8th Grade Science Vocabulary (Nichols)
Science Vocab. (Nichols)
Terms
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- Stimulus
- Any change in the enviroment that affects the activity of an organism
- Crest
- The top of a transverse wave
- Asexual Reproduction
- A form of reproduction in which a single organism produces offspring that are genetically identical to it
- Adrenal Glands
- The glands that produce and release the hormone adrenalin
- Mica
- A silicate material that has cleavage; it breaks along its smooth, flat surfaces
- Liver
- An organ that produces bile which breaks down fats
- Triple-Beam Balance
- A tool used to measure mass
- Adaptation
- A genetic variation that helps an organism survive and reproduce
- Newton's Second Law of Motion
- A scientific law that states: the acceleration of an object depends on the mass of the object and the force applied
- Metric Ruler
- A tool used to measure length
- Period
- In chemistry, a row of elements in the periodic table
- Crystalline Structure
- The arrangement of crystals in a mineral
- Density
- A physical property of matter describing the amount of matter in a given volume
- Fossil Cast
- A type of trace fossil formed when a cavity left by a shell, bone, or other animal part is filled with sediment that becomes rock
- Unicellular
- A word used to describe an organism made of a single cell
- Endoplasmic Reticulum
- A network of membranes that act as a passageway for moving materials within a cells
- Ability to Rust
- A chemical property that describes how well a substance will react with oxygen to form a new substance
- Law of Action and Reaction
- Another name of Newton's third law of motion, which states that forces exist in pairs
- Optical Telescope
- A telescope that uses visible light to magnify images of objects
- Sea Cave
- A hollow opening produced by wave erosion at the base of a seaside cliss
- Amplitude
- The maximum distance a wave vibrates from its resting position
- Large Intestine
- A digestive organ where water is removed from unabsorbed materials and returned to the body
- Global Warming
- An increase in average global temperatures that some scientists believe is caused in part by burning fossil fuels
- Neuron
- A nerve cell
- Incomplete Dominance
- A condition in which no allele is completely dominant, meaning dominance is shared
- Giant
- A phase in the death of a star like tha sun
- Maglev (Magnetic Levitation)
- Electromagnets on train cars and rails that repel each other, so the train rides above the rail
- Stratosphere
- The layer of the atmosphere that lies just above the troposphere and contains the ozone layer
- Transmitted
- The movement of light through matter
- Vacuole
- A structure inside a cell that holds foor, water, and wastes waiting to be removed from a cell
- Analyze
- To examine data and decide what they show
- Magma
- Molten rock from within the Earth that forms igneous rock when it cools
- Contouring
- Plowing along the existing dips and rises of the land to help prevent soil erosion
- Radiation Zone
- An area roughly 300,000 km thick around the core of the sun
- Urine
- A liquid waste that leaves the nephrons, or filtering units of each kidney
- Photosynthesis
- The process in which plants use carbon dioxide, water, and the energy from sunlight to make food
- Ultrasonic
- Describes a wave with a frequency that is higher than humans can hear
- Passive Solar Heating
- Heating provided by south-facing windows or by building materials like insulated windows, brick, and plastic columns of water that can store the sun's energy and release heat slowly
- Protective Coloration
- Coloring that camouflages an animal from predators
- Mitochondrion
- An organelle that produces the energy a cell needs to carry out its activities
- Ureter
- The tube in the urinary system through which urine passes out of a kidney
- Nervous System
- A body system that collects and interprets stimuli and sends information to the body so it can respond to those stimuli
- Unbalanced Forces
- The forces acting on an object when the net force is zero
- Psychrometer
- A tool used to measure relative humidity
- Parathyroid Glands
- Glands belonging to the endocrine system that regulate calcium levels in the blood
- Front
- A boundary where two air masses with different characteristics meet
- Gravity
- A force that attracts objects to each other and can affect motion
- Momentum
- A property of moving objects that describes how difficult it is to stop a moving object or change its direction
- Divergent Boundary
- A boundary along which two tectonic plates move apart
- Atom
- The smallest particle that an element can be divided into and still be the same element
- Air Bag
- A safety device designed to cushion a person if an automobile stops suddenly, as in an accident
- Organelle
- A tiny structure within a cell that helps the cell carry out its life activities
- El Nino
- A climate event caused by periodic water temperature changes in the south Pacific Ocean, resulting in extreme weather around the world, from flooding to droughts
- Rarefaction
- A region in a sound wave next to each compression where particles of the medium are spread out
- Stopwatch
- A tool used to measure time
- Pollute
- To damage natural resources, such as through the release of toxic, or poisonous, substances
- Specialized
- An adjective describing something, such as a cell in a multicellular organism, that performs a unique function
- Mid-Ocean Ridge
- An underwater mountain chain that forms when magma rises through the gaps that form between to plates that are diverging or pulling apart
- Latitude
- The distance in degrees north or south of the equator
- Base
- A compound that produces hydroxide ions when it dissolves in water
- Red Blood Cell
- A cell that carries oxygen to other cells
- Corona
- The outer layer of the sun's atmosphere that extends millions of kilometers into space
- Precipitation
- Water vapor that condenses and falls to the ground as rain, snow, sleet, and hail
- Family
- In chemistry, a column of elements in the periodic table, also called a group
- Vein
- A blood vessel that carries blood to the heart
- Brain
- The body's control center
- Thymus Gland
- The gland in the endrocrine system that regulates the development of the immune system and produces some of the body's white blood cells
- Reflected
- The bouncing off of light from an object or surface
- Symbiosis
- A close relationship between two or more species in terms of how they interact in their enviroment
- Biotic
- A living part, or factor, of an enviroment
- Light-Year
- The distance light can travel in one Earth year
- Space Shuttle
- A reusable space craft that carries equipment and astronauts into space
- Reflecting Telescope
- A telescope that uses visible light and mirrors to magnify, or enlarge, space objects
- Artery
- A blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart
- Smooth Muscle
- Involuntary muscles that move food and blood through the body
- Nonfoliated Metamorphic Rock
- A kind of metamorphic rock in which the minerals are not layered
- Fusion
- The process in a star in which hydrogen is converted into helium and energy is released
- Carbohydrate
- A type of sugar that plants use for food
- Food Web
- A network of food chains that shows many of the ways in which food energy moves through a community
- Telescope
- An instrument used to view distant objects
- Peat
- The carbon in the organic matter left behind when intense heat and pressure squeeze moisture from plant remains
- Boiling
- A change of state from a liquid to a gas that occurs when energy is added to a substance
- B Cell
- A cell in the immune system that produces proteins called antibodies to fight disease-causing agents
- Compact Bone
- Tissue that surrounds most bones and has no open spaces
- Scavenger
- A consumer that eats dead animals
- Sea Arch
- An opening created by wave erosion through a headland, resulting in a bridge of rock over the water
- Terracing
- A method of soil conservation in which step-like terraces are cut into the side of steep slopes to reduce soil erosion
- Bone
- A hard tissue that helps support and protect the body of some organisms, including humans
- Wind Vane
- A tool used to measure wind direction
- Spring Scale
- A tool used to measure weight
- Buoyant Force
- The upward force that a gas or liquid exerts
- Equinox
- During the spring and the fall, the day when neither of Earth's poles is tilted more toward the sun
- Acid
- A compound that produces hydrogen ions when it dissolves in water
- Organic Sedimentary Rock
- Rock that forms from the remains of once-living things
- Skeletal System
- A system of hards bones and soft, flexible cartilage that support your body, give it shape, make blood cells, store fats and minerals, and protect internal organs
- Second
- A measure of time
- Convection Zone
- A roughly 200,000 km-thick area around the core and radiation zone of the sun
- Rolling Friction
- Friction that is created by only having wheels in contact with a surface
- Data Table
- A chart that organizes data
- Pulmonary Circulation
- The round-trip movement of blood from the heart to the lungs and back to the heart
- Organ
- A group of tissues that work together to do a certain job
- Bituminous Coal
- A moderately hard coal formed when heat and/or pressue cause a soft coal called lignite to change
- Polar Zone
- Area located between 66.5 degrees north and south of the equator to the poles
- Hybrid
- The presence for two different alleles for one trait.
- Occluded Front
- A boundary where warm air is forced up between two cold air masses
- Nitrogen Fixation
- The process of changing nitrogen from gases to solid nitrogen compounds
- Biomass
- A renewable fuel that comes from organic matter, such as wood, plants, garbage, and animal wastes
- Testes
- Organs that produce male sex cells called sperm
- Lubricant
- A substance that is applied to touching surfaces to reduce friction between them
- Barometer
- A tool used to measure air pressure
- Velocity
- A term used to describe an objects speed and direction
- Doube Bar Graph
- A graph that uses bars of different heights or lengths to compare to sets of data
- Terrestrial Planets
- Small rocky planets
- Geologic Time Scale
- A time scale that divides earth's history into seperate periods of time
- Nucleus
- The cell organelle that contains chromosomes, which are made of DNA, the hereditary material that directs the cell's activities
- Eon
- The largest division of geologic time, covering billions of years
- Bar Graph
- A kind of graph that uses bars of different heights or lengths to compare sets of data
- Gene
- A segment of DNA molecule
- Trough
- The bottom of a transverse wave
- Periodic Table
- The chart that organizes all the elements according to their properties
- Niche
- An organisms role in its habitat
- Degrees Celsius
- A measure of temperature
- Wetland Destruction
- When wetlands are drained and filled so the land can be used for buildings and other development
- Scalpel
- A dissection tool used for cutting
- Silicate Mineral
- A mineral composed mostly of silicon and oxygen combined with other elements
- Mesosphere
- The layer of the atmosphere that lies above the stratosphere
- Specific Heat Capacity
- The amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of substane to 1 degree C
- Egg
- A female sex cell produced in an ovary
- Independent Variable
- The variable that is being tested in an experiment and the only variable that changes
- Fission
- The splitting apart of the nuclei of heavy elements to produce lighter elements
- Permanent Magnet
- A magnet made from materials such as iron and nickel
- Ductile
- A physical property of matter that describes its ability to be pulled into a wire
- Systemic Circulation
- The movement of blood from the heart to the body and back
- Spring Equinox
- March 20th or 21st in the Northern Hemisphere, when both hemispheres recieve 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness
- Spiral Galaxy
- A galaxy with a central bulge and spiral arms
- Metalloid
- An element that has some properties of metals and some properties of nonmetals
- Gas
- A physical state in which matter has no definite shape or volume because the particles are moving quickly enough to overcome any attraction forces between them
- Headland
- A high, steep-faced section of land that extends into sea, created by wave action
- Seed
- A reproductive structure produced by a plant
- Atomic Mass
- The average mass of all an atom's isotopes
- Feedback
- The process of checks and balances in the body that starts or stops the release of a hormone in order to keep it at the appropriate level
- Chromosphere
- The layer above the photosphere in the sun's atmosphere
- Carbon Cycle
- The movement of carbon between living things and the enviroment
- Lymph Nodes
- Structures in lymphatic system that store white blood cells and filter lymph to remove pathogens, or disease-causing agents
- Cnidarian
- An animal with radial symmetry and a simple nervous system
- Decomposer
- Bacteria and fungi that break down waste materials from organisms and the remains of dead organisms
- Tissue
- A group of specialized cells working together to do a job
- Axon
- The long body of a neuron
- Meiosis
- A type of cell didvision that produces sex cells with half the number of chromosomes foind in body cells
- Moon Phases
- The changes that seem to occur in the moon's appearance when viewed from Earth
- Centromere
- A structure that holds two identical chromatids together during mitosis, or cell division
- Chemical Weathering
- The process in which rock is broken down by changes in its chemical make-up
- Intrsusive Igneous Rock
- An igneous rock, such as granite, that has coarse grains
- Energy Pyramid
- A diagram that shows how much energy is available to organisms in each part of a food web
- Meteoroid
- A rocky space body smaller than an asteroid that enters Earth's atmosphere and/or strikes Earth's surface
- Trait
- A characteristic inherited from a parent or parents
- Chromatid
- A copy of a chromosome; it's made before cell division begins
- Mucus
- A sticky substance produced by the nose
- Protist
- Most single-celled organisms, including bacteria, amoeba, and algae
- Big Bang Theory
- A scientific explanation for the beginning of the universe
- Horizontal Axis
- The side of a graph that runs horizontally, or from left to right
- Behavioral Adaption
- A behavior that helps an organism survive and reproduce
- Wavelength
- The distance between the low points (troughs) or high points (crests) of two waves that are side by side
- Rock Fossil
- The hard part of animals and plants, such as bone, shell, and wood, that are preserved when sediment becomes rock
- Electromagnetism
- The interaction between electricity and magnetism that causes a magnetic field to form around a wire through which electric current flows
- Electromagnetic Spectrum
- An arrangement of electromagnetic waves according to increasing frequency and energy and decreasing wavelength
- Capillary
- A tiny blood vessel that connects arteries and veins
- Galaxy
- A group of stars, dust, and gas held together by gravity
- Sunspots
- Dark spots on the surface of the sun that appear dark because their temperatures are relatively lower than temperatures in surrounding areas
- Measurement
- An observation that includes numbers and units
- Evolution
- The change that occurs over time in the inherited traits of a population
- Insulator
- A material, such as wood, that does not transfew thermal energy quickly
- Absorbed
- The taking in of light by an object
- Camera
- A tool used to collect moving or still images
- Allele
- A form of a gene
- Magnetic Field
- The region around a magnet where its magnetic forces can act
- Continental Air Mass
- A dry type of air, which forms over dry land
- Pitch
- How high or low a sound is
- Commensalism
- A symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other species recieves neither harm nor benefit
- Right Ventricle
- The chamber in the human heart that pumps oxygen-poor blood to the lungs through the pulmonary arteries
- Solar Eclipse
- When the moon moves between the sun and Earth, casting its shadow on Earth
- Neutron Star
- One of the possible final phases in the death of a supergiant
- Sedimentary Rock
- Rock that forms when sediments are deposited, cemented, buried, and turned into a new rock layer
- Group
- In chemistry, a column of elements in periodic table, also called a family
- Food Change
- A simple model that shows how energy is transferred from one organism to another in a community
- Trophosphere
- The layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth's surface where weather takes place
- Community
- The populations of different species that interact with each other in an ecosystem
- Wave
- The movement of energy through matter or space
- Compound
- A substance that forms when the atoms of two or more elements combine chemically
- Extinct
- Completely gone
- Epoch
- A subdivision of the era in the geologic time scale
- Index Fossil
- A fossil of a organism that lived over a wide area for a short time in geologic history.
- Subduction Zone
- A boundary where one plate- usually made of dense, oceanic crust- collides and sinks under less dense crust
- Condensation
- A change of state in which a substance changes from a gas to a liquid when energy is removed
- Evaporation
- The process in which energy is added to a substance, causing a change of state from a liquid to a gas
- Phenotype
- The expression of alleles, or how an organism appears
- Bone Marrow
- A soft tissue in the center of a bone
- Deforestation
- A type of habitat destruction in which forested land is cleared without replacing the cut trees
- Gallbladder
- The organ where bile is stored and released to aid in digestion
- Learned Behavior
- A behavior, such as looking for food, that parents teach to offspring
- Loudness
- How loud or soft a sound is
- Heredity
- Genetic information that is passed from parents to offspring during reproduction
- Milliliter
- A measure of liquid volume
- Anatomy
- The study of an organisms structures
- Trachea
- Tube that connects the pharynx to the lower respiratory system, or bronchi and lungs
- Space Probe
- A spacecraft that can travel into the solar system to obtain data about the atmosphere, surface, and make-up of different planets
- Pharynx
- Throat
- Ultrasonography
- A technology that uses bounced sound waves to create images of organs inside an organism's body
- Biodiversity
- Refers to the number of different species living in an area
- Electromagnet
- A solenoid wrapped around an iron core
- Station Model
- A display of weather data collected at stations in individual towns and cities
- Experiment
- A scientific activity designed to test a hypothesis
- Metal
- An element that is solid at room temperature, a good electrcical conductor, ductile, and has a shiny luster
- DNA
- A molecule that contains the coded instructions for the operation of a cell
- Sensory Neuron
- A neuron that recieves information and sends it to the central nervous system to be processed
- Natural Resource
- Something living things use that is provided by Earth
- Spongy Bone
- Tissue found in the ends of many bones that provides most of the bone's strength
- Current
- The rate at which charged particles pass a certain point in a circuit
- Balanced Forces
- Forces that produce a net force equal to zero
- Electromagnetic Radiation
- Waves of electromagnetic energy, including visible light
- Precipitate
- A solid that forms when a substance falls out of a solution in liquid or gas as the result of a chemical reaction
- Newton's First Law of Motion
- A scientific law that states: an object at rest remains at rest and an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force
- Line Graph
- A graph that shows changes in value in a set of data with respect to time
- Solar Flare
- A powerful eruption of gas that occurs near sunspots
- Scientific Investigation
- A set of procedures scientists use when conducting a scientific inquiry
- Conduction
- The transfer of energy between objects that are touching
- Ability to React with Acids
- A chemical property that describes how readily a substance will react with an acid to form a new substance
- Parasitism
- A symbiotic relationship existing between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed
- Data
- Information collected during a scientific investigation
- Selective Cutting
- The removal of only certain trees during logging while leaving other trees to grow
- Peripheral Nervous System
- A network of nerves that connects all parts of the body to the central nervous system
- Elliptical Galaxy
- A round or oval-shaped galaxy
- Quartz
- A silicate mineral with fracture and a hardness of 7
- Speed
- A rate of motion that describes the distance an object travels over time
- Isotope
- An atom that has a different number of neutrons than other atoms of the same element
- Polar Air Mass
- A cold type of air mass that forms over Earth's polar regions
- Heat
- The transfer of thermal energy between objects with different temperatures
- Elevation
- The height above sea level, or altitude
- Sperm
- A male sex cell produced in testis (plural: testes)
- Organ System
- Several organs working together to do a certain job
- Rectum
- A muscular sac at the end of the large intestine where wastes are stored until they leave the body
- Force
- A push or pull exerted by one object on another object
- Thermosphere
- The highest layer of the atmosphere with very thin air and extremely high temperatures
- Transparent
- Material, such as glass, capable of transmitting light easily and without scattering
- Tropical Zone
- Areas located between 23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degrees south of the equator
- Winter Solstice
- December 21st or 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere, making the day with the least amount of sunlight
- Safety
- Steps taken to prevent accidents or harm while conducting a scientific investigation
- Left Ventricle
- The chamber in the human heart that pumps oxygen-rich blood to the body
- Refraction
- The bending of light waves as they pass at an angle from one medium to another
- Axis
- An imaginary line that runs vertiaclly through the center of Earth from the North Pole to the South Pole
- Chemical Reaction
- When one or more substances' interact to form one or more new substances
- Compound Microscope
- A tool used to view objects that are too small to be seen with a hand lens
- Mechanical Digestion
- The first stage of digestion in which teeth break down food into smaller pieces
- Multicellular
- Being made of more than one cell
- Fault-Block Mountain
- A type of mountain formed when tectonic forces cause rock layers to break
- Freezing
- A change in state from liquid to solid
- Streak
- The color of a mineral in powdered form
- Solar Energy
- Energy from the sun that is converted into electricity
- Planetesimals
- Small planetary objects that form through the action of gravity during the birth of a solar system
- Platelet
- A blood cell part that helps blood clot
- Motor Neuron
- A neuron that carries information from the central nervous system to the muscles, which respond to the message by moving
- Centimeter
- A measure of length
- Cerebrum
- The largest part of the brain
- Supernova
- The collapse of a supergiant in a violent explosion
- Solid
- A physical state in which matter has a definite shape and volume, and the attraction forces between particles is strong
- Punnett Square
- A diagram that shows the alleles for a trait that each parent contributes to an offspring and the ways the alleles can combine
- Pressure
- The amount of force exerted on a given area
- Cerebellum
- The part of the brain that helps a person maintain balance
- Circuit
- A path along which electric current flows
- Cytoplasm
- The gel-like material in a cell that contains the organelles and dissolved materials
- Sea-Floor Spreading
- The process in which two undersea tectonic plates move apart
- Control
- The variables which are kept the same in a scientific experiment
- Cold Front
- A boundary where dense cold air meets and forces up less dense warm air
- Omnivore
- A consumer that eats both plants and animals
- Nutrients
- Basic materials used for energy by cells and the body, that come from food broken down by the digestive system
- Safety Goggles
- Covering worn in the lab to protect a person's eyes from harmful materials
- Antibody
- A protein produced by an immune-system B cell in response to an antigen
- Meteorologist
- A scientist who studies the Earth's atmosphere
- Medulla
- The part of the brain that controls involuntary actions such as heart rate and breathing
- Cartilage
- Flexible connective tissue found at the end of bones
- Herbivore
- A consumer that eats only plants
- Electric Circuit
- A path along which electric current flows
- Sound Recorder
- A tool used to record sounds, such as the songs of a bird
- Nonrenewable Resource
- A natural resource that either cannot be replaced or which may take millions of years to be replaced by natural processes
- Endocrine Glands
- Structures that produce hormones and release them into the bloodstream
- Erosion
- The process by which earth materials are carried from one place to another
- Urinary System
- The body system that removes wastes from blood
- Meterstick
- A tool used to measure length or distance
- Response
- The way an organism reacts to stimulus
- Transpiration
- The process in which water vapor from the bodies of plants and animals enters the atmosphere
- Formula
- The number and kinds of atoms in a molecule or compound
- Cardiovascular System
- The body system through which nutrients are delivered to cells and wastes are carried away
- Crust
- Earth's outermost layer
- Geothermal Energy
- Energy generated by heat from inside Earth
- Rift Valley
- A place on land where continental tectonic plates are diverging, or pulling apart
- Weight
- A measure of the pull of gravity on an object
- Reactant
- A substance in a chemical reaction that reacts with another substance to produce a product, or new substance
- Era
- A subdivision of an eon in the geologic time scale
- Meteor
- A meteroid that enters Earth's atmosphere but does not strike the Earth
- Cleavage
- Describes a mineral that breaks along a smooth, flat surface
- Flourite
- A mountain formed when continental plates converge
- Weathering
- The process by which rocks are broken down into smaller pieces
- Rock
- A solid composed of minerals and other natural materials
- Trace Fossil
- A fossil created from an animal track, trail, or waste that is preserved in sediment that turns to rock
- Gas Giants
- Very large planets made mostly of dense gases
- Trace Gases
- Gases such as hydrogen and helium that exist in very small quantities in the atmoshpere
- Product
- A substance that results from a chemical reaction
- Impulse
- A message that travels through neurons, or nerve cells, in the form of electrical energy
- Artificial Satellite
- Human-made objects that orbit around other objects in space
- Acceleration
- The rate at which velocity changes
- Conductor
- A substance, such as metal, that conducts or transfers energy quickly
- Laser
- A high-energy light beam with a single wave length
- Generator
- A machine that converts kinetic energy into electrical energy
- Probe
- An electronic device used to make and display measurements
- Element
- A pure substance that cannot be seperated into simpler substances
- Cenozoic Era
- A division of geologic time from 66 million years ago to present
- Pascal
- A measure of pressue
- White Dwarf
- The phase that follows the giant phase in the death of main-sequence star like the sun
- Clastic Sedementary Rock
- Rock made up of pieces of rocks and minerals that are held together by a cementing material
- Vertabrate
- An animal with a backbone
- Small Intestine
- A digestive organ where nutrients are absorbed by the blood
- Limiting Factor
- Any resource that limits the size of a population
- Genotype
- The particular combination of all of an organism's alleles
- Active Solar Heating
- Solar energy collected and changed into electrical energy by solar cells
- Kinetic Energy
- The energy an object has due to its motion
- Tectonic Plates
- Plates that move from Earth's crust
- Diaphragm
- A dome-shaped sheet of muscle that stretches across the chest below the lungs
- Frequency
- The number of waves produced in a given amount of time
- Infereance
- An explanation based on experience rather than on direct observation
- Equation
- In chemistry, an expression that describes a chemical reaction
- Salivary Glands
- Structures in the mouth important to the process of digestion
- Main Sequence
- A category in the H-R diagram in which a star spends most of its life
- Molecule
- A compound made of two or more atoms joined by chemical bonds
- Radiometric Dating
- The use of radioactive isotopes to estimate the age of a fossil
- Antigen
- A protein produced by a pathogen, or disease-causing agent
- Central Nervous System
- The brain and spinal cord
- Eclipse
- When object in space blocks light from reaching a second object
- Sediments
- Small pieces of rock, soil, and other materials
- Relative Dating
- The ordering of an object or geological event relative to another object or event, based on its position in the geologic order
- H-R Diagram
- A diagram showing the relationship between the brightness and the temperature of starts
- Potential Energy
- The energy an object has based on its position
- Cardiac Muscle
- Unvoluntary muscle tissue found only in the heart
- Meteorite
- A meteoroid that strikes Earth's surface
- Hydroelectric Energy
- The energy of running water converted into electricity
- Ventricle
- A chamber in the human heart that recieves blood pumped from an atrium and pumps blood out of the heart
- Electric Current
- The rate of flow of electricity
- Endothermic
- A chemical reaction in which thermal energy is absorbed
- Astronomer
- A scientist who studies space
- Opaque
- A physical property of matter that describes a material that does not transmit light
- Static Electricity
- The buildup of electric charges on an object
- Igneous Rock
- A rock that forms when magma cools and hardens
- Endocrine System
- The body system that uses hormones to control slow, long-term body functions, such as growth and blood sugar levels
- Parallel Circuit
- A circuit in which all load are located on seperate branches
- Thermometer
- A tools used to measure temperature
- Lava
- Magna that flows onto Earth's surface
- Mineral
- A naturally occuring solid made of elements or compounds
- Extrusive Igneous Rock
- An igneous rock, such as basalt, made of fine grains
- Zygote
- A fertilized egg with a complete number of chromosomes
- Isobar
- A line on a weather map that shows areas of equal pressure
- Hydroxide Ion
- A negatively charged ion made of an oxygen atom and a hydrogen aton bonded together
- Rain Gauge
- A tool used to collect and measure precipitation
- Hot Spot
- An area located directly above plumes of magma rising in Earth's crust
- Newton
- A measure of force
- Comet
- A space object made of ice, rock particles, and dust
- Convection
- When heat energy moves in currents through a liquid or a gas
- pH Scale
- A measure of how acidic or basic a solution is
- Adrenalin
- A hormone that raises heart and breathing rates
- Protein
- Large molecules that make up most of the body mass of living things other than plants (which are made mostly of cellulose)
- Net Force
- The overall force acting on an object
- Air Mass
- A large, moving body of air with similar temperature moisture characteristics throughout
- Habitat
- The part of the enviroment in which an organism lives
- Right Atrium
- The chamber in the human heart that recieves oxygen-poor blood from the body and pumps it to the right ventricle
- Inertia
- The tendency of an object to resist a change in motion
- Covalent Bond
- A type of bond betwenn atoms in which electrons are shared
- Hand Lens
- A tool used to look at details of small objects such as insects, leaves, or rocks
- Desertification
- The process of changing a habitat such that it can no longer support life
- Reducing
- A method of conservation that involves using less energy and fewer materials
- Red Marrow
- Skeletal tissue found in spongy bone that produces red blood cells
- Scientific Inquiry
- The process of asking meaningful questions and seeking answers to those questions
- Urea
- A waste product filtered out of the blood by the kidneys
- Warm Front
- A boundary where warm air meets and slides over cold air
- Texture
- A descrption of the size, shape, and arrangement of grains or crystals in a rock
- Climate
- An area's long-term weather patterns
- Voluntary
- The type of muscle movement that is under a person's control, occuring in skeletal muscle
- Volume
- The amount of space someting takes up
- Atomic Number
- The number of protons in the nucleus of each of an elements atoms
- Thermal Conductivity
- The rate at which a material can conduct thermal energy
- Bunsen Burner
- A tool that uses an open flame to heat substances in a lab
- Mitosis
- A type of cell reproduction process that results in two cells that each have the same number of chromosomes as the parent cell
- Fall Equinox
- September 22nd or 23rd in the Northern Hemisphere, when both hemispeheres recieve 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness
- Killer T Cell
- A specialized type of immune system cell that kills pathogens
- Mesozoic Era
- The time between 245 million and 66 million years ago
- Cellular Respiration
- The process in which food energy is changed into energy that cells can use
- No-Till Farming
- A method of protecting soil by leaving stalks from harvested crops in the field, where they serve as soil cover to reduce soil erosion
- Snail
- An animal with bilateral symmetry, a gut with two openings, a complex nervous system, and a circulatory system
- Insulin
- The hormone produced and released by the pancreas that controls the level of sugar in the blood
- Predator
- An organism that hunts and eats other organisms
- Stomach
- A muscular pouch at the end of the esophagus
- Elliptical
- An oval shape
- Fossil
- The ramains or traces of an organism that lived long ago that have been preserved in rock
- Hypothesis
- A possible answer to a scientific question that is based on observations and data
- Tension
- Stress that occurs when rock layers in Earth's crust are pulled apart
- Wind Turbine
- A set of rotating blades that change wind energy to mechanical energy
- Luster
- A physical property that describes the way a mineral reflects light
- Solenoid
- Coils of wire that carry an electric current
- Habitat Destruction
- Damage done to a habitat that results in the loss of resources that organisms need to survive, like food, water, and shelter
- Cytokinesis
- The division of cytoplasm into two complete cells at the conclusion of mitosis
- Graduated Cylinder
- A tool used to measure liquid volume
- Homeostasis
- A cell's or organism's internal stability
- Friction
- A force tat opposes motion when two surfaces touch each other
- Competition
- When two or more organisms depend on the same limited resources for survival
- Chloroplast
- An organelle in plant cells that contains chlorophyll
- Water Cycle
- A model that describes how water moves through the enviroment
- Respiratory System
- A system that includes the lungs, organs that take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide, and the trachea, esophagus, nose, and mouth as passages for gases to be transported into and out of the body
- Solubility
- Physical property of a substance, describing its ability to be dissolved in another substance
- Consumer
- An organism that must eat or otherwise ingest other organisms or organic matter for food
- Energy Resources
- Renewable and nonrenewable forms or energy
- Pivot Joint
- A kind of joint found in the neck and forearms
- Melting Point
- The temperature at which a pure substance melts
- Asteroid
- A small, rocky space body
- Magnet
- Any material that attracts iron, nickel, or cobalt
- Tropical Air Mass
- A warm type of air mass that forms over Earth's tropical zone
- Nonmetal
- An element that is a poor conductor
- Weather
- The state of the atmosphere at a given time and place
- Mutation
- A permanent change in an organism's DNA
- Radiation
- The movement of energy through space
- Gliding Joint
- A joint found in the wrist
- Neutron
- A particle with no electric charge found in the nucleus of an atom
- Reflection
- A wave that bounces back
- Temperate Zone
- Areas located between 23.5 degrees and 66.5 degrees north and south of the equator
- Paleozoic Era
- The time between 544 and 245 million years ago
- Gram
- A measure of mass
- Fossil Mold
- A type of trace fossil that forms when a shell, bone, or other animal part leaves its impression in soft sediment and the impression remains when the sediment becomes rock
- Relative Humidity
- A measure of the actual amount of water vapor in air compared to the total possible amount the air is capable of holding at a given temperature
- Vestigial Structure
- A body part that does not seem to have a useful function
- Plasma Membrane
- A thin structure on the outer part of a cell that regulates materials that enter and exit the cell
- Crater
- Depressions on a moon's or planet's surface caused by collisions with space objects, such as asteroids
- Double Line Graph
- A line graph that compares two sets of data
- T Cell
- A cell in the immune system that recognizes different pathogens, or disease-causing agents
- Recycling
- A method of resource conservation that involves using materials to make new ones, such as making new aluminum products from used soda cans
- Villi
- Finger-shaped structures that line the inside walls of the small intestine
- Electron
- A stable atomic particle with a negative electric charge, usually found within a cloud around an atoms nucleus
- Balance
- A tool used to measure mass
- ATP
- A molecule that supplies energy to cells
- Tendon
- Tough connective tissue that joins skeletal muscle to bone
- Minute
- A measurement of time
- Maritime Air Mass
- A wet type of air mass that forms over water
- Air Temperature
- A measure of the movement of molecules that make up air
- Pure
- The presence of two matching alleles for one trait
- Newton's Third Law of Motion
- A scientific law that states: When one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts and equal and opposite force on the first
- Pituitary Gland
- The master gland in the endocrine system
- Gene Pool
- All the genes in a population
- Compass
- A tool that measures direction
- Humidity
- The amount of water vapor in the air
- Reusing
- A method of resource conservation that involves using products more that once
- Ohm's Law
- An equation that describes the relationship among current, voltage, and resistance in a circuit
- Forceps
- A dissection tool used to grasp structures
- Climax Community
- A more diverse, complex, and stable community of plant, animal, and decomposer species that forms over time
- Trial
- A set of repeated measurements
- Isotherm
- A line that connects areas of equal temperature on a weather map
- Mining
- Taking materials like minerals and coal from the earth
- Rotation
- The movement of a planit on its axis
- Resistance
- The opposition to the flow of an electric charge
- Lungs
- Organs in the respiratory system through which oxygen is taken into and carbon doixide is released from the body
- Supergiant
- A phase in the death of an extremely massive star
- Oscilloscope
- An instrument used to show sound wave amplitude
- Absolute Magnitude
- A degree of brightness
- Antibiotic Resistance
- The ability of organisms such as bacteria to resist, or withstand, the killing power of an antibiotic, or disease-killing substance
- Atomic Mass Unit
- A unit of measure of atomic mass
- Switch
- Part of a circuit that allows current to flow when it is closed and prevents a current's flow when it is open
- Energy
- The ability to do work
- Sliding Friction
- Friction created by pushing
- Pioneer Species
- Thr first organisms to grow in a new ecosystem
- Left Atrium
- The chamber in the human heart that recieves oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it to the left ventricle
- Groundwater
- Water that sinks into Earth's surface and is stored underground
- Transform Boundary
- A boundary along which two tectonic plates are sliding past each other
- Wind
- The movement of air caused by differences in air pressue
- Anthracite Coal
- A hard coal that contains the highest amount of carbon
- Alveoli
- Tiny sacs inside the lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs
- Refracting Telescope
- A telescope that uses visible light and lenses to magnify, or enlarge, space objects
- Prediction
- An educated guess about what will happen in an experiment, based on data from previous trials
- Recessive
- A recessive allele is present but not expressed
- Ligament
- Tissue that holds bones together
- Mantle
- The layer of Earth between the crust and the core
- Instinctive Behavior
- A behavior, such as migration, that does not have to be learned
- Heat-Resistant Gloves
- Gloves worn in the lab when handling hot objects
- Mass
- The amount of matter an object contains
- Spore
- A reproductive cell formed by a seedless plant that can form a new organism
- Water Vapor
- The gas that forms when water evaporates
- Structural Adaption
- A body structure that helps an organism survive and reproduce
- Greenhouse Effect
- Atmospheric warming that results when gases in Earth's atmosphere trap energy radiated from Earth
- Pancreas
- A degestive organ that regulates the amount of sugar in the blood
- Ecosystem
- Communities of living organisms and the abiotic factors that effect those communities
- Liquid
- A physical state in which matter has definite volume but no definite shape because the particles are moving quickly enough to overcome some attraction forces between them
- Lymph
- Fluid collected by the lymphatic system from capillaries throughout the day
- Chemical Digestion
- A process that begins in the mouth, where enzymes from salivary glands are released to help break down food
- Volcano
- A mountain that forms when magma rises from the mantle and spills or erupts onto Earth's surface
- Irregular Galaxy
- A galaxy that has a shaped that cannot be categorized as either spiral or elliptical
- Kilometer
- A measure of distance
- Succession
- The gradual change from one kind of community to another in an area
- Folded Mountain
- A mountain formed when continental plates converge
- Vertical Axis
- The vertical, or up and down, side of a graph
- Metamorphic Rock
- Rock formed by intense heat and pressure
- Carrying Capacity
- The largest population an ecosystem can support over time
- Revolution
- One complete orbit around the sun
- Skeletal Muscle
- Muscle attached to bones
- Black Hole
- One of the two possible final phases in the death of a supergiant
- Ovary
- An organ in a plant or animal that produces the female sex cells called eggs
- Esophagus
- The muscular tube through which food is carried to the stomach
- Proton
- A particle in the nucleus of an atom that has a positive electrical charge
- Liter
- A measure of liquid volume, or capacity
- Fossil Fuel
- A nonrenewable natural resource that comes from the remains of dead plants and animals and take millions of years to form.
- Mutualism
- A symbiotic relationship between two organisms in which both organisms benefit
- Immune System
- The body system that produces special cells to fight off pathogens, or disease-causing agents, in the body
- Foliated Metamorphic Rock
- A kind of metamorphic rock in which heat and pressure arrange the minerals in the rock into layers
- Hot Plate
- An electric tool used to heat substances in a lab
- Physical Property
- A characteristic that can be observed or measured without changing the identity of matter
- Homologous Chromosomes
- Pairs of like chromosomes that contain similar hereditary information.
- Renewable Resource
- A natural resource that can be replaced by natural processes in a fairly short amount of time
- Malleability
- A physical property of matter that describes its ability to be pounded into thin sheets
- Thyroid Gland
- The gland in the endocrine system that produces a hormone that controls how quickly the body uses the energy in food
- Observation
- Information, or date, collected through senses
- White Blood Cell
- A cell that fights pathogens, or disease-causing agents, that invade the body
- Cell Cycle
- A cell's life cycle
- Fluid
- A substance that flows easily
- Rock Cycle
- A model that shows how rocks continually change from one type to another
- Heart
- The muscular organism in the circulatory system that pumps blood through the body
- Chemical Sedimentary Rock
- Rock that forms when dissolved minerals fall out of a solution, usually in water
- Graphite
- A soft, shiny form of carbon
- Millimeters of Mercury
- A scale of measuring air pressure
- Lift
- The force that pushes a moving object up into the air due to an imbalance in air pressures above and below the object
- Transverse Wave
- A mechanical wave in which particles of a medium vibrate up and down
- Ball-and-Socket Joint
- A type of joint found in the shoulder and hip
- Pollination
- The movement of pollen from the stamens of a flower to the pistil of the same flower, or another flower
- Visible Light
- The light you can see
- Sexual Reproduction
- A form of reproduction in which the offspring inherit half of the genetic material from each parent
- Longitudinal Wave
- A mechanical wave in which particles of a medium vibrate back and forth along the direction the wave travels
- Title
- A label that describes what a graph shows
- Yellow Marrow
- Skeletal tissue found in bones
- Exothermic
- A chemical reaction in which thermal energy is released
- Chemical Bond
- A bond that holds a compound together
- Bronchi
- Part of the respiratory system
- Urethra
- The structure in the urinary system through which urine lieaves the body
- Electromagnetic Waves
- Disturbances of electromagnetic radiation that carry energy through matter or space
- Plot
- A point on a line graph where to lines meet
- Organism
- A living thing
- Maria
- Dark, flat regions on the moon's surface that are made of igneous rock
- Hardness
- A physical property that describes how easily a mineral can be scratched
- Earthworm
- An invertebrate that has bilateral symmetry, a gut with two openings (one for eating and one for getting rid of wastes), a complex nervous system, and a circulatory system
- Spleen
- The organ that filters pathogens from the blood
- Procedure
- A step-by-step plan of an experiment
- Translucent
- A physical property of matter that describes a substance's ability to scatter visible light as it passes through the substance
- Atmosphere
- The Earth system that includes all of the gases that surround Earth
- Compression
- 1) When rocks in Earth's crust are subjected to stress that squeezes rock layers together 2) Areas of longituinal wave in which the medium's particles are crowded together
- Sonar
- A technological device that uses sound waves to locate objects underwater
- Earthquake
- Waves of energy released by movements of rock beneath Earth's surface
- Feedback Mechanism
- A series of automatic responses that helps an organism return to a stable internal state, or homeostatis, if conditions change
- Nuclear Energy
- Energy released by the splitting of atomic nuclei, or fission, that is used to generate electrical energy
- Mechanical Weathering
- The process of physically breaking down rock
- Ionic Bond
- A chemical bond formed by the attraction of ions with opposite charges
- Temporary Magnet
- A magnet made from materials that are easy to magnetize
- Solar System
- The sun and the nine planets and smaller objects that orbit the sun
- Brittle
- A physical property of matter
- Joint
- A place where two or more bones connect
- Spinal Cord
- The cord of nervous tissue that follows the spine and connects the brain to the rest of the nervous system and body
- Fracture
- Describes a mineral that breaks along a jagged, uneven surface
- Digestive System
- A system of organs including the stomach that work together to break down large particles of food into nutrients that the body needs for growth and repair
- Chlorophyll
- A green pigment in plants that captures energy from sunlight
- Ability to Burn
- A chemical property that describes how easily a substance can burn
- Ozone Layer
- A layer contained in the stratosphere of Earth's atmosphere, which protects life on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation
- Skin
- The body's largest organ
- Pattern
- A relationship that becomes apperant, or recognizable, from viewing data in a data table
- Conclusion
- An explanation based on data
- Atrium
- A chamber in the human heart where blood enters the heart and is pumped into a ventricle
- Macrophage
- A white blood cell that engulfs and kills pathogens that invade the body
- Weather Map
- A visual display of weather data
- Conductivity
- A physical property of matter that describes its ability to transfer thermal or electrical energy from one area to another
- Abrasion
- A form of erosion in which rocks grind against each other and are broken down into smaller pieces
- Thermal Energy
- The total kinetic energy of the molecules in an object
- Precambrian Era
- The time up to 544 million years ago
- Chemical Property
- The ability of a substance to change into a new substance with different properties
- Millibar
- A unit of measure of air pressure
- Motor
- A machine that changes electrical energy into kinetic energy, the energy of motion
- Freezing Point
- The temperature at which a substance freezes
- Photosphere
- The layer around the convection zone, the radiation zone, and the core of the sun
- Hinge Joint
- A joint like those found in the knee and elbow
- Chromosome
- A threadlike structure in a cell's nucleus that contains the cell's DNA
- Dominant
- A dominant allele prevents another allele from being expressed
- Lymphatic System
- A system of vessels that collects and filters blood fluids and returns them to the cardiovascular systems
- Lignite
- Soft coal formed when heat and pressure compress sediment and organic matter
- Reservoir Rock
- Porous, or permeable rock, in which oil and gas collect in pockets
- Logging
- The cutting of trees
- Melting
- The change of state from a solid to a liquid
- Core
- The innermost part of a planet or star
- Summer Solstice
- June 21st or 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere, marking the day with the greatest amount of sunlight for the year
- Variable
- Anything that can change an experiment
- Prey
- An organism that is hunted
- Load
- Any device on a circuit that uses electrical energy to do work
- Radioactive Isotopes
- Atoms that are unstable, meaning they decay, or break down, to form stable atoms of a different element
- Satellite
- An object that orbits around another object in space
- Behavior
- A response to stimuli that helps an organism survive
- Law of Universal Gravitation
- The scientific law that states that the force of gravity depends on the masses of two objects and the distance between them
- Apron
- A protective covering worn in the lab to protect clothing from harmful spills
- Seat Belt
- A safety device designed to keep a person in their seat if an automobile stops suddenly, as in an accident
- Disposable Plastic Gloves
- Gloves worn in lab when working with organisms or chemicals
- Nitrogen Cycle
- A model that describes how nitrogen is moved between the biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem
- Air Pressure
- A measure of the force of air pushing in all directions
- Urinary Bladder
- A sac-like structure in the urinary system in which urine is stored
- Meter
- A measure of length or distance
- Anemometer
- A tool used to measure wind speed
- Population
- Individual organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time
- Mouth
- The place where digestion begins
- Involuntary
- Type of muscle action that you cannot control, occuring in muscles in the digestive tract and blood vessels
- Lunar Eclipse
- When earth moves between the sun and the moon, casting its shadow on the moon
- Pathogen
- A disease-causing agent such as a virus or harmful bacterium
- Nephron
- Tiny structures in a kidney that filter wastes from the blood
- Plasma
- The liquid portion of the blood that carries dissolved sugar and other nutrients to the body's cells
- Series Circuit
- A circuit in which all parts are connected ina single loop
- Hydrogen Ion
- A hydrogen atom that has lost an electron, giving it a positive charge
- Introduced Species
- Species that are moved from their native enviroment to a new enviroment, either accidentally or intentionally
- Fault
- An area along which rocks move suddenly, causing earthquakes
- Tonsils
- Lumps of lymphatic tissue that defend the body against pathogens, or disease-causing agents, that enter through the mouth and nose
- Respiration
- The process of breathing, during which organisms break down sugars and give off carbon dioxide as a waste product
- Nebula
- A cloud of dust and gas in space from which stars are born
- Blood
- Tissue made of cells and cell parts floating in plasma, or liquid
- Scale
- A range of numbers on a graph, usually on the vertical axis
- Muscular System
- A system of cardiac, smooth, and skeletal muscles
- Temperature
- The average amout of kinetic energy the particles in a substance or object have
- Space Station
- A spacecraft with living and working quarters
- Producer
- An organism that makes its own food
- Voltage
- A term used to describe how big of a "push" electrons get from the source that produces them in a circuit
- Helper T Cell
- A type of immune system cell that recognizes antigens and activates other immune system cells that destroy pathogens and infected cells
- Solar Cell
- A power cell that changes solar energy into electricity
- Acid Precipitation
- Polluted rain or snow that can damage forests, ponds, and buildings
- Ring of Fire
- A belt that runs along the edge of a group of tectonic plates, where the Earth's most active volcanoes are located
- Millimeter
- A measure of length
- Variation
- An inherited trait that makes on individual different from other individuals of its species
- Hormone
- A chemical messenger
- Stationary Front
- A boundary where two different air masses meet and then stop moving
- Carnivore
- A consumer that eats mostly or only animals
- Social Behavior
- A behavior that involves communication with other individuals
- Abiotc
- A nonliving part, or factor, of an enviroment
- Mineral Fossil
- A fossil formed when minerals replace the tissues of an organism, gradually turning the tissue to stone