The paired clues give words that differ only by swapping one chemical symbol for another. Applying these swaps to the chemical formula of the element at the top of each group yields the chemical formula for another compound whose name fits in the blanks:
| Carborundum | SiC | → | SALT (13 S) | NaCl |
| Thailand, formerly | Si-am | → | Happy as a ____ | Cl-am |
| Fraction of a disc | se-C-tor | → | One of 100 in the United States | se-Na-tor |
| Limestone | CaCO3 | → | FORMIC ACID (10 O, 4 D) | CH2O2 |
| Aleph zero, e.g. | Ca-rdinal | → | Omega, e.g. | O-rdinal |
| "The Lion King" villain | s-C-ar | → | Fly like an eagle | s-O-ar |
| Invent, as a phrase | c-O-in | → | It may be double or cleft | c-H-in |
| Give a speech | O-rate | → | Wooden box for cargo | C-rate |
| Dessert that rises | s-O-uffle | → | Mix up, as a deck of cards | s-H-uffle |
| Lye | NaOH | → | PYRITE (17 Y, 7 T) | FeS2 |
| Plant used for temporary tattoos | hen-Na | → | Female birds | hen-S |
| Done | O-ver | → | Flu symptom | Fe-ver |
| Mismatch, like clothing colors | clas-H | → | Voting Theory, e.g. | clas-S |
| Milk of Magnesia | Mg(OH)2 | → | SALTPETER (1 L, 14 T) | KNO3 |
| Major Boston hospital, for short | Mg-h | → | "____, the Places You'll Go!" | O-h |
| It has horns and a beard | g-O-at | → | Pesky but inconsequential insect | g-N-at |
| ____ on goal | s-H-ot | → | Chimney residue | s-O-ot |
| Place to store grain | sil-O | → | Smooth as ____ | sil-K |
| Not outgoing | s-H-y | → | Common type of sauce or milk | s-O-y |
| Pearl ash | K2CO3 | → | BAKING SODA (5 I, 9 G, 16 D) | NaHCO3 |
| Worthless stuff | jun-K | → | Ellen Page title role | jun-O |
| Asian cooking pan | wo-K | → | Attempt to win over | wo-O |
| Colorado baseball team | ro-C-kies | → | Kris Bryant and Andrew Wiggins, e.g. | ro-O-kies |
| Cover, as with paint | c-O-at | → | Talk informally | c-O-at |
| Where to plug in | O-utlet | → | Thin, breaded piece of veal | C-utlet |
| ____ puppet | s-O-ck | → | Eat between meals | s-Na-ck |
| Sal ammoniac | NH4Cl | → | CONDY'S CRYSTALS (8 O, 6 N, 12 D) | KMnO4 |
| Like Owen Wilson or Neil Patrick Harris | blo-N-d | → | Type of orange | blo-O-d |
| Had trouble swallowing | c-H-oked | → | Prepared food | c-O-oked |
| Karate or lamb follower | c-H-op | → | Pen for chickens | c-O-op |
| Spoken representation of a dash, in Morse code | da-H | → | "____ Yankees" (musical) | da-Mn |
| Archaic "your" | t-H-y | → | Yo-yo or Barbie, for example | t-O-y |
| Hang on tightly | Cl-ing | → | Male monarch | K-ing |
| Silica | SiO2 | → | BLEACH (11 L, 2 E) | NaClO |
| Skull cavity | Si-nus | → | Burden | O-nus |
| Sound like a pig | O-ink | → | Sound like coins in a purse | Cl-ink |
| Egg-shaped | O-val | → | Relating to ships | Na-val |
| Water | H2O | → | LAUGHING GAS (15 U, 3 A) | N2O |
| Doleful sound | sig-H | → | Leo or Libra, e.g. | sig-N |
| Completely | w-H-oly | → | ____ mammoth | w-O-oly |
| Flower named for a student of Asclepius | pe-O-ny | → | One cent | pe-N-ny |
Selecting and arranging the letters according to the numbers in the original blanks yields the clue phrase LEAD INTO GOLD STUDY, cluing the answer ALCHEMY.