
- estuary
- delta
- aquifer
- glacier
- algebra
- geometry
- arithmetic
- calculus
- statistics
- integer
- decimal
- ratio
- proportion
- exponent
- logarithm
- polynomial
- equation
- inequality
- formula
- coordinate
- vector
- scalar
- magnitude
- dimension
- rotation
- dilation
- asymmetry
- congruence
- perpendicular
- tangent
- secant
- chord
- radius
- diameter
- measurement
- estimation
- approximation
- instrument
- apparatus
- sensor
- thermometer
- microscope
- telescope
- magnification
- control
- prediction
- electron
- proton
- neutron
- ion
- isotope
- alloy
- polymer
- monomer
- electrolyte
- valence
- ionisation
- covalent
- ionic
- bonding
- electrolysis
- chromatography
- centrifugation
- decantation
- suspension
- colloid
- emulsion
- viscosity
- capillarity
- torque
- work
- watt
- joule
- amperage
- capacitance
- inductance
- impedance
- flux
- magnetisation
- electromagnet
- solenoid
- transformer
- allele
- genotype
- phenotype
- gamete
- zygote
- mitosis
- meiosis
- fertilisation
- germination
- transpiration
- pollination
- photosynthesis
- chlorophyll
- stomata
- xylem
- phloem
- trophic
- autotroph
- heterotroph
- carnivore
- herbivore
- omnivore
- thermodynamics
This is a broad enrichment bank across scientific and mathematical language, not a claim about any particular curriculum or what every fourteen-year-old should already know. Several terms are advanced extensions. Choose a phenomenon first, then the few words needed to explain it. The list is not a set of laboratory instructions or medical advice.
The sugar is no longer visible. What can we conclude?
A small amount of sugar is stirred into water. Eventually, the individual grains cannot be seen. “The sugar disappeared” describes a change in appearance, but it can mislead if it suggests that the sugar ceased to exist.
In the particle explanation of this familiar example, sucrose molecules become dispersed among the water molecules. “Solute”, “solvent” and “solution” identify different roles in the resulting mixture. OpenStax explains this distinction in The Dissolution Process.
The observation and the model are connected, but they are not the same thing. We do not see individual sucrose molecules merely by looking into the cup. A scientific explanation relates observable behaviour to a model supported by a wider body of evidence.
This is one reason abstraction matters. The learner moves between what is visible, a representation of what is happening and the words used to describe the relationship. Naming a process is only a beginning.
Three representations, one question
Imagine three pages about the sugar example. The first records observations. The second contains a schematic particle drawing. The third uses symbols and a written explanation. Each represents the event differently.
A drawing may use coloured circles to distinguish kinds of particles. The colours are part of the representation, not a claim that the molecules literally look like coloured classroom counters. A symbol can carry a relationship without resembling the thing it represents.
OpenStax’s introduction to chemistry distinguishes observable, particle-level and symbolic descriptions. Moving among them requires checking what each representation means, rather than treating a diagram as a photograph of an invisible world.
Ask what a drawing preserves and what it leaves out. It may show composition while omitting realistic scale and motion. That can be useful, provided the learner does not mistake the omitted detail for evidence that the detail does not matter.
Expand an explanation, not a string of labels
Start with “The sugar dissolved.” Add the medium: “The sugar dissolved in the water.” Add a distinction: “The sugar dissolved in the water; the grains were no longer visible, but the sugar had not become water.”
Using the Fencing Method, the learner can then connect the observation to a suitable particle account. The expansion should add the relevant relationship and identify the level of explanation.
A sentence such as “The molecular scientific solution underwent advanced transformation” sounds technical while explaining little. Ask what changed, which entities were involved and which claim the observation supports. Remove a term when it adds no meaning.
Transfer the question to a different safe example or an authoritative diagram. Does the same explanation apply, or does the material require a different account? Not all substances behave identically in water. A familiar label should not be used to skip the comparison.
Words can be technical without being universal
“Cell” can occur in biology, a spreadsheet or a description of confinement. “Work” in everyday language can mean effort, employment or a task; in physics it has a more specific technical meaning. “Product” can refer to an item sold, a multiplication result or something formed in a chemical reaction.
Context identifies the intended sense. A dictionary is helpful, but a technical glossary and the surrounding explanation may be needed when reading a scientific text. Do not assume that the familiar everyday sense is always the correct one.
The converse mistake is to carry a technical meaning into every ordinary conversation. A person can say that a difficult task was hard work without making a physics claim. Precision involves choosing the meaning appropriate to the question, not correcting every speaker as though they were writing a laboratory report.
Measurement is an organised comparison
Imagine measuring the length of a model bridge. The result needs a quantity, a unit and a procedure. Was the bridge measured end to end? Was the ruler aligned? What was the smallest division that could reasonably be read?
Writing more digits does not create more information. A result should reflect the limitations of the instrument and method. OpenStax’s discussion of measurement uncertainty, accuracy and precision provides a fuller introduction.
A useful language exercise compares two invented reports: “The bridge is exactly 20.000000 centimetres long” and “The bridge is about 20 centimetres long when measured with this ruler.” The more impressive-looking number is not automatically the more honest statement.
Ask which description the available measurement supports. Then consider what a different question might require. A rough sketch and a fitted component need different levels of precision.
A graph is not the event itself
A line graph of a cooling object represents selected measurements over time. The horizontal distance on the page is not physical travel by the object. The axes, units and scale explain what the marks mean.
Change the vertical scale and the same data can look more or less dramatic. That does not necessarily make the graph dishonest, but it changes what the reader notices. Ask whether the labels and scale make the comparison clear.
A line drawn between recorded points also requires interpretation. Did the instrument record continuously, or were there gaps? Does the graph show actual measurements, a fitted model or a prediction? Vocabulary helps distinguish these possibilities.
A model is useful for a purpose
A simple circuit diagram omits the colour of a wire and the appearance of the room. Those omissions may be harmless for understanding connections. Omitting an important component may not be harmless. Useful abstraction selects details according to the task.
The same principle applies to a diagram of a cell or a mathematical sketch. Enlarged parts can make a relationship visible while changing scale. An arrow may represent movement, influence or a sequence, depending on the legend. Ask what the arrow means rather than assuming it is self-explanatory.
Real systems are not obligated to behave like a convenient classroom metaphor. Saying a membrane is “like a gate” may introduce selection, but it is not a complete account of biological transport. Name the shared feature and the important limitations.
What an experiment would need to distinguish
Suppose an invented report compares two paper designs, but changes both the shape and the material. A different result cannot be assigned confidently to one change from that description alone. The problem can be explained before the learner knows every technical term.
Ask which comparison would be informative, what needs to be kept comparable and what should be recorded. An unexpected result may reveal a mistaken prediction, an uncontrolled difference, a measurement problem or something worth investigating further.
Do not teach that science always follows a neat, fixed sequence or that a hypothesis becomes a law after enough successful tests. Questions, models, observations and explanations can interact in several ways. The source linked above introduces scientific inquiry while acknowledging revision.
Transfer requires conditions
A mathematical relationship may be useful in a physical model only under stated assumptions. A diagram of proportional growth does not establish that every real process continues proportionally forever. The conditions belong to the meaning of the model.
Use an invented example: doubling the number of identical tiles doubles their total area, but doubling both side lengths of a square gives four times its area. “Double” means different operations in those two descriptions. Drawing the cases makes the distinction clearer than memorising the word alone.
This is a particularly useful vocabulary lesson because the words seem familiar. Misunderstanding often lies not in an unknown noun but in which relationship the sentence describes.
A safe investigation on paper
Choose an age-appropriate scientific diagram from a reliable educational source. Identify what can be observed, what is represented and what is inferred. Write a short explanation and then add one condition, one unit or one limitation that genuinely improves it.
Explain the model to a younger reader without relying on the technical term as the whole answer. “It happens because of diffusion” names a process; the next sentence should explain the relevant relationship in language the listener can follow.
Use supervised, appropriate activities only. Do not taste unknown substances, culture unknown organisms, use mains electricity, mix household chemicals or handle hazardous apparatus to learn vocabulary. A diagram or simulation can support the conceptual discussion without those risks.
What the bank can and cannot establish
The list organises genuine scientific and mathematical headwords, but it is not a replacement for a course, a qualified teacher or professional advice. The sources support specific scientific distinctions, not a claim that learning these exact 200 terms produces a measured cognitive outcome.
Earlier vocabulary remains part of the learner’s toolkit. The headword registry avoids repeated entries; learning itself should revisit concepts in different representations and situations.
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