How it works
Pick a level
Easy for early readers. Hard hides words in all eight directions, including backwards.
Download or print
One clean US Letter page, with the answer key on page two. Nothing to sign up for.
Grab a pencil
Or solve on screen: tap the first and last letter of each word you find.
About this puzzle
Big, bold letters and fewer, longer words: an easier-on-the-eyes chemistry word search. Elements, compounds and the reactions between them. Protons, neutrons and electrons inside the atom, acids and bases, catalysts, isotopes and the periodic table, plus everyday elements like oxygen, hydrogen and carbon. A chemistry word search for a middle school physical science class or a high school chemistry review.
The large print edition uses an 11×11 grid that fills a letter-size page, and words only run across, down or diagonally down.
All 20 words in this theme: Element, Compound, Atom, Molecule, Proton, Neutron, Electron, Acid, Base, Reaction, Catalyst, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Carbon, Bond, Mixture, Solution, Periodic, Beaker, Isotope.
Talk about it
Questions to share while solving, for activity groups, memory care or a visit with family:
- Did you ever have a chemistry set as a child?
- What is your favorite kitchen chemistry, like baking bread or making candy?
- Did anything ever bubble over or explode in your science class?
- Which job in science would you have liked to try?
- Do you know any elements by their symbols, like O for oxygen?
Activity tip: Show a simple kitchen reaction afterwards: a spoon of baking soda in a glass of vinegar fizzes safely and always gets a smile.
Questions
How big are the letters?
The grid fills most of a letter-size page, with letters about one and a half times the size of a regular (Medium) word search, and the word list is printed in large type too.
Are these suitable for memory care or activity groups?
Yes. Words only run left to right, top to bottom or diagonally down, so the puzzles are relaxing rather than tricky. Print as many copies as your group needs.
Is there a harder version?
Every theme also has a regular print edition with Easy, Medium and Hard levels.