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Science- the knowledge gained by observing the
natural world
Cartographer- makes maps of the surface of the earth
Engineer- puts scientific knowledge to practical use
Zoologist- studies animals
Science Educator- a person who teaches others about
science
Environmental Scientist- a person who studies how
humans interact with their environment
Scientific Methods-ways in which scientists answer
questions and solve problems
Observation-the act of using the senses to gather
information
Hypothesis- a possible explanation or answer to a
question (educated guess)
Data-any pieces of information gathered through
experimentation
Controlled experiment-tests only one factor at a time
Variable-the one factor that is changed in a controlled
experiment
Tides- the daily changes in the level of ocean water
High Tides- when part of the ocean in directly facing
the moon, the water there bulges toward the moon
Tidal Range- the difference between levels of ocean
water at high and low tide
Spring tides- tides with the largest daily tidal range
and occur every 14 days (during new and full moons)
Neap Tides- tides with the smallest daily tidal range
(during the first and third quarters of the moon)
Tidal bore- a body of water that rushes up through a
narrow bay, estuary, or river channel during the rise of
high tide and cause a very sudden tidal rise
Phases of the Moon- changes in the moon’s
appearance
Phase- the change in the sunlit area of one celestial
body as seen from another celestial body
Waxing- the sunlit part of the moon appears to get
larger (growing)
Waning- the sunlit part of the moon appears to get
smaller (shrinking)
Gibbous- swollen on one side
Eclipse- the shadow of one celestial body falls on
another body
Lunar eclipse- when the Earth comes between the sun
and the moon—the shadow of the earth falls on the
moon
Solar eclipse- when the moon comes between the earth
and the sun—the shadow of the moon falls on part of
the earth
Annular Eclipse- the moon is farther from the earth.
A thin ring of the sun shows around the moon’s outer
edge
Total Solar Eclipse-the disk of the moon completely
covers the disk of the sun
Rotation-the spin of a body on its axis
Orbit- the path that a body follows as it travels around
another body in space
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Revolution- one complete trip along an orbit
Day- the time required for earth to rotate once on its
axis
Equinox- the time when the sun is directly above the
equator
Solstice- the time when the sun is farthest north or
south of the equator
Planets- the largest bodies orbiting the sun. made of
mostly rock or gas
Terrestrial planets- a planet with a dense and rocky
surface. Known as inner planets. Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars
Gas Planets- extremely cold, large, and made of gases.
Known as outer planets. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and
Neptune
Satellite- natural or artificial bodies that revolve
around a planet
Ellipse- a shape that is similar to an oval
Solar year- the time that it takes a planet to make one
full revolution around the sun
Solar day- the time that is takes a planet to make one
rotation on its axis
Comet- a small body of ice, rock, and cosmic dust
loosely packed together (dirty snowballs)
Asteroids- small, rocky bodies that revolve around the
sun
Meteoroid- smaller than asteroids-small rocky body
that orbit the sun
Meteorite- a meteoroid that enters earth’s atmosphere
and strikes the ground
Meteor- the bright streak of light that we see when a
meteoroid enters earth’s atmosphere
NASA-National Aeronautics and Space Administration
formed in 1958
Rocket- a machine that uses escaping gas from burning
fuel to move
Artificial satellite- any human made object placed in
orbit around a body in space
Remote sensing- the gathering of images and data
from a distance
Sputnik 1-first artificial satellite launched by the
soviets (Russia) in 1957. Orbited Earth for 57 days
Sputnik 2-carried the first living being into space- a
dog
Explorer 1- first satellite by USA in 1958
Space Probe- uncrewed vehicle that carried scientific
instruments to planets or other bodies in space
Space shuttle- a reusable space vehicle that takes off
like a rocket and lands like an airplane
Space station- a long term orbiting platform in space
1. Crust- the thin and solid outermost layer of the earth—
mostly rock (continental and Oceanic)
2. Mantle- the layer of rock between the earth’s crust and
core (iron and magnesium)
3. Core- the central part of the earth below the mantle
(iron and nickel)
4. Lithosphere- the crust and upper mantle (rigid/stiff)
5. Asthenosphere- soft layer of the mantle (plastic)
6. Mesosphere- solid layer of the mantle
7. Outer core- liquid, outer layer of the core. Produced
the earth’s magnetic field
8. Inner core- solid, inner layer of the core
9. Tectonic plates- pieces of the lithosphere that move
around on top of the asthenosphere
10. GPS- global positioning systems
11. Continental Drift- the hypothesis that states that the
continents once formed a single landmass, broke up
and drifted to their present locations
12. Pangaea- continents joined as one single landmass
(“all earth” or “all land”)
13. Sea-Floor Spreading- the process by which new
oceanic lithosphere forms as magma rises toward the
surface and solidifies
14. Magnetic Reversal- when earth’s magnetic poles
change places
15. Plate Boundary- a place where tectonic plates touch
16. Convergent Boundary- two tectonic plates collide
17. Divergent Boundary-two tectonic plates separate
18. Transform Boundary-two tectonic plates slide past
each other horizontally
19. Deformation- the process of when a rock changes
because of stress
20. Compression – rocks push together (squeezing)
21. Tension- rocks pull away from each other (stretching)
22. Folding- bends in rocks that are the result of heat and
pressure
23. Fault- a break in rock that is due to stress
24. Normal fault- fault when rocks are pulled apart
25. Reverse fault- fault when rocks are pushed together
26. Strike-slip fault- fault when rocks moved horizontally
27. Seismology- the study of earthquakes
28. Seismologist- a scientist who studies earthquakes
29. Seismograph- used to record vibrations in earth and
determine the strength of an earthquake
30. Seismogram- a tracing of earthquake motion
31. Earthquake- a sudden, violent shaking of the earth
caused by shifting of the earth’s crust
32. Seismic waves-a wave of energy that travels through
the earth (body waves)
33. P Waves- fastest, move back and forth
(pressure/primary waves)
34. S waves- second fastest, move from side to side
(shear/secondary waves)
35. Surface waves- move along earth’s surface slowly.
More destructive
36. Epicenter- the point on the earth’s surface directly
above an earthquakes starting point
37. Focus- the point inside the earth where an earthquake
begins
38. Richter Scale-used to measure the strength of
earthquakes
39. Rock Cycle-the continual process by which new rock
forms from old rock
40. Weathering- the process by which water, wind, ice
and heat break down rock
41. Deposition- sediment is deposited in bodies of water
and other low-lying areas
42. Magma- rock that has melted under intense heat and
pressure
43. Igneous rock- magma or lava has cooled and solidified
44. Compaction- layers of sediment are pressed and
cemented together
45. Sedimentary rock- sediments that have compacted
over time, may contain organic matter and fossils too
46. Metamorphic rock- heat and pressure changes the
rock
47. Bedrock-the layer of rock beneath soil
48. Soil texture- the soil quality that is based on the
proportions of soil particles
49. Soil Structure- the arrangement of soil particles
50. Soil conservation- a way to protect the fertility of the
soil
51. Erosion- the process by which wind, water, or gravity
transport soil and sediment from one location to
another
1. Wave- a disturbance that moves through matter or
space
2. Medium-a substance in which a wave can travel (air,
water, glass, etc)
3. Mechanical Waves-waves that need a medium
4. Electromagnetic waves- waves that do not require a
medium
5. Transverse waves- causes particles in matter to move
back and forth at right angles to the direction of the
wave
6. Crest- highest point of a transverse wave
7. Trough- lowest point of a transverse wave
8. Longitudinal wave- causes particles in matter to move
back and forth along the same direction of the wave
9. Compression- a part of a longitudinal wave where the
particles are crowded together
10. Rarefaction- a part where the particles are spread apart
11. Amplitude- the distance between the medium and the
crest or trough
12. Wavelength- the distance from any point on a wave to
an identical point on the next wave
13. Reflection- when a wave bounces back after hitting a
barrier (echo/sunlight hitting the moon)
14. Refraction- the bending of a wave as it passes from
one medium to another at an angle
15. Frequency-the number of wavelengths that pass by a
point each second
16. Speed- how fast a wave is traveling
17. Diffraction- when a wave bends around an obstacle or
a corner
18. Sound Wave- a longitudinal wave created by a
vibrating material through a medium
19. Vibration- a complete back and forth motion of an
object or material
20. Light waves- transverse waves
21. Cornea – a membrane that protects the eye
22. Pupil- the opening in the eye
23. Iris- colored part of the eye
24. Lens- refracts light to focus a real image on the back of
the eye
25. Retina- back surface of the eye where light is detected
by receptors
26. Nearsightedness – can see something clearly only if it
is nearby
27. Farsightedness- can see something clearly only if it is
faraway
28. Electromagnetic Spectrum- all of the frequencies or
wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation
29. Vocal Cords-used in humans to produce sounds
30. Pitch- how high or low a sound is
31. Loudness- how well the sound can be heard
32. Decibel- measures loudness
33. Outer Ear- collects sound waves and directs them into
the ear canal
34. Middle Ear- three bones act as levers to increase the
size of vibration
35. Inner Ear- converts vibrations into signals for the
brain to interpret
36. Doppler Effect- the change in frequency of a sound
caused by the motion of the listener or source of the
sound
37. Tinnitus-caused by long term exposure to loud sound
38. Conduction-energy is transferred by direct contact
39. Convection- energy is transferred by the mass motion
of molecules
40. Radiation- energy is transferred by electromagnetic
waves
41. Conductors-made of materials that electricity can flow
through easily (most metals)
42. Insulators- made of materials that prevent or block the
flow of electricity (glass, cloth)
43. Expansion- substances get bigger when heated up
44. Contraction-substances get smaller when they are
cooled down
1. Roots- anchor the plant in the soil, take in water from
the soil and take in nutrients from the soil
2. Leaves – take in carbon dioxide from the air and
absorb light energy from the sun
3. Photosynthesis- the process when plants use sunlight
to make their own food
4. Stems- provide support and structure for the plant and
allow water and nutrients to travel throughout the plant
5. Flowers- allow the plant to reproduce
6. Seeds- can grow into new plants once they get into the
soil
7. Fruit- forms around the seeds, or sometimes, seeds
form on the surface-protect the seeds
8. Anther- contains pollen
9. Stamen- contains the male parts of the flower (anther
and filament)
10. Pistil- contains the female parts of the flower (stigma,
style, ovary, and ovules)
11. Stigma- found at the very top of the pistil
12. Ovary- at the bottom of the pistil
13. Ovules- in the ovaries and will become seeds
14. Pollination- the process of pollen grains moving from
male anthers to females stigmas
15. Cellular Respiration- food molecules are being
broken down (occurs in all living organisms)
16. Transpiration- the evaporation of water from plants,
primarily from the leaves
17. Stomata- the special openings of the surface of plant
leaves and some other structures
18. Guard Cells- open and close the stomata to regulate
the release of water
19. Producers – organisms that use energy from the sun to
make their own food (plants, algae)
20. Consumers- organisms that get energy by eating other
organisms
21. Herbivores- eats only plants
22. Carnivores- eat only meat
23. Omnivores- eat both plants and animals
24. Decomposers- get energy by breaking down nutrients
in dead organisms
25. Food chain- shows the path of energy as it flows from
one organism to the next
26. Food Web- a diagram of several connected food
chains
27. Biotic factors- the living parts of an ecosystem
28. Abiotic factors- non-living parts of an ecosystem
29. Biome- any type of environment on Earth with a
climate and a group of organisms
30. Limiting factors- resources that limit a population’s
growth
31. Tropism- a plant’s turning or bending movement
toward or away from an external stimulus such as light,
heat or gravity
32. Phototropism- the growth or bending of a plant
toward its light source
33. Geotropism- the growth response of a plant to the
force of gravity
34. Thermotropism- the ability to respond to the
temperature of the environment
35. Hydrotropism- the growth pattern of a plant in
response to water