Science Vocab for PSSA
Terms
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- inquiry
- a systematic process for using knowledge and skills to acquire and apply new knowledge
- biotic
- an enviromental factor related to or produced by living organisms
- decomposer
- an organism, often microscopic in size, that obtains nutrients by consuming dead organic matter, thereby making nutrients accessible to other organisms; examples of decomposers include fungi, scavengers, rodents, and other animals
- biotechnology
- the ways that humans apply biological concepts to produce products and provide services
- closed loop system
- a group of related objects that have feedback and can modify themselves
- trophic levels
- the role of an organism in nutrient and energy flow within an ecosystem (e.g.,herbivore,carnivore,decomposer)
- extinction
- the complete elimination of a species from the earth
- lentic
- relating to or living in still water
- endangered species
- a species that is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range
- regulation
- a rule or order issued by an executive authority or regulatory agency of a government and having the force of law
- composting
- the process of mixing decaying leaves, manure and other nutritive matter to improve and fertilize soil
- construction technology
- the ways that humans build structures on sites
- 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
- recycling
- collecting and reprocessing a resource or product to make into new products
- biomedical technology
- the application of health care theories to develop methods, products and tools to maintain or improve homeostasis
- consumer
- 1) those organisms that obtain energy by feeding on other organisms and their remains 2) a person buying goods or sevices for personal needs or to use in the production of other goods for resale
- topographic map
- a representation of a region on a sufficient scale to show detail, selected man-made and natural features 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
- ecosystem
- a community of living organisms and their interrelated physical and chemical environment
- hazardous waste
- a solid that, because of its quantity or concentration or its physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics, 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
- enzyme
- a protein that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being changed by the reaction; an organic catalyst
- embryology
- the branch of biology dealing with the development of living things from fertilized egg to its developed state
- theory of evolution
- a theory that the various types of animals and plants have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modification in successive generation
- radioactive isotope
- an atom that gives off nuclear radiation and has the same number of protons (atomic number) as another atom but a different number of neutrons
- ergonomical
- of or relating to the design of equipment or devices to fit the human body's control, position, movement, and environment
- incinerating
- burning to ashes; reducing to ashes
- geological hazard
- a naturally occurring or man-made condition or phenomenon that presents a risk or is a potential danger to life and property (e.g.,landslides,floods, earthquakes, ground subsidence, coastal and beach erosion, faulting, dam leakage and failure, mining disasters, pollution, and waste disposal, sinkholes)
- nonrenewable resources
- substances (e.g.,oil,gas,coal,copper,gold) that, once used, cannnot be replaced in this geological age
- commodities
- economic goods or products before they are processed and/or given a brand name, such as a product of agriculture
- lotic
- relating to or living in actively moving water
- wetlands
- lands where water saturation is the dominant factor determining the nature of the soil development and the plant and animal communities (e.g.,sloughs,estuaries, marshes)
- open loop system
- a group of related objects that do not have feedback and cannot modify themselves
- engineering
- the application of scientific, physical, mechanical and mathematical principals to design processes, products, and structures that improve the quality of life
- scale
- relates concepts and ideas to one another by some measurement (e.g.,quantitative, numeral,abstract,ideological);provides a measure of size and /or incremental change
- system
- a group of related objects that work together to achieve a desired result
- technological design process
- recognizing the problem, proposing a solution, evaluating the solution and communicating the problem, design, and solution
- instructional technology
- any mechanical aid (including computer technology) used to assist in or enhance the process of teaching and learning
- carbon chemistry
- the science of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of carbon based matter, especially of atomic and molecular systems; sometimes referred to as organic chemistry
- hydrology
- the scientific study of the properties, distribution and effects of water on the earth's surface, in the soil and underlying rocks and in the atmosphere
- groundwater
- water that infiltrates the soil and is locatead in underground reservoirs call aquifers
- alllele
- any of a set of possible forms of a gene
- information technology
- the technical means that humans create to store and transmit information
- geological map
- a representation of a region on which is recorded earth information (e.g.,the distribution, nature, and age relationships of rock units and the occurrences of structural features, mineral deposits and fossil localities
- waste stream
- the flow of (waste) materials from generation, collection and seperation to disposal
- succession
- the series of changes that occur in an ecosystem with the passing of time
- biomes
- a community of living organisms of a single major ecological region
- dichotomous
- divided or dividing into two parts or classifications
- biomass conversion
- the changing of organic matter that has been produced by photosynthesis into uselful liquid, gas, or fuel
- subsystem
- a group of related objects that make up a larger system (e.g.,automobiles have electrical systems, fuel systems)
- acid deposition
- precipitatation with a pH less than 5.6 that forms in the atmosphere when certain pollutants mix with water vapor
- niche (ecological)
- the role palyed by anorganism in an ecosystem; its food preferences, requirements for shelter, special behaviors and the timing of its activities (e.g.,nocturnal,diurnal) interaction with other organisms and its habitat
- science
- search for understanding the natural world using inquiry and experimentation
- 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 implementing actions to reduce risk to human health and to ecosystems
- transportation systems
- a group of related parts that function together to perform a major task in any form of transportation
- integrated pest management
- a variety of pest control methods that include repairs, traps, bait, poison, etc. to eliminate pests
- watershed
- the land of area from which surface runoff drains into a stream, channel, lake, reservoir, or other body of water; also called a drainage basin
- technology education
- the application of tools,materials, processes, and system to solve problems and extend human capabilities
- pest
- a label applied to an organism when it is in competition with humans for some resource
- evolution
- a process of change that explains why what we see today is different from what existed in the past; it includes changes in the galaxies, stars, solar system, earth and life on earth. Biological evolution is a change in hereditary characteristics of groups of arganisms over the course of generations
- law
- summarizing statement of observed experimental facts that has been tested many times and is generally accepted as true
- desalinization
- to remove salts and other chemicals from sea or saline salt water
- mitosis
- the sequential differentiation and segregation of replicated chromosomes in a cell's nucleus that precedes complete cell division
- renewable
- a naturally occurring raw material or form of energy that will be replenished through natural ecological cycles or sound management practices (e.g.,the sun,wind,water,trees)
- shredder
- through chewing and/or grinding, microorganisms feed on non-woody coarse particulate matter,primarily leaves
- homeostasis
- the tendency for a system to remain in a state of equilibrium by resisting change
- physical technology
- the ways that humans construct, manufacture and transport products
- hypothesis
- an assertion subject to verification or proof as a premise from which a conclusion is drawn
- delineate
- to trace the outline; to draw, to sketch, to depict or picture
- fact
- information that has been objectively verified
- biochemical conversion
- the changing of organic matter into other chemical forms
- point source pollution
- pollutants discharged from a single identifiable location (e.g., pipes,ditches,channels,sewers,tunnels,containers of various types)
- biological diversity
- the variety and complexity of species present and interacting in an ecosystem and the relative abundance of each
- sustainability
- the ability to keep in existence or maintain. a sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained
- stream order
- energy and nutrient flow that increases as water moves toward the ocean (e.g.,the smallest stream (primary) that ends when rivers flow into oceans)
- nova
- a variable star that suddenly increases in brightness to several times its normal magnitude and returns to its original appearance in a few weeks to several months or years
- mitigation
- the policy of constructing or creating man-made habitats, such as wetlands, to replace those lost to development
- closing the loop
- a link in the circular chain of recycling events that promotes the use of products made with recycled materials
- nonpoint source pollution
- contamination that originates from many locations that all discharge into a location (e.g.,a lake,stream,land area)
- transportation technology
- the physical ways humans move materials, goods and people
- tool
- any device used to extend human capability including computer-based tools
- manufacturing technology
- the ways that humans produce goods and products
- patterns
- repeated processes that are exhibited in a wide variety of ways; identifiable recurrences of the element and/or the form
- model
- a description, analogy or a representation of something that helps us understand it better (e.g.,a physical model, a conceptual model, a mathematical model)
- abiotic
- a nonliving factor or element (light,water,heat,rock,energy,mineral)
- theory
- systematically organized knowledge applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances;especially, a system of assumptions, accepted principles and rules of procedure devised to analyze, predict or otherwise explain the nature or behavior of a specified set of phenomena
- enviroment
- the total of the surroundings (air,water,soil,vegetation, people,wildlife) 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
- electronic communication
- system for the transmission of information using electronic technology (digital cameras, cellular phones, Internet, television, fiber optics