Science Crossword Puzzles: Make Practice Fun!

These science crossword puzzles can help you think about the meanings of a few key scientific terms in English.  They also highlight some of the connections between different scientific disciplines and their specialized vocabularies. 

Science Crossword Puzzles: picture of a crossword puzzle and pen with some science icons: a test tube, atom, planet with rings, cell, & diagram of a molecule

The Basics of Science Crossword on this page looks at a small sample of the essential vocabulary from different categories of science.

(It also has includes definitions for some of those categories: biology, chemistry, etc. If you want to review them first, see the last part of the Science Vocabulary page.)

You can complete the crossword online or download the pdf for the Basics of Science Crossword and its answers to complete it offline.

Below that puzzle are links to some other science crosswords on EnglishHints—and to a few pages discussing or practicing that vocabulary.

Basics of Science Crossword

Click on a number in the grid to see the clue or clues for that number. (That will also open the box where you can enter your answer and show the 'Hint' button.) All the clues are also given below the puzzle.

Complete the crossword, then click on "Check" to check your answer. If you are stuck, you can click on "Hint" to get a free letter.  (Each hint takes 1 point off your score.)

(If you are using a small phone, you may find it easier to download the pdf and answers above, since the puzzle is 23 spaces wide.)

       1       2           
                3    4     
         5              
                     
          6             
  7                     
                     
8         9                
            10           
  11   12                   13   
               14        
     15                  
                     
                     
              16         
  17                     
                     
   18                    
             19          
                     
       20                
                     
                     

Across:

1. the science of the relationships of living things to their environment and each other
5. the air-- various gases-- that surround the earth
7. the science of chemical reactions
8. the study of the stars and universe
10. related to the sun
11. the science that studies the basic laws of the physical universe: matter, energy, and the ways they interact
15. the production of carbohydrates from sunlight and water
16. the study of life
17. the smallest unit of an element, made up of one or more protons, an equal number of electrons, and possibly one or more neutrons
18. combinations of atoms that are the building blocks of matter
19. long-term weather conditions usual in a region
20. a test to learn what will happen under specific, controlled conditions, designed to prove or disprove a hypothesis

Down:

2. the science of the earth and its structures and composition
3. an animal that eats plants
4. animals with backbones
6. an idea about how something works or how to solve a problem that can be tested to confirm or disprove it
9. so small it can only be seen with a microscope
12. the specific environmental conditions that are home to a species—where it belongs
13. power; the ability to do work
14. breathing; the process of taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide
18. anything with substance (mass) that occupies space

More Science Crossword Puzzles

There are several other science crosswords on EnglishHints, most connected with the vocabulary studied in various newsletters. 

See also Printable Crossword Puzzles for these and other types of English vocabulary practice.

Other Science Vocabulary Practice

Scientific Method Vocabulary discusses the main steps in the scientific method: identifying a problem, forming a hypothesis, planning an experiment or other way to test it, keeping a record of the experiment and observations, and analyzing and reporting the results. The page also discusses key vocabulary involved.

Climate Change and Weather Vocabulary discusses weather and climate in detail and has a practice exercise.

The Research and Scientific Words Quiz mostly practices general academic vocabulary that is also important for understanding scientific research: words like formula, implication, outcomes, and principles. 

There are other related pages (practicing both science AND general academic terms) linked from the EnglishHints Sitemap Science Vocabulary section.

There is a lot more scientific vocabulary than I have been able to teach on EnglishHints, however. See the Thought Company Science section that goes into the specialized vocabulary of physics, chemistry, biology, and other sciences that isn’t explained on EnglishHints. 

Home > Vocabulary Games > Science Crossword Puzzles.

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