abiotic factor - a nonliving part of a
ecosystem.
absolute zero - the lowest temperature that can possibly
be reached in our Universe. Scientists have gotten very close to reaching
absolute zero but it is impossible to reach it.
acid - a sour
tasting, corrosive substance - the opposite of a base substance.
Acidic solutions will turn a litmus red.
air pressure - the force put on a given area by the
weight of the air around it.
alkali - a substance
having marked basic properties (i.e. substance with properties of a
base).
aluminum (Al) - element #13 on the periodic table, is
a silvery-white metal. It is non-magnetic and an excellent electrical conductor.
It is of low density and high ductility. Aluminum's appearance is dulled and its
reactivity is passivated by a film of aluminum oxide that naturally forms on the
surface of the metal under normal conditions. The oxide film results in a material
that resists corrosion. The film can be thickened using electrolysis. It shows some
hints of nonmetal behavior as well as the more typical metal reaction. Pure aluminum
is quite soft and lacking in strength. Aluminum used in commercial applications
has small amounts of silicon and iron added, resulting in greatly improved strength
and hardness.
argon (Ar) - element #18 on the periodic table, is a noble
gas. It is colorless, odorless and extremely unreactive. Argon forms no stable compounds
at room temperature.
atmosphere - the blanket of gases that surrounds
the Earth. Used in a sentence: burr, it's cold in here, it must be something
in the atmosphere.
atoms - made
up of protons and neutrons in a central nucleus surrounded by electrons. The
smallest particle of a chemical element that can take part in a chemical reaction
without being permanently changed.
anemometer - a device used to measure the speed of
wind.
angiosperm
- a seed plant that produces flowers.
antimatter - the opposite of regular matter.
For every particle of ordinary matter there is an almost identical antiparticle
of antimatter.
aquifer -
an underground layer of loose rock, sand, or gravel that holds water in its spaces.
asexual reproduction - the production of a new organism
from only one cell.
asteroid belt
- region between Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids are found.
atmosphere
- the blanket of air that surrounds the Earth. It is thickest near the ground
and gradually fades away to nothing in outerspace.
bacteria - members of either of two kingdoms of one-celled
living things that have no nucleus, or center, in their cell body.
barometer - a device used to measure the pressure
of the atmosphere. The barometer unit of measure
is called millibars.
base - a bitter
tasting substance (and often slimy) - the opposite of a acid
substance. Base solutions will turn a litmus blue.
battery -
a device that produces electricity by means of chemical reaction. A battery
consist of one or more units called electric cells. Each cell has all the
chemicals and parts needed to produce an electric current.
bernoulli effect - described by Swiss mathematician
Daniel Bernoulli in 1738. Bernoulli's theorem (sometimes called the Venturi
effect) implies that a decrease in fluid pressure is associated with an increase
in the fluid's velocity (speed). It's the basics for aircraft wing design
explaining that air flowing over the upper, curved part of the wing moves faster
than the air on the underside of the wing so that the pressure underneath is greater
and hence causes lift.
beryllium (Be) - element #4 on the periodic table, has
the highest melting point of the light metals, melting at 1278C. On the surface
of beryllium a thin layer of the hard oxide BeO forms, protecting the metal from
further attack by water or air. As a result of the BeO layer, beryllium does not
oxidize in air even at 600C and it resists corrosion by concentrated nitric acid.
Beryllium also has high thermal conductivity and is nonmagnetic.
Big Bang - take a large hardcover book and hold it
flat about the level of your eyes. On a hard, flat surface, drop the book.
That's a big bang.
biome - one
of Earth's large ecosystems, with its own kind of climate, soil, plants, and animals.
biosphere
- part of the earth system located between the geospehere and the atmosphere, in
which life can exists.
biotic factor - a living part of a
ecosystem.
boron (B) - element #5 on the periodic table, is a metalloid,
intermediate between metals and non-metals. It exists in many polymorphs (different
crystal lattice structures), some more metallic than others. Metallic boron is extremely
hard and has a very high melting point. Boron does not generally make ionic bonds,
it forms stable covalent bonds. Boron can transmit portions of infrared light. Boron
is a poor room temperature conductor of electricity but its conductivity improves
markedly at higher temperatures.
buoyancy - the ability to float, or in more technical
terms - the upward forces exerted by a fluid on a body in it.
boiling point - the temperature at which the vapour
pressure of a liquid is one atmosphere.
calcium (Ca) - element #20 on the periodic table, is reactive
and, for a metal, soft. In contact with air, calcium develops a mixed oxide and
nitride coating, which protects it from further corrosion. Calcium reacts easily
with water and acids and the metal burns brightly in air, forming mainly the nitride.
cambium - the layer in plants that separates the
xylem from the phloem.
capacitor - a device that stores electric energy
in the form of an electric charge.
carbon (C) - element #6 on the periodic table, is one
of the softest substances and has the highest melting/sublimation point of all the
elements and, in the form of diamond, has the highest thermal conductivity of any
element. Carbon exists in several allotropes, including graphite, diamond, amorphous
carbon, fullerines and nanotubes
carbon cycle - the continuous exchange of carbon
dioxide and oxygen moving among living things.
carbon dioxide - a heavy colorless gas that does
not support combustion, dissolves in water to form carbonic acid, is formed in animal
respiration and in the decay or combustion of animal and vegetable matter, and is
absorbed from the air by plants in photosynthesis.
carnivore - an animal that eats another animal.
catalyst
- something that triggers or increases the rate of a chemical reaction
Celsius - a unit of measurement for temperature.
Water freezes at 0ºC (zero degrees Celsius) and boils at 100°C (100 degrees
Celsius).
capillary action - the tendency of liquids to move
into or out of tiny, hair like passages.
cell - the smallest unit of living matter.
charge - the state of an atom that has lost or gained
an electron.
chlorophyll - a green chemical in plant cells that
allows plants to use the Sun’s energy for making food.
chlorine (Cl) - element #17 on the periodic table, is
a greenish-yellow, diatomic, dense gas with a sharp smell. It is not found free
in nature as it combines readily with nearly all other elements. In its liquid and
solid form it is a powerful bleaching, oxidizing and disinfecting agent.
chemical reaction - a process by which one substance
is chemically converted to another. Chemical reactions involve the formation
or destruction of bonds between atoms.
circuit - the path followed by an electric current.
Electricity must flow in a circuit to do useful work.
cirrus cloud - a high-altitude cloud with a featherlike
shape, made of ice crystals.
coanda effect - described by Henri Coanda, a Romanian
scientist, in the 1930's. This effect describes the tendency of moving air
of fluids to follow the nearby curved or inclined surface.
commensalism - a relationship between two kids of
organisms that benefits one without harming the other.
coriolis effect - the curving of the path of a moving
object caused by the Earth's rotation.
comet - a 'dirty snowball" orbiting the Sun.
It is a mixture of ices, frozen gases, rock, and dust left over from the formation
of our solar system.
condensation - when a substance changes state from
a gas to a liquid.
conductor
- a thing that transmits heat, electricity, light, sound or other form of energy.
constellation - patterns formed by groups of stars
in the sky.
control - in a science experiment, it is important
to keep at least one variable constant so that the impact of the other variables
can be accurately measured.
correlation - the relationship between two variables
such that the value of one variable can be used to generate an expectation about
another variable.
cotyledon - a tiny leaflike structure, also called
a seedleaf, inside the seed of an angiosperm.
cumulus cloud - a puffy cloud that appears to rise
up from a flat bottom.
current -
the movement or flow of electric charges
dark matter - matter that cannot be detected by our
modern day instruments but can be guessed that it does exist because of gravitational
interactions that it exhibits.
doesn't matter - well, yes, actually it does matter...
dicot - an angiosperm with two cotyledons in each
seed.
decibel - a unit of measurement for sound, it measures
the loudness or volume of the sound waves.
deciduous forest - a forest biome
with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves each autumn.
density -
the ratio of the mass of a body to its volume, usually expressed as its
specific gravity.
dynamo - a device that creates electricity by turning
around a magnet near a coil of wire.
ecology - the study of how living and non-living
things interact with each other.
ecosystem
- a isolated group of living (plants, animals, people) and non-living (rocks) things
that coexist together and interact which each other to ensure each others' survival.
electric current - see current.
electrolysis - splitting a substance into the separate
chemicals that make it up, by passing an electric current
through it.
electrons
- a negatively charged subatomic particle. Electrons are found at varying
distances from a atom's nucleus. They make up almost the entire volume of
a atom but only account for a small part of the atom's mass. Compare to protons.
element - a basic chemical substance in which all
the atoms are the same, and different from the atoms of any
other substance.
embryo - the immature plant inside a seed.
emulsion - tiny droplets of one liquid floating in
another liquid, such as oil droplets floating in water.
energy - the name given to the ability to do work.
epidermis - an outermost layer of such plant parts
as roots and leaves. Also refers to human skin. Used in a sentence:
OMG, your epidermis is showing!
evaporation - the slow changing of a liquid to a
gas.
exothermic
- in chemistry, exothermic refers to a reaction that releases energy, generally
in the form of heat.
fact - something that is known to be true.
For instance, it is a fact the Reeko is a scientific genius.
fluorine (F) - element #9 on the periodic table, is the
most reactive and the most electronegative of all the elements. Fluorine is a pale
yellow, diatomic, highly corrosive, flammable gas, with a pungent odor. It is the
lightest halogen. It reacts violently with water to produce oxygen and the extremely
corrosive hydrofluoric acid.
food chain
- a chain of organisms of which each members uses the lower member as a source of
food (people eat cows which eat plants). Applebees is at the top of the food
chain and McDonalds is at the bottom.
food web - the overlapping food chains in an
ecosystem.
freezing point - the temperature at which a liquid
becomes a solid. Increased pressure usually raises the freezing point.
frond- the leaf of a fern. Used in a sentence:
I like Bob - he's my best frond in the whole wide world.
friction - the resistance that occurs when two objects
rub together.
fungus - members of a kingdom that contain one-celled
and many-celled living things that absorb food from their environment.
galaxy - a collection of billions of stars.
Our Sun belongs to the Milky Way galaxy.
grasslands - a biome where grasses,
not trees, are the main plant life. Prairies are one kind of grassland region.
gravity - the attractive central gravitational force
exerted by a celestial body such as earth.
greenhouse effect
- the warming of the atmosphere caused by the atmosphere
allowing shortwave radiation, which heats the Earth, to pass through without a hall
pass.
greenhouse gas
- the gases in the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor, that contribute to the greenhouse effect.
habitat - the place where a plant or animal normally
lives and grows.
herbivore - an animal that eats plants, algae, or
other producers.
helium (He) - element #2 on the periodic table, is a light,
odorless, colorless, inert, monatomic gas. It can form diatomic molecules, but only
weakly and at temperatures close to absolute zero. Helium has the lowest melting
point of any element and its boiling point is close to absolute zero. Unlike any
other element, helium does not solidify but remains a liquid down to absolute zero
(0 K) under ordinary pressures.
humidity - the amount of water vapor in the air.
hydrogen (H) - element #1 on the periodic table, is the
simplest element of all, and the lightest. It is also by far the most common element
in the Universe. Over 90 percent of the atoms in the Universe are hydrogen. In its
commonest form, the hydrogen atom is made of one proton, one electron, and no neutrons.
Hydrogen is the only element that can exist without neutrons.
hypothesis - this is your proposed explanation of
your experiment. It is usually formed based on previous experience or your
preliminary observations.
immiscible - incapable of mixing or attaining homogeneity.
induction - the process by which an object having
electrical or magnetic properties produces similar properties in a nearby object,
usually without direct contact.
inertia - the tendency of a moving object to keep
moving in a straight line or of any object to resist a change on motion.
inner planet - a planet between the Sun and the asteroid
belt (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars).
insolation - the amount of the Sun's energy that
reaches Earth at a given time and place.
invertebrate - an animal that does not have a backbone
or another name for the schoolyard bully.
inertia - the tendency of a body to remain at rest
or stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force.
isobar - a line on a weather map connecting places
with equal air pressure.
ions - Atoms that carry an electric
charge, either positive or negative. If an atom gains an
electron it takes on a negative charge. If the atom loses an electron
it takes on a positive charge.
lightening - a powerful flash of electricity between
the negative electrical charges in clouds or between a cloud and the ground.
limiting factor - anything that controls the growth
or survival of a population.
liquid nitrogen - the liquid state of the element
nitrogen. It's used in science experiments to cool materials. It is
interesting to work with because it boils at -320 degrees.
lithium (Li) - element #3 on the periodic table, is soft
and silvery white and it is the least dense of the metals. It is highly reactive
and does not occur freely in nature. Freshly cut surfaces oxidize rapidly in air
to form a black oxide coating. It is the only common metal that reacts with nitrogen
at room temperature, forming lithium nitride. Lithium burns with a crimson flame,
but when the metal burns sufficiently well, the flame becomes a brilliant white.
Lithium has a high specific heat capacity and it exists as a liquid over a wide
temperature range.
magnesium - element #12 on the periodic table, is
a silvery-white, low density, reasonably strong metal that tarnishes in air to form
a thin oxide coating. Magnesium and its alloys have very good corrosion resistance
and good high temperature mechanical properties. The metal reacts with water to
produce hydrogen gas. When it burns in air, magnesium produces a brilliant white
light.
magnetism (Mg) - the force that electric currents exert
on other electric currents.
mass - often defined as the amount of matter in an
object. Note that mass and weight are not the same thing.
Weight is the force on an object due to the gravitational pull of a planet or other
heavenly body. Mass on the other hand, remains constant, no matter where it
is.
melting point - the temperature at which the vapour
pressure of the solid and the liquid are the same and the presssure totals one atmosphere.
meteor - a chunk of rock from space that burns up
as it travels through the Earth's atmosphere.
meteorite - a chunk of rock from space that strikes
the surface of the Earth of the Moon.
mole - the mass of a substance, in grams, that is
equal to the substances molecular weight. The number of particles in one mole
of a substance is called Avogadro's number.
molecule - one of the basic units of matter.
It is the smallest particle into which a substance can be divided and still have
he chemical identity of the original substance.
momentum - the speed or force of something that is
moving.
monocot - an angiosperm
with one cotyledon in each seed.
mutualism - a relationship between two kinds of organisms
that benefits both.
neon (Ne) - element #10 on the periodic table, is a light,
very inert gas. Colorless under normal conditions, its glows a reddish-orange in
a vacuum discharge tube. Neon forms no known stable compounds.
nitrogen (N) - element #7 on the periodic table, a colorless,
odorless, tasteless, diatomic and generally inert gas at standard temperature and
pressure. At atmospheric pressure, nitrogen is liquid between 63 K and 77 K. Liquids
colder than this are considerably more expensive to make than liquid nitrogen is.
nitrogen cycle - the continuous trapping of nitrogen
gas into compounds in the soil and its return to the air.
omnivore - an animal that eats both plants and animals.
osmosis - the natural passage or diffusion of water
(or other liquids) through a semi permeable membrane.
outer planet - one of the five planets beyond the
asteroid belt (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)
oxidize - to combine with oxygen.
oxygen (O) - element #8 on the periodic table, a colorless,
odorless, tasteless gas that is the most plentiful element in the Earth's crust.
It was discovered in 1772 by Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
parasitism - a relationship in which one organism
lives in or on another organism and benefits from that relationship while the other
organism may be harmed by it.
phloem - the tissue through which food from the leaves
moves down through the rest of a plant.
phosphorus (P) - element #15 on the periodic table, is
a highly reactive, waxy, white-yellow, transparent solid with acrid fumes. It emits
a weak green glow (luminescence) in the presence of oxygen. It is insoluble in water.
White phosphorus ignites spontaneously in air. Phosphorus exists in two other main
allotropic forms: red, and black (or violet). Red phosphorus results when white
phosphorus is heated or exposed to sunlight. Black phosphorus is the least reactive
allotrope and has a graphite-like structure.
photosynthesis - the food-making process in green
plants that uses sunlight.
planet - any of the nine major objects that travel
around the Sun.
pollination - the transfer of a pollen grain to the
egg-producing part of a plant.
potassium (K) - element #19 on the periodic table, is
silvery-white, low melting, metal soft enough to be easily cut with a knife. It
tarnishes rapidly in air, forming a dull oxide coating. Potassium burns with a lilac
colored flame. It is extremely reactive, reacting violently with water.
potential
- the amount of electrification of a point with reference to some standard.
pot of gold - a hidden treasure,
many of which can be found in Reeko's Mad Scientist Lab.
precipitation - any form of water particles that
falls from the atmosphere and reaches the ground - rain,
snow, sleet, etc.
predator - an animal that hunts other animals for
food.
pressure - the application of a steady force upon
another object.
protist - a member of a kingdom that contains one-celled
and many-celled living things, some that make food and some that hunt for food.
May also refer to the act of civil disobedience where you march around with signs
protisting something that makes you made.
protons -
a positively charged subatomic particle. Protons, along with other subatomic
particles called Neutrons, make up the nucleus of a atom.
The number of protons in an atom is called the atomic number of the element.
Compare to electrons.
quark - believed to be on of the basic building blocks
of matter. It is also the sound that British ducks make.
reaction - when two or more chemicals combine to
make a new chemical substance.
refraction - the bending of a wave path, as of light
or sound, at the boundary between two different mediums.
relative humidity - a comparison between how much
water vapor is in the air and how much the air could hold at a given temperature
if it were full, or saturated.
resistance
- how much an object resists or opposes any electrical current that attempts to
pass through it.
resonance - when the vibrations of a substance, such
as the wood of a violin, correspond to the air vibrations which make the sound.
rhizoid - one of the hairlike fibers that anchor
a moss to the soil and take in water from the soil.
rhizome - the underground stem of a fern.
scandium (Sc) - element #21 on the periodic table, is
a soft, light, silvery-white metal, which becomes slightly tinged with yellow or
pink when exposured to air. Scandium is almost as light as aluminum but it has a
much higher melting point. It is therefore of potential specialty use in aircraft
- scandium will not be used generally because it is much more expensive than aluminum.
Scandium reacts with many acids.
secondary battery - a battery
that can be recharged.
sexual reproduction - the production of a new organism
from a female sex cell and a male sex cell.
silicon (Si) - element #14 on the periodic table, is a
hard, relatively inert metalloid and in crystalline form is very brittle with a
marked metallic luster. Silicon occurs mainly in nature as the oxide and as silicates.
The solid form of silicon does not react with oxygen, water and most acids. Silicon
reacts with halogens or dilute alkalis. Silicon also has the unusual property that
it expands as it freezes (like water).
sodium (Na) - element #11 on the periodic table, is a
soft, silvery-white metal. Freshly cut surfaces oxidize rapidly in air to form a
dull, oxide coating. Sodium burns in air with a brilliant yellow flame. Sodium floats
on water, because its density is lower than water's. It also reacts vigorously with
water to produce sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Explosions occur when the heat
generated by the sodium-water reaction ignites the resulting hydrogen gas.
specific gravity
- the ratio of the density of a body to the density of water,
the latter being taken as unity.
static electricity - describes the situation where
objects carry a charge.
stratus cloud - a cloud that forms in a blanket like
layer.
sulfur (S) - element # 16 on the periodic table, is a
soft, pale yellow, odorless, brittle solid. It is insoluble in water. It burns with
a blue flame, oxidizing to sulfur dioxide. Sulfur exists in several crystalline
and amorphous allotropes. The best known sulfur compound is hydrogen sulfide. This
is a toxic gas that smells like rotten eggs; the smell is used in stink bombs, many
of which release a small amount of hydrogen sulfide.
symbiosis - a relationship between two kinds of organisms
that lasts over time.
titanium (Ti) - element #22 on the periodic table, is
a light, silvery-white, hard, lustrous metal. It has excellent strength and corrosion
resistance and also has a high strength to weight ratio. At high temperatures the
metal will burn in air. Titanium is ductile and it is malleable when heated. It
is insoluble in water, but soluble in concentrated acids.
taiga - a cool forest biome
of conifers in the upper Northern Hemisphere.
transformer - a device that changes the
voltage of electricity.
treasure
- something that is very valuable to you. Could be your pet dog, pirate's
loot, or a pot of gold.
tropism - a response of a plant toward or away from
stimulus.
troposphere - the layer of the atmosphere closet
to the Earth's surface.
tundra - large, treeless plain in the arctic regions
where the ground is frozen all year.
turbine - pronounced TUR bihn or pronounced TUR byn,
is a device with a rotor turned by a moving fluid, such as water, steam, gas, or
wind. A turbine changes kinetic energy (energy of movement) into mechanical energy
(energy in the form of mechanical power).
uranus - we just had to put this word in the glossary
because, well, it sounds funny...
vascular - containing plant tissue through which
water moves up and food moves down.
voltage -
differences in potential (or electric state) related to
the electrical forces that 'push' charges through a conductor.
Can be thought of as the pressure which pushes electricity through a wire.
weight - the
force on an object due to the gravitational pull of a planet or other heavenly body.
wock - hard, inanimate object that you throw at a
wabbit.
xylem - the tissue through which water and minerals
move up through a plant.