Ambiguous Terms of Science Part 4: The Return of Ambiguous Chemical Terms The ambiguous nature of some scientific terms has been well d o c ~ m e n t e dHowever, .~~~ further examples have now been discovered and are presented below. Bauxite Benign Carvone Close packing Coalescence Dying Fonates Free energy Fluorescence Hard water Histones Iron London forces Nickel oxide Nitriles Pheromones Polyclinic Potash Quartz Sublimes Solvation Thiols Urea excretion
In baseball, the pitcher's mound A vitamin A mobile communication device What vacationing crystallographers do with the contents of their suitcases Liquid fuel produced by liquificationof solid fossil fuels Process occurring when large amounts of indigo are ingested Members of a barber shop quartet Sunlight The odor of dirty carpet Hail stones Sounds of displeasure An element that was discovered when someone "smeC' it British military Inexpensive leather Evenings in court Low cries of pain uttered by early Egyptian rulers when close to death A veterinary establishment for ill parrots Marijuana residues Where justice is administered Anti-scurvy food on submarines When sprinkled with holy water, Catholic chemists may achieve this Holes in upper portion of leg Wax
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Thomas, N.C. J Chem. Educ. 1988,65,1061 'Thomas. N.C. J Biol Educ 1988.22,3. Nicholas C. Thomas Auburn University at Montgomery Montgomery, AL 36117
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Journal of Chemical Education
