A
abiotic: nonliving part of an ecosystem. examples: rocks, water, soil, wind, sun, etc.
acceleration: rate of change of velocity.
adaptation: better suited to survive in its environment.
amyoplast: organelle (plant only), converts starch into energy.
anion: negatively charged ion. (non-metals)
aquatic: another term for "water".
atom: basic building block of matter.
atomic number: number of protons in the nucleus of an atom; used to identify an element as each element has its own unique number of protons.
atomic weight: average mass of all isotopes of a certain type (it takes into account the known isotopes of that particular element).
autotroph: organisms that trap solar energy (photosynthesis) to produce their own food. examples: trees, plants, some bacteria, and algae
average speed: total distance an object travels divided by the total time it takes to travel that distance.
acceleration: rate of change of velocity.
adaptation: better suited to survive in its environment.
amyoplast: organelle (plant only), converts starch into energy.
anion: negatively charged ion. (non-metals)
aquatic: another term for "water".
atom: basic building block of matter.
atomic number: number of protons in the nucleus of an atom; used to identify an element as each element has its own unique number of protons.
atomic weight: average mass of all isotopes of a certain type (it takes into account the known isotopes of that particular element).
autotroph: organisms that trap solar energy (photosynthesis) to produce their own food. examples: trees, plants, some bacteria, and algae
average speed: total distance an object travels divided by the total time it takes to travel that distance.
B
balanced force: forces on an object that combine to give a zero net force and do not change the motion of the object.
beaker: scientific tool, a cylinder-shaped glass container with a flat bottom and a spout for pouring; used for mixing, heating, and stirring liquids.
biome: one of Earth's large ecosystems, with its own climate, soil, plants, and animals (we'll discover 6 terrestrial and 3 aquatic biomes).
biotic: living part of an ecosystem. example: animals, plants, etc.
boiling: phase change, from liquid to gas with heat added.
Boyle's Law: states the volume of a gas is inversely proportional to the pressure of its gas, when temperature is constant.
brittle: easily broken.
buoyancy: the power to float or rise in a fluid.
beaker: scientific tool, a cylinder-shaped glass container with a flat bottom and a spout for pouring; used for mixing, heating, and stirring liquids.
biome: one of Earth's large ecosystems, with its own climate, soil, plants, and animals (we'll discover 6 terrestrial and 3 aquatic biomes).
biotic: living part of an ecosystem. example: animals, plants, etc.
boiling: phase change, from liquid to gas with heat added.
Boyle's Law: states the volume of a gas is inversely proportional to the pressure of its gas, when temperature is constant.
brittle: easily broken.
buoyancy: the power to float or rise in a fluid.
C
carnivore: organisms that eat meat; they eat secondary consumers. examples: tigers, wolves, snakes, hawks, etc.
cation: positively charged ion. (metals)
cell: simplest form of life; basic building block of life.
cell membrane: organelle, surrounds inner part of the cell; doorman (allows some substances to enter while other substances can not).
cell wall: organelle, provides structure and stability to cell; the reason plants have rigidity.
centi-: metric prefix, 1/100 or 0.01
characteristic property: property (quality) that remain the same for an object, no matter how much is present; most useful to identify the object.
Charles' Law: states the volume of a gas is directly proportional to its temperature, when pressure remains constant.
chemistry: specific branch of science discovery that focuses on the composition and properties of substances and other basic forms of matter.
chloroplast: organelle, site of photosynthesis (plants only).
climate: average weather pattern of a region.
coefficient: LARGE number in front of a chemical formula that represents how many of that ENTIRE compound/molecule is present; it's a multiplier for each of the present elements its composition (3H2O, there are 6 atoms of Hydrogen, 3 atoms of Oxygen; if there were no coefficient present, there'd be 2 atoms of Hydrogen and 1 atom of Oxygen).
colloid: mixture consisting of tiny particles; these particles are in-between the size of a solution and a suspension; examples are: milk, jello and whipped cream.
combustion: 1 of 5 chemical reaction types we'll explore, this one is identifiable by the presence of Co2 as a product in its equation (ex. fuel + Oxygen > CO2 + water).
commensalism: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits one without harming the other. example: sea anemones grow on hermit crabs to catch more food.
community: all the living things in an ecosystem.
compound: two or more different chemically combined elements; name for the product of an ionic bond.
composition: the type of matter that makes up the object and the way the matter is arranged.
concentration: measure of the amount of solute dissolved in a solvent.
condensation: phase change, from gas to liquid.
conductivity: the ability of an object to transfer either heat or electrical current.
constant: that which is unchanged in all trials; remains the same.
consumer: any animal that eats plants or eats other plant-eating animals.
control: used for a comparison in an experiment; baseline.
corrosiveness: tendency to cause irritation or harm.
covalent bond: sharing of electrons between a non-metal (anion) and a non-metal (anion) or a non-metal (anion) and a metalloid; producing a molecule.
cytoplasm: organelle, jelly of the cell; maintains pressure and keeps the other organelles in their specific position.
cation: positively charged ion. (metals)
cell: simplest form of life; basic building block of life.
cell membrane: organelle, surrounds inner part of the cell; doorman (allows some substances to enter while other substances can not).
cell wall: organelle, provides structure and stability to cell; the reason plants have rigidity.
centi-: metric prefix, 1/100 or 0.01
characteristic property: property (quality) that remain the same for an object, no matter how much is present; most useful to identify the object.
Charles' Law: states the volume of a gas is directly proportional to its temperature, when pressure remains constant.
chemistry: specific branch of science discovery that focuses on the composition and properties of substances and other basic forms of matter.
chloroplast: organelle, site of photosynthesis (plants only).
climate: average weather pattern of a region.
coefficient: LARGE number in front of a chemical formula that represents how many of that ENTIRE compound/molecule is present; it's a multiplier for each of the present elements its composition (3H2O, there are 6 atoms of Hydrogen, 3 atoms of Oxygen; if there were no coefficient present, there'd be 2 atoms of Hydrogen and 1 atom of Oxygen).
colloid: mixture consisting of tiny particles; these particles are in-between the size of a solution and a suspension; examples are: milk, jello and whipped cream.
combustion: 1 of 5 chemical reaction types we'll explore, this one is identifiable by the presence of Co2 as a product in its equation (ex. fuel + Oxygen > CO2 + water).
commensalism: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits one without harming the other. example: sea anemones grow on hermit crabs to catch more food.
community: all the living things in an ecosystem.
compound: two or more different chemically combined elements; name for the product of an ionic bond.
composition: the type of matter that makes up the object and the way the matter is arranged.
concentration: measure of the amount of solute dissolved in a solvent.
condensation: phase change, from gas to liquid.
conductivity: the ability of an object to transfer either heat or electrical current.
constant: that which is unchanged in all trials; remains the same.
consumer: any animal that eats plants or eats other plant-eating animals.
control: used for a comparison in an experiment; baseline.
corrosiveness: tendency to cause irritation or harm.
covalent bond: sharing of electrons between a non-metal (anion) and a non-metal (anion) or a non-metal (anion) and a metalloid; producing a molecule.
cytoplasm: organelle, jelly of the cell; maintains pressure and keeps the other organelles in their specific position.
D
data: results from the experiment; usually numerical.
deca-: metric prefix, 10x
deci-: metric prefix, 1/10 or 0.1
deciduous forest: (temperate forest) one of Earth's biomes, a forest with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves in the fall. we live in a deciduous forest.
decomposer: organisms that rely on dead tissues for nutrients; they break down dead plants and animals into useful things like minerals and rich soil. examples: bacteria, mushroom, etc.
decomposition: 1 of 5 chemical reaction types we'll explore, this one is identifiable by a LARGE reactant that is broken down into smaller products (ex. AB > A + B).
definite: another term for "exact".
density: ratio of mass to volume of a substance (d = m/v)
dependent variable: results of the experiment; usually numerical data; that which is measured.
deposition: phase change, from gas to solid.
desert: one of Earth's biomes, a sandy or rocky dry area, with little (less than 25 cm annually) precipitation and little plant life
detritivore: organisms that feed on the remains of the dead. example: crab, mites, snails, vulture, worms, etc.
displacement: distance and direction of an object's change in position from its starting point.
distance: how far an object moves.
DNA: (deoxyribose nucleic acid) genetic material found in the nucleus (blueprint of life).
double displacement/replacement: 1 of 5 chemical reaction types we'll explore, this one is identifiable by the "switching of partners" from the reactant and product sides (ex. AB + CD > AD + BC).
dormant: at rest or asleep.
diversity: the state or fact of being different.
ductility: the ability to be stretched into wires.
deca-: metric prefix, 10x
deci-: metric prefix, 1/10 or 0.1
deciduous forest: (temperate forest) one of Earth's biomes, a forest with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves in the fall. we live in a deciduous forest.
decomposer: organisms that rely on dead tissues for nutrients; they break down dead plants and animals into useful things like minerals and rich soil. examples: bacteria, mushroom, etc.
decomposition: 1 of 5 chemical reaction types we'll explore, this one is identifiable by a LARGE reactant that is broken down into smaller products (ex. AB > A + B).
definite: another term for "exact".
density: ratio of mass to volume of a substance (d = m/v)
dependent variable: results of the experiment; usually numerical data; that which is measured.
deposition: phase change, from gas to solid.
desert: one of Earth's biomes, a sandy or rocky dry area, with little (less than 25 cm annually) precipitation and little plant life
detritivore: organisms that feed on the remains of the dead. example: crab, mites, snails, vulture, worms, etc.
displacement: distance and direction of an object's change in position from its starting point.
distance: how far an object moves.
DNA: (deoxyribose nucleic acid) genetic material found in the nucleus (blueprint of life).
double displacement/replacement: 1 of 5 chemical reaction types we'll explore, this one is identifiable by the "switching of partners" from the reactant and product sides (ex. AB + CD > AD + BC).
dormant: at rest or asleep.
diversity: the state or fact of being different.
ductility: the ability to be stretched into wires.
E
ecosystem: all the living and nonliving things in an environment, including their interactions with each other.
electron: negatively charge subatomic particle, travels within the electron cloud.
element: substance that can NOT be broken down into a simpler substance by chemical means.
endoplasmic reticulum: organelle, that prepares proteins for transportation to the Golgi body, the packaging plant, other parts of the cell or outside of the cell. (smooth: no ribosomes, rough: with ribosomes)
endothermic: requires heat to occur or absorbs heat.
engineering: a series of steps used to develop anything that can make life easier or better.
environment: the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all the other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time.
estivation: organism will lay in rest or dormancy during the hotter season such as summer to preserve energy and/or regulate temperature (i.e. snakes).
eukaryote: cell with nucleus (people).
evaporation: phase change, from liquid to gas.
exothermic: heat is released to its surroundings when it occurs.
electron: negatively charge subatomic particle, travels within the electron cloud.
element: substance that can NOT be broken down into a simpler substance by chemical means.
endoplasmic reticulum: organelle, that prepares proteins for transportation to the Golgi body, the packaging plant, other parts of the cell or outside of the cell. (smooth: no ribosomes, rough: with ribosomes)
endothermic: requires heat to occur or absorbs heat.
engineering: a series of steps used to develop anything that can make life easier or better.
environment: the air, water, minerals, organisms, and all the other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time.
estivation: organism will lay in rest or dormancy during the hotter season such as summer to preserve energy and/or regulate temperature (i.e. snakes).
eukaryote: cell with nucleus (people).
evaporation: phase change, from liquid to gas.
exothermic: heat is released to its surroundings when it occurs.
F
flammability: tendency to catch on fire.
flask: scientific tool, conical shaped (cylinder-shaped neck and flat bottom) with measurement marks on the side of the container; its shape reduces loss from evaporation and prevents spillage when liquids are stirred.
food chain: the path of energy in food from one organism to another; the arrow points towards the organism doing the eating.
food web: overlapping food chains in an ecosystem.
force: push or pull exerted from an object.
freezing: phase change, from liquid to solid.
flask: scientific tool, conical shaped (cylinder-shaped neck and flat bottom) with measurement marks on the side of the container; its shape reduces loss from evaporation and prevents spillage when liquids are stirred.
food chain: the path of energy in food from one organism to another; the arrow points towards the organism doing the eating.
food web: overlapping food chains in an ecosystem.
force: push or pull exerted from an object.
freezing: phase change, from liquid to solid.
G
gas: a state of matter, indefinite shape and indefinite volume.
golgi body (apparatus): organelle, packaging plant of the cell, grouping lipids and proteins and packaging them into vesicles, and then shipping lipids and proteins to other places within and outside of the cell.
graduated cylinder: a narrow, cylindrical container with horizontal markings used to measure volumes of liquids or irregular volumes (usually ml or L).
gram: metric unit, mass.
group: a column of elements on the Periodic Table with similar physical and chemical properties.
golgi body (apparatus): organelle, packaging plant of the cell, grouping lipids and proteins and packaging them into vesicles, and then shipping lipids and proteins to other places within and outside of the cell.
graduated cylinder: a narrow, cylindrical container with horizontal markings used to measure volumes of liquids or irregular volumes (usually ml or L).
gram: metric unit, mass.
group: a column of elements on the Periodic Table with similar physical and chemical properties.
H
habitat: home of an organism.
hecto-:metric prefix, 100x
herbivore: organisms that eat plants; they are primary consumers. examples: cows, caterpillars, etc.
heterotroph: organisms that eat other organisms to obtain energy. examples: deer, rabbits, cows, lions, hawks, etc.
hibernation: organism will sleep or rest to lessen the need of energy and food sources during more cold or barren seasons such as winter (i.e. bear).
hecto-:metric prefix, 100x
herbivore: organisms that eat plants; they are primary consumers. examples: cows, caterpillars, etc.
heterotroph: organisms that eat other organisms to obtain energy. examples: deer, rabbits, cows, lions, hawks, etc.
hibernation: organism will sleep or rest to lessen the need of energy and food sources during more cold or barren seasons such as winter (i.e. bear).