February Word of the Day
1 – conductor - A substance or medium that conducts heat, light, sound, or especially an electric
charge
2 – insulator - A material that insulates, especially a nonconductor of sound, heat, or electricity
3 – endangered - To threaten with extinction
6 – predator - An animal that lives by capturing and eating other animals
7 – prey - An animal hunted or caught for food;
8 – climate - The meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that
characteristically prevail in a particular region
9 – carnivore - any animal or any plant that feeds on animals
10 – herbivore - An animal that feeds chiefly on plants
13 – omnivore - An organism that eats both plants and animals
14 – cytoplasm - The jellylike material that makes up much of a cell inside the cell membrane,
and, in eukaryotic cells, surrounds the nucleus.
15 – nucleus - a large compartment, bounded by a double membrane, that contains the
chromosomes and associated molecules and controls the characteristics and growth
of the cell
16 – vacuoles - A small cavity in the cytoplasm of a cell, bound by a single membrane and
containing water, food, or metabolic waste
17 – inherited traits - To receive (a characteristic) from one's parents by genetic transmission
20 – symbiosis - close, prolonged association between two or more different organisms of different
species that may, but does not necessarily, benefit each member.
21 – kinetic energy - The energy possessed by a body because of its motion, equal to one half
the mass of the body times the square of its speed.
22 – dissipate - To vanish by dispersion: The dark clouds finally dissipated
23 – core - The central portion of the earth below the mantle, beginning at a depth of about 2,900
kilometers
24 – parasite - An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while
contributing nothing to the survival of its host
27 – metamorphosis - change in the form and often habits of an animal during normal development after the embryonic stage. Metamorphosis includes, in insects, the transformation of a maggot into an adult fly and a caterpillar into a butterfly and, in amphibians, the changing of a tadpole into a frog
28 – migration - The seasonal movement of a complete population of animals from one area to another. Migration is usually a response to changes in temperature, food supply, or the amount of daylight, and is often undertaken for the purpose of breeding