Fourth Grade Core Physical Science Vocabulary
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Circuit
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Conductor
3
Current
4
Electromagnet
5
Generator
6
Insulator
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Magnetic field
A route around which an electrical current can flow; Series Circuit = electricity
follows only one path; Parallel Circuit = electricity flows in more than one path
(Textbook pp.299-303).
Series
Parallel
A material allowing heat, light, sound or electrical charges to flow through easily.
(Textbook pp.292).
The flow of electrical charges through a cable, wire or other conductor.
(Textbook pp. 298).
A temporary magnet formed when electric current flows through a coil of wire
wrapped around an iron rod. (Textbook pp. 342-343).
A machine or device that is used to convert mechanical energy produced by the
combustion of fuel into electrical energy. (Textbook pp. 354-355).
A material that prevents or reduces the flow of energy, such as heat, electricity, or
sound. (Textbook pp. 292).
The region of space surrounding a magnetized body (such as the
Earth) or current-carrying circuit in which the magnetic force can
be detected. (Textbook pp. 334-335).
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Motor
Earth’s Magnetic Field
A machine or device that converts electrical energy from electromagnets into
motion and can be used as a power source. (Textbook pp. 352-353).
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Static
electricity
A stationary electrical charge that builds up on an insulated object, which may
jump from one surface to another. (Textbook pp. 286-289).
Fourth Grade Core Life Science Vocabulary
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Adaptation
A special trait, like a body feature or way of acting, that helps a living thing
survive in its environment. (Ch. 2 Lesson 4)
A bird’s beak is an adaptation that determines what it is able to eat.
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Consumer
12
Decomposer
13
Endangered
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Energy
Pyramid
An organism (living thing) that feeds on other organisms in an ecological
community or food chain. (Ch. 1 Lesson 2)
Consumers cannot make their own food; they must eat other animals.
An organism (living thing) such as bacteria or fungi that breaks down dead plants
and animals into simple compounds that can be used as nutrients.
(Ch. 1 Lesson 2)
Decomposers return an organism’s nutrients to the soil.
A population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either
few in numbers, or threatened by a changing environment. (Ch. 2 Lesson 3)
When very few of a kind of animal exist, it becomes an endangered species.
All energy on the Earth is derived from the sun. An energy pyramid is a diagram
that shows the amount of energy at each level of the food web in an ecosystem.
Most energy is found at the bottom of every energy pyramid (producers), and
gradually decreases as it passes on to each level in the food web. The least
amount of energy is found at the top of the pyramid (consumer/largest predator).
(Ch.1 Lesson 3)
Humans are usually at the top of an energy pyramid; producers (plants) are
at the bottom.
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Environment
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Food Chain
All the living and non-living things that surround an organism in its habitat.
(Ch.1 Lesson 1)
Plants need an environment in which they can get sunlight, water, carbon
dioxide, and other nutrients.
The path of energy contained in food going from one organism to another; a
sequence of living things that each feed on the one below.(Ch.1 Lesson 2)
A food chain shows how energy goes from the Sun to a plant to an insect to a
bird.
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Food Web
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Omnivore
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Organism
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Pollination
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Producer
The interlocking food chains within an environmental community.
(Ch. 1 Lesson 3)
A food web shows that animals can be part of more than just one food chain.
An animal that eats both plants and other animals. (Ch. 1 Lesson 2)
Herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat meat, and omnivores eat both plants
and meat.
A whole living thing such as a plant, and animal, or bacterium. (Ch. 1 Lesson 1)
All plants and animals are organisms.
The transfer of pollen from the stamen to the pistils of flowers. (Ch. 2 Lesson 2)
After pollination a seed develops that lets the plant reproduce.
Any living thing that makes or produces its own food. i.e. plants, grass, trees,
algae, etc. (Ch. 1 Lesson 2)
Green plants are producers that make their own food through photosynthesis
from water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight.
Fourth Grade Core Earth Science Vocabulary
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Crystal
The solid chemical structure of a mineral. The geometric shape a mineral forms
when its atoms and molecules are in fixed patterns. A crystal’s pattern is a
repeating shape. (Ch. 3 Lesson 1, p. 141)
Some crystal shapes can be like cubes or hexagons.
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Deposition
The process of dropping, or depositing sediment in a new location.
(Ch. 4 lesson 2, p. 205)
Deposition may leave sand and soil miles away from its original location.
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Erosion
The gradual wearing away of rock or soil by physical breakdown by wind, ice and
moving water which transport rocky materials from one place to another.
(Ch 4 Lesson 2, p.204)
Erosion can be caused by rainfall, waves and wind.
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27
28
29
30
31
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Igneous
Rock
Describes rock that forms when volcanic magma cools and hardens below or on
the Earth’s surface. Igneous rock means “fire-made” or rock made from lava.
(Ch. 3 Lesson 2, p. 152)
Igneous rock, such as granite, can be found near a volcano.
Metamorphic
Describes a rock that is changed by pressure, heat and partial melting usually
Rock
beneath the Earth’s surface. Word Origin: metamorphic means “change of form”
(Ch.3 Lesson 1, p.172)
Under pressure, limestone becomes the metamorphic rock marble.
Mineral
A naturally occurring, inorganic (non-living) solid material found naturally in
rocks and the soil that is the same composition all the way through or has a
definite chemical composition and crystal structure.
Some minerals such as quartz are the building blocks of rocks.
Mohs’
A table that classifies minerals in serial order according to their relative hardness.
Hardness Scale (Ch.3 Lesson 1, p. 144)
On the Mohs’ hardness scale, talc has a value of 1; diamond has a value of 10.
Properties of
Identifiers of minerals include:
minerals
Luster-the ability to reflect light such as glassy, metallic, shiny, dull, waxy
Streak-the colored mark made by that a mineral when scraped on a tile
Hardness-how well a mineral resists scratching
Transparency and color
Sediment
Eroded bits of rocks which are transported by wind and water, or ice which
eventually get deposited elsewhere. (Ch3 Lesson 3, p.162)
Some sediments are tiny particles of rocks and minerals or bits of bone and
shells.
Sedimentary
Describes rock that forms when eroded sediments are pressed together to form
Rock
layers. (Ch.3 Lesson 1, p. 162)
Limestone is an example of sedimentary rock.
Weathering
The natural process of erosion by wind, water, plant roots and freezing which
breaks down rocks into smaller pieces of sediment. (Ch. 4 Lesson 1, p. 195)
Weathering can be caused by a plant’s roots that force their way through small
cracks in a rock.
Electricity Illustrations & Diagrams:
Magnetic Fields
http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Earths_Magnetic_Field_Confusion.sv
g/310px-Earths_Magnetic_Field_Confusion.svg.png
http://www.ssec.honeywell.com/magnetic/magpics/earth.gif
Motors
http://www.hilaroad.com/camp/projects/magnet.html
http://www.enasco.com/science/?&q=motor
Circuits
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/science/images/sci_dia_53.gif
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/science/images/sci_dia_55.gif
Electromagnet
http://student.dcu.ie/~heeryf2/images/electromagnet2.gif