ODE VOCAB
Terms
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- Ecological
- The interactions and relationships between organisms and their environment.
- Organic
- Compounds containing carbon and chiefly or ultimately of biological origin.
- acceleration
- The rate of change of velocity with respect to time.
- Magma
- Molten rock material within the Earth from which igneous rock results by cooling.
- Radiation
- The transfer of heat by radiation (such as energy transfer). The process of emitting radiant energy in the form of waves or particles (such as particle emission).
- circular motion
- Motion of an object that follows the circumference of a circle.
- Predator
- An animal that lives by capturing prey as a means of maintaining life.
- frame of reference
- An arbitrary set of axes with reference to which the position or motion of something is described or physical laws are formulated.
- life cycle
- The series of stages that an organism goes through in its lifetime. Examples include larvae, pupa, nymph, and adult.
- Species
- A group of organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.
- ocean trench
- A long, narrow, deep depression in the ocean bed.
- Classification
- Systematic arrangement in groups or categories according to established criteria.
- sound waves
- Mechanical radiant energy that is transmitted by longitudinal pressure waves in a material medium (such as air) and is the objective cause of hearing.
- Significant figure
- Each of the digits of a number that are used to express it to the required degree of accuracy.
- jumping genes
- Genes that move from one position on the chromosome to another.
- body covering
- Feature that covers the body, such as fur or feathers.
- Segregation
- The separation of two alleles in a heterozygote when gametes are formed.
- Meteor
- Any of the small particles of matter in the solar system that are directly observable only by their incandescence from frictional heating on entry into the atmosphere.
- Pollution
- A substance that, when added to the environment causes the environment to be harmful or unfit for living things.
- Weathering
- To subject to the action of the elements.
- barometer
- An instrument for determining the pressure of the atmosphere.
- abiotic
- Non-living.
- Oxidize
- To combine with oxygen.
- Interstellar
- Located, taking place or traveling among the stars, especially of the Milky Way galaxy.
- Organ
- A differentiated structure (such as a heart, kidney, leaf or stem) consisting of cells and tissues, and performing some specific function in an organism.
- Emigration
- A category of population dispersal covering one-way movement out of the population area.
- Nucleus
- 1. The positively charged central portion of an atom that comprises nearly all of the atomic mass and that consists of protons and neutrons. 2. The portion of a eukoryotic cell that is surrounded by a nuclear membrane and contains DNA.
- Qualitative
- Involving quality or kind.
- food chain
- A diagram that represents how the energy in food molecules flows from one organism to the next
- Gravitation
- A force manifested by acceleration toward each other of two free material particles or bodies, or of radiant-energy quanta.
- Cycle
- An interval of time during which a sequence of a recurring succession of events or phenomena is completed.
- Current
- Continuous flow as of air, water or electric charge.
- Independent variable
- A variable whose value is specified first and determines the value of one or more other values.
- Physical properties
- A property of a material that can be observed without changing the chemical makeup of the material.
- Entropy
- A thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system.
- alleles
- Any of the alternative forms of a gene that may occur at a given locus on a chromosome.
- Nutrient
- A nutritive substance or ingredient.
- Condensation
- The change of state from a gas to a liquid.
- Eukaryotic
- An organism composed of one or more cells containing visibly evident nuclei and organelles.
- atmospheric pressure
- The pressure exerted by the atmosphere at the surface of the Earth due to the weight of the air.
- Metamorphism
- A change in the constitution of rock; specifically, a pronounced change affected by pressure, heat and water that results in a more compact and more highly crystalline condition.
- Dependent variable
- A variable whose values are determined by one or more (independent) variables.
- Solubility
- The amount of a substance that will dissolve in a given amount of another substance.
- water cycle
- The sequence of conditions through which water passes from vapor in the atmosphere through precipitation upon land or water surfaces and ultimately back into the atmosphere as a result of evaporation and transpiration.
- Respiration
- The physical and chemical processes by which an organism supplies its cells and tissues with the oxygen needed for metabolism and relieves them of the carbon dioxide formed in energy-producing reactions.
- Prokaryotic
- A cellular organism (such as a bacterium or a blue-green alga) that does not have a distinct nucleus.
- Electromagnetic spectrum
- The entire range of wavelengths or frequencies of electromagnetic radiation extending from gamma rays to the longest radio waves and including visible light.
- Gravity
- The gravitational attraction of the mass of the Earth, the moon or a planet for bodies at or near its surface.
- Orbit
- A path described by one body in its revolution about another (as by the Earth about the sun or by an electron about an atomic nucleus).
- periodic table
- An arrangement of chemical elements based on the periodic law.
- natural selection
- The principle that in a given environment individuals having characteristics that aid survival will produce more offspring, and the proportion of individuals having such characteristics will increase with each succeeding generation.
- Life
- An organism that has the capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli and reproduction.
- physical change
- A change in a substance that does not alter its chemical makeup.
- Sediment
- Material deposited by water, wind or glaciers.
- Evaporation
- The change of state from a liquid to a gas.
- Fermentation
- An enzymatically controlled anaerobic breakdown of an energy-rich compound.
- reference point
- A basis or standard for evaluation, assessment or comparison; a criterion.
- boiling point
- The temperature at which a liquid boils.
- adaptation
- Adjustment to environmental conditions, modification of an organism or its parts that makes it more fit for existence under the conditions of its environment.
- Fungi
- Any of a major group of saprophytic and parasitic spore-producing organisms including molds, rusts, mildews, smuts, mushrooms and yeasts.
- acid
- A substance that dissolves in water with the formation of hydrogen ions and reacts with a base to form a salt and water. It neutralizes alkalis, dissolves some metals, and turns litmus red; typically, a corrosive and sour-tasting liquid.
- Replicate
- To duplicate experiments, procedures or samples.
- Convergent
- To come together or tend to come together at a point.
- Reactant
- A substance that enters into and is altered in the course of a chemical reaction.
- Star
- A natural luminous body visible in the sky, especially at night.
- Weather
- The state of the atmosphere with respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness.
- Comet
- A celestial body that consists of a fuzzy head usually surrounding a bright nucleus, that has a usually highly eccentric orbit, and that often, when in the part of its orbit near the sun, develops a long tail which points away from the sun.
- Neutrons
- An uncharged elementary particle that has a mass nearly equal to that of the proton and is present in atomic nuclei.
- Immigration
- Coming into the population.
- balance
- An instrument for measuring mass.
- Wave
- A disturbance or variation that transfers energy progressively from point to point in a medium, and that may take the form of an elastic deformation or of a variation of pressure, electric or magnetic intensity, electric potential, or temperature.
- Focus
- The place of origin of an earthquake or moonquake (as related to earthquakes).
- Microorganisms
- An organism of microscopic or ultramicroscopic size.
- Theory
- A supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained.
- Electromagnetic radiation
- A kind of radiation including visible light, radio waves, gamma rays and x rays in which electric and magnetic fields vary simultaneously.
- Fission
- The splitting of an atomic nucleus resulting in the release of large amounts of energy.
- Proton
- A stable subatomic particle occurring in all atomic nuclei with a positive electric charge equal in magnitude to that of an electron.
- Neutral
- Neither acidic nor basic (as in pH).
- Control
- A group used as a standard of comparison for checking the results of an experiment.
- Mantle
- The part of the interior of a terrestrial planet, especially the Earth, that lies beneath the lithosphere and above the central core.
- Solution
- An act, or the process by which a solid, liquid or gaseous substance is homogeneously mixed with a liquid or sometimes a gas or solid.
- biomass
- The amount of living matter.
- Compound
- A substance formed from two or more elements chemically united in fixed proportions.
- Survival
- The continuation of life or existence.
- Flagella
- Long hair-like extensions from the cell surface whose movement is used for locomotion.
- Evolution (biological)
- Changes in the genetic composition of a population through successive generations.
- Solid
- A substance that does not flow perceptibly under moderate stress, has a definite capacity for resisting forces (such as compression or tension) that tend to deform it, and under ordinary conditions retains a definite size and shape.
- Decomposers
- Organisms such as bacteria and fungi that feed and breakdown dead organisms or animal wastes
- Milky Way
- A broad luminous irregular band of light that stretches completely around the celestial sphere and is caused by the light of myriads of faint stars.
- Transform
- To change in composition or structure.
- Technology
- Human innovation in action that involves the generation of knowledge and processes to develop systems that solve problems and extend human capabilities. The innovation, change, or modification of the natural environment to satisfy perceived human needs and wants.
- Reflection
- The throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat or sound without absorbing it.
- Igneous
- Rock that forms from the cooling of magma or lava.
- Crustal deformation
- A change in the crust of a planet, moon or asteroid.
- scientific law
- A statement of an order or relation of phenomena that, so far as is known, is invariable under the given conditions.
- Quantitative
- Involving the measurement of quantity or amount.
- Variable
- A quantity that may assume any one of a set of values.
- asteroid
- A small rocky body orbiting the sun.
- body system
- A system of the body (i.e. digestive system, circulatory system).
- System
- 1. A group of body organs that together perform one or more vital functions. 2. An organized group of devices, parts or factors that together perform a function or drive a process (weather systems, mechanical systems).
- Recycle
- To process (as liquid body waste, glass or cans) in order to regain material for human use.
- Pattern
- A reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies or other observable characteristics.
- Precipitation
- A deposit on Earth of hail, mist, rain, sleet or snow.
- Conservation
- the wise use of and preservation of natural resources
- Crust
- The outer part of a planet, moon or asteroid composed essentially of crystalline rocks.
- Trait
- An inherited characteristic.
- Habitability
- Suitable for a dwelling place.
- Virus
- Any of various submicroscopic pathogens consisting essentially of a particle of nucleic acid enclosed in protein and able to replicate only within a living cell.
- Nuclear
- Used in or produced by a nuclear reaction; referring to particles or properties of an atomic nucleus.
- Covalent
- Chemical bonds formed by the sharing of electrons between atoms.
- nuclear reaction
- A change in the identity or characteristics of an atomic nucleus that results when it is bombarded with an energetic particle.
- Motion
- An act, process or instance of changing position through time.
- Reproduction
- The process by which organisms give rise to offspring and which fundamentally consists of the segregation of a portion of the parental body by a sexual or an asexual process, and its subsequent growth and differentiation into a new individual.
- Infrared radiation
- Invisible rays just beyond the red end of the visible spectrum. Their waves are longer than those of the spectrum colors but shorter than radio waves, and have a penetrating heating effect; used in cooking and photography.
- Biotic
- Relating to life.
- Nesting
- To build or occupy a nest; settle in.
- equilibrium
- A state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced.
- Prey
- An animal taken by a predator as food.
- Extinct
- A species of organisms that no longer exists.
- Mode
- The number or object that appears most frequently in a set of numbers of objects.
- Structure
- The arrangement of particles or parts in a substance or body.
- Independent assortment
- Each chromosome in a pair that is independent of other chromosomes.
- Isotope
- Any of two or more species of atoms of a chemical element with the same atomic number and nearly identical chemical behavior, but with differing atomic mass or mass number and different physical properties.
- Method
- A systematic procedure, technique or mode of inquiry employed by or proper to a particular discipline or art.
- Sperm
- A male gamete.
- genetic drift
- The process by which gene frequencies are changed.
- Scavenger
- An organism that feeds habitually on refuse or carrion.
- Tissue
- An aggregate of cells usually of a particular kind together with their intercellular substance that form one of the structural materials of organisms.
- Wavelength
- The distance between successive crests of a wave.
- Differentiation
- The sum of the processes whereby apparently indifferent cells, tissues and structures attain their adult form and function.
- React
- To undergo chemical reaction (chemically).
- Evidence
- Facts or observations on which a conclusion can be based.
- organ systems
- Organs working together for a specific function.
- Climate
- The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time.
- Phenomenon
- A fact or event of scientific interest susceptible to scientific description and explanation.
- Pitch
- The property of a sound, especially a musical tone, that is determined by the frequency of the waves producing it; highness or lowness of sound.
- Natural
- Existing in, or produced by nature.
- Homeostasis
- A state of equilibrium between different but interrelated functions or elements, as in an organism or group.
- Fossil
- Any naturally preserved evidence of life.
- Diversity
- A great deal of variety.
- Unit
- A determinate quantity (such as of length, time, heat or value) adopted as a standard of measurement.
- Environment
- The complex of physical, chemical and biotic factors that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival.
- atmosphere
- The gaseous envelope surrounding the earth; consists of oxygen, nitrogen and other gases, extends to a height of about 40,744 km (22,000 miles), and rotates with Earth.
- Germination
- The beginning of growth in a spore, seed, zygote etc., especially following a dormant period.
- Lithosphere
- The solid part of a celestial body (such as Earth), specifically, the outer part of the solid Earth composed of rock essentially like that exposed at the surface and usually considered to be about 80 kilometers (50 miles) in thickness.
- Crystal
- The solid, geometric form of a mineral produced by a repeating pattern of atoms.
- Humidity
- The amount of moisture in the atmosphere.
- Element
- Any of more than 100 fundamental substances that consist of atoms of only one kind and that singly or in combination constitute all matter.
- biome
- Major ecological community (tropical rain forest, grassland or desert).
- biological evolution
- Changes in the genetic composition of a population through successive generations.
- biogeochemical cycles
- Relating to the partitioning and cycling of chemical elements and compounds between the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
- Eclipse
- The total or partial obscuring of one celestial body by another.
- bacteria
- Unicellular, prokaryotic microorganisms that lack chlorophyll, multiply by fission, and can be seen only with a microscope; they occur in three main forms: spherical, rod-shaped and spiral. Some bacteria cause diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and anthrax, and others are necessary for fermentation and nitrogen fixation.
- Scientific method
- Principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.
- Landform
- A natural feature of a land surface.
- Heredity
- The sum of the qualities and potentialities genetically derived from one's ancestors; the relation between successive generations, by which characteristics persist.
- atom
- The smallest particle of an element that can exist either alone or in combination.
- biotechnology
- Biological science when applied especially in genetic engineering and recombinant DNA technology.
- Matter
- Material substance that occupies space, has mass and is composed of atoms consisting of protons, neutrons and electrons that constitutes the observable universe, and that is interchangeable with energy.
- Force
- An influence, that if applied to a free body, results chiefly in an acceleration of that body in the direction of its application.
- scientific theory
- A plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena.
- Tides
- The alternate rising and falling of the surface of the ocean and water bodies (such as gulfs and bays) connected with the ocean that occurs usually twice a day, and is caused by the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon occurring unequally on different parts of the Earth.
- potential energy
- the energy of position or shape
- Gas
- A state of matter with no definite shape or volume.
- Volcano
- A vent in the crust of the Earth or another planet from which usually molten rock, ash and steam are ejected.
- Mineral
- A solid homogeneous crystalline chemical element or compound that results from the inorganic processes of nature.
- Mutation
- A relatively permanent change in hereditary material involving either a physical change in chromosome relations or a biochemical change in the codon(s) that make up genes.
- Conduction
- The transfer of heat energy by direct contact.
- Model
- A description or analogy used to help visualize something (such as an atom) that cannot be directly observed.
- Glaciation
- To subject to glacial action in which a large body of ice moves slowly down a slope or valley, or spreads outward on a land surface.
- Mean
- The sum of a set of numbers divided by the number of elements in the set.
- Exothermic
- A chemical reaction that produces heat energy.
- Hypothesis
- A formula derived by inference from scientific data that explains a principle operating in nature.
- Composition
- The make up of a rock; descirbes either the minerals or elements present in it.
- Ecosystem
- The complex of a community of organisms and its environment functioning as an ecological unit.
- Dominant
- A gene, that when present, is expressed in the phenotype.
- atomic number
- The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.
- Electricity
- A form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles, either statically as an accumulation of charge or dynamically as a current.
- Herbivore
- A plant-eating animal.
- epicenter
- The part of the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.
- Observe
- To watch carefully, especially with attention to details or behavior for the purpose of arriving at a judgment.
- decay rate
- The rate at which a radioactive isotope disintegrates until a final non-radioactive isotope is formed.
- Gene
- A functional hereditary unit located at a particular point on a chromosome that controls or acts in the transmission of hereditary characteristics.
- Convection
- Transfer of heat by flow of liquids or gases.
- Magnetic reversal
- Periods of time in which there was a reversal in direction of the Earth's magnetic field.
- Particle
- Any of the basic units of matter and energy (such as a molecule, atom, proton, electron or photon).
- electric field
- A region associated with a distribution of electric charge or a varying magnetic field, in which forces due to that charge or field, act upon other electric charges.
- Organism
- An individual constituted to carry on the activities of life by means of organs separate in function but mutually dependent; a living being.
- moon cycle
- The cycle of the moon's phases, from new to full and back.
- Ion
- An atom or group of atoms that carries a positive or negative electric charge as a result of having lost or gained one or more electrons.
- metric system
- A decimal system of weights and measures based on the meter and on the kilogram.
- Property
- A quality or trait belonging to an individual or thing.
- Meteoroid
- One of a large number of celestial bodies of various size that appear as meteors when they enter Earth's atmosphere.
- kinetic energy
- the energy of motion; kinetic energy depends on speed & mass
- pH scale
- A numerical measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a chemical solution.
- Velocity
- The rate of change of position and direction with respect to time.
- Hydrosphere
- The aqueous envelope of the Earth including bodies of water and aqueous vapor in the atmosphere.
- Median
- The middle number or item in a set of numbers or objects arranged from least to greatest, or the mean of the two middle numbers when the set has two middle numbers.
- fossil fuel
- A fuel (such as coal, oil or natural gas) that is formed in Earth from plant or animal remains.
- Heritable
- Capable of being inherited or of passing by inheritance.
- Endothermic
- A chemical reaction that takes an input of heat energy.
- Parasite
- An organism living in, with or on another organism in which a parasite obtains benefits from a host that it usually injures.
- Mixture
- A portion of matter consisting of two or more components in varying proportions that retain their own properties.
- asexual reproduction
- Involving or reproducing by reproductive processes (as cell division, spore formation, fission or budding) that do not involve the union of germ cells or egg and sperm.
- Producer
- Any of various organisms (such as a green plant) which produce their own organic compounds from simple precursors (such as carbon dioxide and inorganic nitrogen) and many of which are food sources for other organisms.
- anemometer
- An instrument for measuring and indicating the force or speed of the wind.
- Planet
- Any of the large bodies that revolve around the sun in the solar system.
- base
- A substance that dissolves in water with the formation of hydroxyl ions and reacts with an acid to form a salt and water; turns litmus paper blue.
- Core
- The central part of a celestial body (as Earth or sun) usually having different physical properties from the surrounding parts.
- Multicellular
- Having or consisting of many cells.
- Design
- To create, fashion, execute or construct according to plan.
- Photosynthesis
- The chemical process by which chlorophyll-containing plants use light to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates, releasing oxygen as a byproduct.
- Circuit
- The complete path of an electric current usually including the source of electric energy.
- Consumer
- An organism that eats producers or other organisms for energy
- DNA
- Deoxyribonucleic acid, a double strand of nucleotides, that is a self-replicating material present in living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It contains the genetic code and transmits the heredity pattern.
- Refraction
- Deflection from a straight path undergone by a light ray or energy wave in passing obliquely from one medium (such as air) into another (such as glass) in which its velocity is different.
- Tool
- A device that aids in accomplishing a task, a form of technology.
- Molecule
- The smallest particle of a substance that retains all the properties of the substance and is composed of one or more atoms.
- Population
- All the plants or animals of the same kind found in a given area.
- Physiology
- The biological science of essential and characteristic life processes, activities and functions.
- Mass
- The property of a body that is a measure of the amount of matter within the body.
- Unity
- The state of being united into a whole.
- Folding
- Causing rock strata to undergo bending or curvature.
- electric force
- A force that exists between two charged objects.
- Resource
- Industrial materials and capacities (as mineral deposits and waterpower) supplied by nature (earth science) and substances used by an organism for survival (biology).
- Electron
- negatively charged particles found in all atoms; electrons are involved in the formation of chemical bonds
- food web
- A complex diagram representing the many energy pathways in a real ecosystem
- Oxidation
- Combination of a substance with oxygen.
- Repel
- To force away or apart, or tend to do so by mutual action at a distance.
- Uplift
- To cause (a portion of Earth's surface) to rise above adjacent areas.
- Faulting
- To fracture so as to produce a geologic fault.
- Omnivore
- An animal that feeds on both animal and vegetable substances.
- Rotation
- The turning of a body part about its long axis as if on a pivot.
- Friction
- The force that resists relative motion between two bodies in contact.
- Liquid
- A fluid (such as water) that has no independent shape but has a definite volume, does not expand indefinitely and that is only slightly compressible.
- Egg
- Female gamete; ovum.
- Fusion
- The union of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei resulting in the release of enormous quantities of energy.
- Galaxy
- Any of the very large groups of stars and associated matter that are found throughout the universe.
- community
- all of the populations of different species that live and interact in an arez
- Habitat
- The place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows.
- Energy
- The capacity for doing work, can be in various forms such as nuclear, sound, thermal and light.
- Mitochondria
- Cell structure responsible for cellular respiration.