THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT VOCABULARY
VOCABULARY WORD / DEFINITION /Asymmetry / Having no definite symmetry
Autotroph / An organism that makes its own food.
Bilateral Symmetry / Line symmetry; the quality of being divisible into two halves that are mirror images.
Cardiovascular System / The body system that consists of the heart, blood vessels, and blood, and that carries needed substances to cells and carries waste products away from the cells.
Carnivore / An animal that eats only other animals.
Cartilage / A connective tissue that is more flexible than bone and that gives support to some parts of the body.
Cell / The basic unit of structure and function in an organism.
Cell membrane / A cell structure that controls which substances can enter or leave the cell.
Cell Theory / A widely accepted explanation of the relationship between cells and living things.
Cell Wall / A rigid layer of non-living material that surrounds the cells of plants and some other organisms.
Central Nervous System / The brain and the spinal cord; the control center of the body.
Chlorophyll / A green pigment found in the chloroplasts of plants, algae, and some bacteria.
Chloroplast / A structure in the cells of plants and some other organisms that captures energy from light and uses it to produce food.
Circulatory System / The body system that consists of the heart, blood vessels, and blood, and that carries needed substances to cells and carries waste products away from the cells.
Classification / The process of grouping things based on their similarities.
Compound microscope / A light microscope that has more than one lens.
Connective tissue / A body tissue that provides support for the body and connects all of its parts.
Cytoplasm / The region of the cell inside the cell membrane (in prokaryotes),between the cell membrane and nucleus (in eukaryotes); contains a gel-like material and cell organelles.
Diffusion / The process by which molecules move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.
Digestion / The process by which the body breaks down food into small nutrient molecules.
Epithelial tissue / A body tissue that covers the surfaces of the body, inside and out.
Endoskeleton / An internal skeleton.
Eukaryote / An organism with cells that contain nuclei and other cell structures.
Exoskeleton / A waxy, waterproof outer shell.
Heart / A hollow muscular organ that pumps blood throughout the body.
Heterotroph / An organism that cannot make its own food.
Homeostasis / The maintenance of stable internal conditions despite the changes in an organism’s surroundings.
Invertebrate / An animal that does not have a backbone.
Ligament / Strong connective tissue that holds together the bones in a movable joint.
Lysosome / A small round cell structure that contains chemicals that break down large food particles into smaller ones.
Magnification / The ability to make things look larger than they are.
Mitochondria / Rod-shaped cell structures that produce most of the energy needed to carry out the cell’s function.
Mitosis / The stage of the cell cycle during which the cell’s nucleus divides into two new nuclei and one copy of DNA is distributed into each daughter cell.
Multicellular / A type of organism that is made up of many cells.
Muscle tissue / A body tissue that contracts or shortens, making body parts move.
Nerve tissue / A body tissue that carries messages back and forth between the brain and every other part of the body.
Nonvascular plant / A low-growing plant that lacks vascular tissue.
Nucleus / A cell structure that contains the chemical instructions that direct the cell’s activities.
Omnivore / An animal that eats both plants and animals.
Organ / A structure in the body that is composed of different types of tissue.
Organ system / A group of organs that work together to perform a major function in the body.
Organelle / A tiny cell structure that carries out a specific function within the cell.
Organism / A living thing.
Osmosis / The diffusion of water molecules through a selectively permeable membrane.
Phloem / The vascular tissue through which food moves in some plants.
Photosynthesis / The process by which plants and some other organisms capture light energy and use the light energy to make food from carbon dioxide and water.
Prokaryote / An organism whose cells lack a nucleus and some other cell structures.
Radial Symmetry / The quality of having many lines of symmetry that all pass through a central point.
Respiration / The process of breaking down food to release its energy.
Selectively Permeable / A property of cell membranes that allows some substances to pass through, while others cannot.
Spontaneous generation / The mistaken idea that living things arise from non-living sources.
Taxonomy / The scientific study of how living things are classified.
Tissue / A group of similar cells that perform a specific function in an organism.
Unicellular / A type of organism made of only one cell
Vacuole / A water-filled sac inside a cell that acts as a storage area.
Vascular plant / A plant that has vascular tissue.
Vascular Tissue / The internal transporting tissue in some plants that is made up of tube-like structures.
Vertebrate / An animal that has a backbone.
Xylem / The vascular tissue through which water and nutrients move in some plants.
CHANGES OVER TIME VOCABULARY
Adaptation / A characteristic, arising from natural selection, that that improves a population's chance of survival and reproduction.Asexual reproduction / Mode of reproduction in which offspring arise from a single parent and inherit the genes of that parent only.
Chromosome / A doubled rod of condensed chromatin; contains DNA that carries genetic information.
Extinction / The elimination of a species (also applicable to levels other than species) due to natural processes or human activity.
Fossil / The remains or imprint of a prehistoric plant or animal.
Fossil record / The millions of fossils that scientists have collected.
Gene / A segment of DNA on a chromosome that codes for a specific trait.
Genetics / The scientific study of heredity.
Heredity / The passing of traits from parent to offspring.
Homologous structures / Body parts that are structurally similar in related species; provide evidence that the structures were inherited from a common ancestor.
Natural selection / The process by which individuals that are better adapted to the environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than other members of the same species.
Paleontologist / A scientist that studies the fossilized remains of organisms.
Scientific theory / A well-tested concept that explains a wide range of observations.
Selective Breeding / Selection for specific traits imposed by humans, either deliberately or otherwise, upon wild or domesticated plants and animals.
Sexual reproduction / Mode of reproduction involving two parents, usually involving meiosis, gamete formation, and fertilization.
Species / Organisms whose members are alike and successfully reproduce among themselves.
Trait / A characteristic which is passed on to offspring through heredity.
Variation / Any difference between individuals of the same species.
Note: Vocabulary terms in regular font indicate terms from the Maryland State Voluntary Curriculum Glossary. Those terms in italics indicate vocabulary within the Baltimore County Curriculum. All appropriate vocabulary must be included in daily instruction.
WAVE INTERACTIONS VOCABULARY
/ The distance from the midpoint to the maximum point (crest) or to the minimum point (trough) of a wave. The distance that a wave rises and falls from its normal rest position.
Angle of Incidence
/ The angle between the normal (perpendicular drawn to surface) and the incident ray.
Angle of Reflection
/ The angle between the normal (perpendicular drawn to the surface) and the reflected ray.
Earthquake
/ The moving and shaking of part of Earth's crust.
Electromagnetic wave / A wave that is both electric and magnetic in nature; light wave.
Energy / The ability to cause matter to move or change.
Energy transformation / When energy changes from one type to another.
Frequency
/ The number of repetitions in a given interval of time.
Incident Ray / The wave of light moving towards a surface at an angle.
Light / A form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength visible by the eye.
Longitudinal wave
/ A wave in which the vibration is moving in the same direction as that in which the wave is traveling.
Loudness / Perception of the intensity of sound.
Mechanical Wave / A wave that requires a medium through which to travel.
Medium / The material through which a wave travels.
Normal / A line drawn perpendicular to the surface at the point where the incoming wave strikes the surface.
Pitch
/ How high or low sound frequencies appear to be.
Refracted Ray / The bent light ray after the wave enters a medium.
Refraction
/ The change in velocity and apparent bending of the beam of light or other wave-form as it passes from one medium into another.
Sound
/ Longitudinal wave produced by the vibration of a material.
Transverse wave
/ A wave in which the vibration is moving in a direction perpendicular as that in which the wave is traveling.
Wave / A disturbance that transfers energy from one place to another.
Wavelength
/ The distance between two identical points on neighboring waves.
White light
/ All the colors of the spectrum visible to the human eye as a single color.
****Vocabulary terms in regular font indicate terms from the Maryland State Voluntary Curriculum Glossary. Those terms in italics indicate vocabulary within the Baltimore County Curriculum. All appropriate vocabulary must be included in daily instruction.
DIGGING INTO EARTH’S PAST
Unit Vocabulary
Absolute Age / The age of a rock given as the number of years since the rock formed.Cast: / A fossil formed in a rock showing the organism's outward shape. It formed after the organism dissolved and the space in the rock was filled.
Cementation: / Process by which sedimentary rock is formed from sediments being glued together by mineral deposits.
Climate: / The average temperature and rainfall for a particular place over hundreds of years.
Compaction: / Process by which sedimentary rock is formed when layers of sediment are compressed by the weight of layers above them.
Composition: / The chemical make up of a given substance.
Erosion: / The carrying away of weathered soil, rock, and other materials on the Earth's surface by gravity, water, and wind.
Evolution: / Changes in species as a consequence of processes such as mutation and natural selection.
Extinction: / The elimination of a species (also applicable to levels other than species) due to natural processes or human activity.
Extrusion: / An igneous rock layer formed when lave allows onto Earth’s surface and hardens.
Extrusive Rock: / Igneous rock that forms from lave on Earth’s surface.
Faulting: / The process of movement along a break or crack in Earth's crust.
Folding: / The process of bending rock layers in Earth's crust.
Fossil: / The remains or imprint of a prehistoric plant or animal.
Geologic: / Of or relating to Earth or Earth processes.
Geologic Time Scale: / A record of the geologic events and life forms in Earth’s history.
Igneous rock: / Rock formed through the process of magma or lava cooling and hardening.
Imprint: / A fossil that is an organism's impression which was formed in mud that later hardened into rock.
Index fossil: / A fossil of an organism that lived a relatively short time on Earth, used to determine the relative age of rock layers.
Intrusion: / An igneous rock layer formed when magma hardens beneath Earth’s surface.
Intrusive Rock / Igneous rock that forms when magma hardens beneath Earth’s surface.
Lava: / Liquid magma that reaches the surface.
Law of Superposition: / Law that states in undisturbed sedimentary rock layers, the younger layer is closer to Earth's surface and the older layer is below this.
Magma: / The molten mixture of rock-forming substances from the mantle.
Metamorphic (rock): / Rock formed when igneous or sedimentary rock is changed by pressure, heat, or chemical reactions.
Mold: / A fossil that is an empty space in a rock that shows the outward shape of a dissolved organism.
Petrified: / Fossilized remains that have been turned into stone.
Relative age: / The age of a rock (older or younger) in comparison with the age of other rocks.
Rock: / The material that forms Earth’s hard surface.
Rock Cycle: / A series of processes on the surface and inside Earth that slowly change rocks form one kind to another.
Sediment: / Small pieces of rock, shell, and plant and animal matter that is moved and deposited by water, wind, or ice.
Sedimentary rock: / Rock formed from sedimentation.
Sedimentation: / The settling out of fragments of weathered rock or remains of living things that are carried and deposited by wind, water, or ice.
Species: / Organisms whose members are alike and successfully reproduce among themselves.
Trace Fossil: / A type of fossil that provides evidence of the activities of ancient organisms.
Weathering: / A chemical or physical process in which rocks exposed to the weather are worn down by water, wind, or ice.