✏️ This free printable crossword prints on a single page. The answer key sits in a small strip at the bottom — fold it backward along the dotted line before you start, and you can solve honestly without ever seeing the solution. A real challenge — high-school level reasoning and vocabulary recommended.
A clue-based crossword. Solve each clue and write the answer into the numbered grid.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Across
2. Nerve cell that carries signals in the brain
5. Warm-blooded animal that nurses its young
6. When one celestial body blocks another
10. Preserved remains of ancient life
11. Slow-moving river of ice
12. Atom variant with a different neutron count
Down
1. An animal's natural home
3. Protein that speeds up a chemical reaction
4. Object that attracts iron
7. Nutrient built from amino acids
8. Fine powder that fertilizes flowers
9. Bowl-shaped dent left by an impact
✂ fold backward along this line to hide the solution ✂
Solution hidden on screen — it prints automatically.
Solution
H
A
B
I
N
E
U
R
O
N
T
M
N
M
A
M
M
A
L
Z
T
G
Y
N
M
E
C
L
I
P
S
E
P
T
R
O
C
F
O
S
S
I
L
R
T
L
G
L
A
C
I
E
R
E
T
I
N
I
S
O
T
O
P
E
N
R
How to Solve This Crossword
Between the 6 Across and 5 Down clues, the grid's crossings are your best tool — here's how to use them well:
Start wherever the grid is most connected. Look for the area with the most crossing answers packed close together — solving one clue there unlocks the most neighbors at once.
Read every clue as a fill-in-the-blank. Rephrasing a clue like "Mountain that can erupt" as "___ is a mountain that can erupt" often jars the answer loose faster than reading it as a question.
Don't fight a stuck clue. If nothing comes after a few seconds, move on — the letters you fill in elsewhere will often hand you the answer for free later.
This one has 11 clues total — leapfrogging between Across and Down as letters fill in is usually faster than solving straight down the list. Full strategy: our complete crossword-solving guide.
About This Puzzle
Science & Nature Crossword keeps its 12 clues inside the sciences but spreads them wide — one clue points to the nerve cells that carry brain signals, another to the object that attracts iron, a third to the atom variant with a different neutron count. If one branch of science comes easier to you than another, this puzzle will find the gap.