Luckily, you don’t need to be a scientist to do well with MAT science analogies. To do well on the chemistry part of MAT, you just need to know the basics of chemistry and the periodic table, a chart that organizes all the known elements according to their properties. Instead of memorizing the whole table, memorize just the following terms.
Actinide: Fifteen metallic elements with the atomic numbers 89–103
Alkali metal: Highly reactive elements; shiny, soft, and silvery
Alkaline earth metal: Moderately reactive natural elements; shiny and silvery white
Atomic mass: Total mass of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an atom
Atomic number: Number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
Chemical symbol: One- or two-letter code for a chemical element
Halogen: Series of very reactive nonmetals
Isotope: Variant of a chemical element; protons are the same, but neutrons vary
Lanthanide: Fifteen metallic elements with the atomic numbers 57–71
Mass number: Total number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus
Metal: Element that is a good conductor of electricity and heat
Metalloid: Elements that are a mix between metals and nonmetals
Noble gas: Six odorless, colorless gases with low reactivity
Nonmetal: Group of elements that are poor conductors of heat and electricity; dull and brittle
Periodic table: Display of the chemical elements
Post-transition metal: Metals to the right of transition elements on the periodic table
Rare earth element: Seventeen elements; lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium
Transition metal: Familiar metals such as iron, nickel, copper, and gold