Science L to J Vocabulary

Earth Systems, Structures, and Processes (Weather)

  1. wind speedhow quickly air moves
  2. wind directionthe direction from which moving air is coming
  3. temperature the measure of the warmth or coldness of an object
  4. latitude the distance north or south of the Earth’s equator
  5. hemisphere half of the Earth
  6. barometera device for measuring air pressure
  7. airpressurethe force put on a given area by the weight of the air above it
  8. anemometera device that measures wind speed
  9. wind vanea device used to show the wind’s direction
  10. atmospherethe blanket of gases that surrounds Earth
  11. jet stream strong winds that usually travel west
  12. water currents large amounts of water moving in a similar direction
  13. rain gauge a device used to measure the amount of precipitation
  14. thermometer a device used to measure a change in temperature
  15. cirrus a high-altitude cloud with a featherlike shape, made of ice crystals
  16. stratus a cloud that forms in a blanket-like layer
  17. cumulus a puffy cloud that appears to rise up from a flat bottom
  18. fronts a boundary between air masses with different temperatures
  19. global patterns constant conditions that affect weather in a certain part of the world

Force and Motion

  1. accelerationChange in velocity with respect to time.
  2. actionThe force one object applies to a second, as in Newton’s third law of motion,
  3. balanced forces When two forces cancel each other out.
  4. Distance/Time Grapha line graph using to show how far an object moves over time. Calculates Speed.
  5. Drag the friction of air on a moving object.
  6. forcea push or pull exerted by one object on another, causing a change in motion.
  7. frictionA force that opposes the motion of one object moving past another.
  8. gravityThe force of attraction between any two objects due to their mass.
  9. inertiaThe tendency of a moving object to keep moving in a straight line or of any object to resist a change in motion.
  10. massA measure of the amount of matter in an object.
  11. momentum The force with which something moves. Depends on the mass and speed of the object.
  12. reactionThe force with which an object responds to an action, as in Newton’s third law of motion.
  13. speedhow fast an object’s position changes with time at any given moment.
  14. unbalanced forcesForces that do not cancel each other out when acting together on a single object.
  15. velocitythe speed and direction of a moving object

Ecosystems

  1. Aquatic–living in water
  2. Climate – the average weather pattern of a region
  3. Consumers – any animal that eats plants or eats other plant-eating animals
  4. Continentalshelf - the gently sloping undersea area surrounding a continent at depths of up to 200 m/656 ft.
  5. Deciduous forest – a biome with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves each autumn
  6. Decomposers – any of the fungi or bacteria that break down dead plants and animals into useful things like minerals and rich soil
  7. Ecosystems – all the living and nonliving things in an environment, including their interactions with each other
  8. Energy pyramid – shows that less and less food and energy are available as you go from the base to the top
  9. Estuary - the wide lower course of a river where the tide flows in, causing fresh and salt water to mix
  10. Fauna - the animal life of a particular region
  11. Fertile - describes soil or land that is rich in the nutrients needed to sustain the growth of healthy plants
  12. Flora - plant life
  13. Food chain – the path of the energy from one organism to another
  14. Food web – the overlapping food chains in an ecosystem
  15. Grasslands – a biome where grasses, not trees, are the main plant life. Prairies are one kind of this region.
  16. Lakes - a large body of water surrounded by land
  17. Ocean - a large expanse of salt water
  18. Photosynthesis – the food-making process in green plants that uses sunlight
  19. Plankton – organisms that float on the water in aquatic ecosystems
  20. Pond - a small, still body of water
  21. Producer – any of the plants and algae that produce oxygen and food that animals need
  22. Rainforest - a thick evergreen tropical forest found in areas of heavy rainfall and containing trees with broad leaves that form a continuous canopy
  23. Salt marsh - a grassland area regularly flooded with salt water
  24. Species - a subdivision of a genus considered as a basic biological classification and containing individuals that resemble one another and may interbreed.
  25. Shoreline - the land where a body of water, especially the ocean, meets the shore
  26. Symbiosis – a relationship between two different organisms that lasts over time
  27. Terrestrial - living or growing on land rather than in the sea or the air

Matter: Properties and Change

62. Abiotic - The nonliving parts of an ecosystem. (B6)

63. Biotic - All of the living parts of an ecosystem. (B7)

64. Condensation – The changing of a gas into a liquid. (pp. B50, D39, E37)

65. Conduction – The passing of heat through a material while the material itself

stays in place. (p. E14)

66. Convection – The flow of heat through a liquid or a gas, causing hot parts torise and cooler parts to sink. (p. E97)

67. Convection Cell – A circular pattern of air rising, air sinking, and wind.(p. D55)

68. Electromagnetic Waves - A wave of energy consisting of electric andmagneticfields swinging atrightanglestoeachother.

69. Evaporation – The slow changing of a liquid into a gas. (pp. B50, D38, E38)

70. Precipitation – Any form of water particles that falls from the atmosphere and reaches the ground. (pp. B51, D46)

71. Qualitative- Pertaining to the description of matter where the data can be observed but not measured

72.Quantatative - Pertainingtothedescribingormeasuringofquantity of matter.

73. Radiation – The transfer of heat through electromagnetic rays. (p. E97)

74. Runoff – Precipitation that flows across the land’s surface or falls into rivers and streams. (pp. B51, C20)

75. Thermal Energy - The internal energy of a system that is responsible for the temperature of the system.

76. Transfer- Energy transfer is the transfer of energy from one system, or organism, to another system, or organism.

77. Transpiration – The loss of water through a plant’s leaves (pp. A35, A38, D39)

78. Water Cycle – The continuous movement of water between Earth’s surface and the air, changing from liquid to gas to liquid. (pp. B51, C74)

79. Weight – The force of gravity between Earth and an object. (pp. E7, F36)

Structures and Functions of Living Organisms

80.blood vessels – flexible tubes that carry blood around the body

81.brain – the command center that controls all the other body systems

82.circulatory system – transports oxygen, food, and waste through the body

83.digestive system – breaks down food into particles small enough to be absorbed into your bloodstream

84.esophagus – muscular tube that pushes food into the stomach

85.heart – a muscle that pumps the blood

86.intestines – coiled up tubes where food is broken down small enough so the nutrients can pass through the walls and into your blood

87.lungs – take in oxygen when we breathe in and get rid of carbon dioxide gas every time you breathe out

88.mouth – teeth cut and tear food; saliva helps break it down

89.muscular system – helps you move and maintain posture

90.nerves – bundles of fibers that carry messages to and from the brain; controls your muscles

91.nervous system –the system for communication and control

92.nose – when you breathe in air with oxygen in it enters through here

93.organisms – any living thing

94.respiratory system – helps the body use the air you breathe

95.single-celled – made up of only one cell

96.skeletal system – forms a framework to support the body and to help protect internal soft tissues

97.spinal cord – a thick band of nerve cells through which messages enter and leave the brain

98.stomach –churns food and breaks it down further by digestive juices

99.trachea – a tube known as the windpipe that connects the throat to the lungs

Evolution and Genetics

100.characteristics – being a feature that helps to distinguish a person or thing

101.culture – beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society

102.genetics – the branch of biology that deals with heredity

103.inherited traits – characteristics that come from parents

104.offspring – a person's child or children

105.population – all the members of a single type of organism in an ecosystem