science glossary
science vocabulary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Terms
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- stream order
- energy and nutrient flow that increase as water moves toward the oceans (e.g., the smallest stream (primarily) that ends when rivers flow into oceans)
- endangered species
- a specices that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
- scale
- relates concepts and idea to one another by soem measurement (e.g., quajtitative, numeral, abstract, ideological); provides a measurement of size and/or incremental change
- embryology
- the branch of biology dealing with the development of living things from fertilized eggs to its developed state.
- dechotomous
- divided or dividing into two parts or classification
- allele
- any of a set of possible forms of a gene
- transportation systems
- a group of related parts that function together to perform a major task in any for of transportation
- lotic
- relating to or living in activley moving water
- closed loop
- a group of related objects that have feedback and can modify themselves
- consumer
- 1 those organisms that obtain energy by feeding on other organisms and their remains. 2 a person buying goods or services for personal needs or to use in the production of other goods for resale
- integrated pest management
- a variety of pest control methods that include repairs, traps, bait, poison, etc. to eliminate pests
- biomes
- a community of living organisms of a single major ecological region
- instructional technology
- any mechanical aid (including computer technology) used to assist in or enhance the process of teaching and learning
- hydrology
- the scientific study of the properties, distribution and effects of water on the earth's surface, in the soil and underlying rocks in the atmosphere
- watershed
- the land area from which surface runoff drains into a stream, channel, lake, serervoir or other body of water; also called a baisin
- risk management
- a strategy developed to reduce or control the chance of harm or loss to one's health or life; the process of identifying, evaluating, selecting and implementng actions to reduce risk to human health and to ecosystems
- mitosis
- the sequential differentation and segregation of replicated chromosomes in a cell's nucleus that precedes complete cell division
- biological diversity
- the variety and complexity of species present and interacting i an ecosystem and the relative abundance of each
- engineering
- the application of scientific, physical, mechanical and mathematical principles to design processes, products and structures and improve the quality of life
- tepogrpahical map
- a representation of a region on sufficient scale to show detail, selected man made and nautralfeatures of a portion of the land surface including its relief and certain physical and cultural features; the portrayal of the position,relation, size, shape and elevation of the area,
- theory
- systematically organized knowledge applicable in a relativley wide variety of circumstances especially, a system of assumptions, accepted principles and rules of procedueres devised to analyze, predict or otherwise explain the nature or behavior or a specified set of phenomena
- physical technology
- the ways the humans construct, manufacture and transport products
- shredder
- though chewing and /or drinding, microorganisms feed on non woody coarse particulate matter, primarily leaves
- enzyme
- a protein that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being changed by the reaction; an organic catalyst
- transportatin technology
- the physical ways humans move materials, goods and people
- science
- search for understanding the natural world using inquiry and experimentation
- subsystem
- a group of related objects that make up a larger system (e.g., automobiles have electrical system, fuel systems)
- sustainability
- the ability to keep in existence or maintain. a sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained
- inquiry
- a systematic process for using knowledge and skills to acquire and apply new knowledge
- nova
- a variable star that suddenly increases in brightness to seveal times its normal magnitude returns to its orignal appearance in a few week weeks to several months or years later
- model
- a description, analagy or a representation of something that helps us understand it better (e.g., a physical model, a conceptual model, a mathmatical model)
- Abiotic
- a nonliving factor of element (eg.,light,water,heat,rock,energey,mineral
- biotic
- an enviormental factor related to or produced by living organisms
- manufacturing technology
- the ways that humans produce goods and products
- carbon chemistry
- the science of the composition,structure, properties and recation and reaction of carbon based matter, especially of atomic and molecular systems; sometimes referred to as organic chemistry
- composting
- the process of mixing decaying leaves, manure and other nutritive matter to improve and fertilize soil
- evoloution
- a process of change that explains why what we see today is different from qhat existed in the past; it includes changes in galaxies, stars, solar system, earth and life on earth.Biological evoloutional is a change in hereditary characteristics of grips of organisms over the course of generations
- hazardous waste
- a solid that, because of its quanity or concentration or its physical, chemical or infectious characterisitcs, may cause or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated,stored,transported or disposed of, or otherwise managed.
- mitigation
- the policy of constructing or creating man made habitats, such as a wetland, to replace those lost to developement
- nonpoint source pollution
- contamintation that originates from many locations that all discharge into a location (e.g., a lake, stream, land area)
- biochemical conversion
- the changing of organic matter into other chemiacal forms
- information technology
- the technical means that humans create to store and transmit information
- nonrenewable resources
- substances (e.g., oil, gas, coal, copper, gold) that, once used cannot be replaced in this geological age
- radioactive isotope
- an atom that gives off nucler radiation and has the same number of protons (atomic number) as another atom but a different number of neutrons
- tool
- any device used to extend human capability including computer based tools
- ergonomical
- of or relating to the design of equipment or devices to fit the human body's control, position, movement and enviorment
- wetlands
- lands where water saturation is the domination factor determining the nature of the soil development and the plant and animal communities (e.g., sloughs, estuaries, marshes)
- extinction
- the complete elimination of a species from earth
- theory of evolution
- a theory that the various types of animals and plants have their origin in other preexisting types andthat the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive generations.
- succession
- the series of changes that occur in an ecosystem with the passing of time
- waste stream
- the flow fo waste materials for generation, collection and seperation to disposal
- pest
- a label applied to an organism when it is in competition with humans for some resources
- lentic
- relating to or living in still water
- groundwater
- water that infiltrates the soil and is lcated in underground reservoirs called aquifers.
- geological map
- a representation of a region on which is a recorded earth information (e.g., the distributin, nature, and age relationshis of rock unis and the ocurrences of structural features, mineral deposits and fossil localities).
- delineate
- to trace the outline; to draw; to sketch; to depict or picture
- system
- a group of related objects that work together to achieve a desired result
- fact
- information that has been objectivley verified
- niche (ecological)
- the role played by an organism in an ecosystemp; its food preferences, requirements for shelter, special behaviors and the timing of its activities (e.g., nocturnal, diurnal), interation with organisms and its habitat
- ecosystem
- a community of living organisms and their iterrelated physical and chemical enviorment
- technological design process
- recognizing the problem, proposing a soloution, implementing the soloution, evaluating the sokution and communicationg the problem, design and soloution
- point source pollotion
- pollutants discharged from a single identifable location (e.g., pipes, ditches, channels, sewers, tunnels, containers of various types)
- geologic harard
- a natually ocurring or man made condition on phenomenon that presents risk or is a potential danger to life and property (e.g.,landslides,floods,earthquakes,pollution, and waste disposal,sinkholes).
- law
- summarizing statement or observed experimental facts that has been tested many times and is generally accepted as true
- homeostasis
- the tendency for a system to remain in a state of equilibrium by resisting change
- regulation
- a rule or orderissued by an executive authority or regulatory agency of a governmnt and having the force of law
- acid deposition
- precipitation with a pH less then 5.6 that forms in the atmosphere when certain pollutants mix with water vapor
- hypothesis
- an assertion subject to verification or proof as a premise from which a conclusion is drawn
- technology education
- the application of tools, materials, process and systems to solver problems and extend human capabilities
- trophic levels
- the role of an organism in nutrient and energy flow within an ecosystem (e.g., herbivore, carnivore, decomposer.)
- biotechnology
- the ways that humans apply biological concepts to produce products and provide services
- renewable
- a naturally occurring raw material or form of energy that will e replenished through natural ecological cylces or sound management practices (e.g., that sun, wind, water, trees,)
- equilibrium
- the ability of an ecosystem to maintain stability among its biological resources (e.g., forest fisheries, crops) so that there is a steady optimum yield.
- open loop
- a group of related objcts that do not have feedback and can not modify them selves
- closing the loop
- a link in the circular chain of recycling events that promotes the use of products made with recycled marerials
- decomposers
- an organism, often microscopic in size, that obtains nutrients by consuming dead organic matter thereby making nutrients accesible to other organisms, examples of decomposers include fungi, scavengers, rodents and other animals
- commodities
- economic goods or products before they are processed and/or given a brand name, such as a product of agriculture
- enviorment
- the total of the surroundings (air, water, soil, vegetation, people, widlife) influencing each living being's existence, including physical, biological and all other factors; the surroundings of a plant or animals including other plants or animals, climate and location
- patterns
- repeated process that are exhibitedin a wide variety of ways; identifable recurrences of the elemnt and/or the form
- desalinization
- to remove salts and other chemicals from sea or saline water.
- recycling
- collecting and reprocessing a resource of product to make into new products
- construction technology
- the ways that humans build structure on sites.
- incinerationg
- burning to ashes; reducing to ashes
- biomass technology
- the application of health care theories to develop methods, products, and tools to maintain or improve homeostasis
- electronic communication
- systemm for transmission of information using electronic technolgy (e.g., digital cameras, cellular telephones, internet, television, fiber optic).