4th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
Magnetism
Word
Definition
Attract
To pull towards one another
Force
A push or a pull
Magnetism
Repel
Compass
Pole
Magnetic field
Attraction of certain metals
To push away from one another
An instrument that indicates direction
Opposite ends of a magnetic field
Region around a magnetic material in which the force of
magnetism acts
Battery
A source of electricity with more than one cell
Circuit
A pathway for the flow of electricity
Closed Circuit
A complete path through which electricity flows
Open circuit
An incomplete path through which electricity will not flow,
broken path
Electricity
A form of energy
Conductor
A material that allows electricity to flow/move
Insulator
Static Electricity
A material that stops the flow of electricity
A stationary electric charge made by friction
Series Circuit
A circuit with only one pathway for current to flow
Parallel circuit
A circuit that splits into two or more pathways
Electromagnet
A piece of iron that becomes a temporary magnet when
electricity flows through an insulated wire wrapped
around it
Filament
A slender wire in a lightbulb that conducts electricity
Positive charge
Having too few electrons
Negative charge
Having extra electrons
4th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
Rocks and Minerals
Word
Definition
Geology
The study of Earth’s materials
Property
A characteristic such as color, size, shape, texture
Depth
The thickness of an object from top to bottom
Rock
Earth material made up of different earth materials
Mineral
Evaporate
Luster
Opaque
An ingredient of rocks that cannot be broken down any
further
Water changes from a liquid to a gas
A physical property which describes how a mineral
reflects light
Not able to let light pass through
Translucent
Able to let some light pass through
Transparent
Clear; able to let light pass through
Igneous
Volcanic rocks formed from cooled lava
Metamorphic
Sedimentary or igneous rocks that have been changed by
pressure/heat
Sedimentary
Rocks made from compacted layers of sediment
Fossils
The preserved remains of organisms that lived long ago
Course
Lacking a delicate texture; rough or harsh
Hardness
Resistance of a mineral to scratching, as measured by the
Mohs scale
4th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
Landforms
Word
Landform
Layers of Earth
Erosion
Weathering
Canyon
Delta
Deposition
Dune
Definition
Shapes of the Earth’s surface; such as valley, mountains,
plains, and canyons
Inner core, outer core, mantle, crust
Wearing away of Earth
Earth materials are either broken down (physical
weathering) or changed into other kinds of minerals
(chemical weathering)
Valley created by a river
A fan shaped deposit at the end of a river
The process by which eroded earth materials settle in
another place
A mound, hill, or ridge of wind-blown sand
Floodplain
The land that gets covered by water from a stream or
river during a flood
Meander
A curve or loop in a river
Mountain
High, uplifted area with steep sides
Plateau
Sediment
Raised landform with flat top
Eroded earth materials
Valley
A low area between hills and mountains; often where a
river flows
Glacier
A huge mass of slow moving ice
Landslide
Quick downward movement of earth materials
Slope
The angle or slant of a stream channel or land surface
Flood
An overflow of water onto normally dry land
Magma
Molten rock under the Earth’s surface
Volcano
A hill or mountain made up of hardened lava flows
4th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
Earthquakes
Fault
A sudden an violent shaking of the ground
A crack in the Earth’s crust
Animal Adaptations
Environment
Habitat
Vertebrates
Invertebrates
Everything around a living organisms
Where an organism naturally lives
Animals that have a spinal column or backbone
Animals that don’t have a spinal column or backbone
Hibernate
Becoming inactive or dormant in winter
Amphibian
Cold-blooded animals that begin life in water with gills
and tails, and later legs and lungs to live on land
Mammal
A warm blood vertebrate
Adaptation
A physical or behavioral change
Exoskeleton
Armor like, hard outer covering with flexible joints
Arthropod
A large group of animals that have segmented bodies and
hard outer covering
Nocturnal
Animal active at night
Behavior
The way an animal responds to its environment
Instinct
Something that influences an animal’s behavior that is
not taught
Burrow
To dig into the ground
Prey
Animal being hunted
Predator
An animal that eats other animals
Scavenger
An animal that eats decaying organisms
Decomposer
Living thing that breaks down dead plants and animals
4th Grade Science Vocabulary ~ Student List
Habitat
Ecosystem
Niche
A place where an animal or plant naturally lives
All living and non-living things found together in an
environment
Specific role based on traits that allow for competing
organisms to live in an ecosystem
Food Web
A model that shows how several food chains connected
together
Food Chain
A simple path that shows how energy moves from one
organism to the next.