Weather Vocabulary Review

weather	state of the atmosphere at a given time and place with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, and pressure; daily or hourly conditions
meteorologist	scientist who studies weather
Sun	the driving force of weather
temperature	degrees warm or cold; influenced by cloud cover
wind speed	changes as air pressure changes
wind direction	reported by the direction from which wind originates; prevailing westerly winds blow from the west to the east
precipitation	form of water that falls from the cloud to the Earth
barometric (air) pressure	weight of the air above the surface of the Earth, applies pressure on objects
cloud cover	fraction of the sky covered by clouds; cloudy, partly cloudy, partly Sunny
thermometer	instrument used to measure temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius)
anemometer	instrument used to measure wind speed (in miles per hour or mph)
wind vane	instrument used to measure wind direction
rain gauge	instrument used to measure amount of rain over a specific period of time
barometer	instrument used to measure air pressure

Ecosystem Vocabulary–Part 3

Concept/Vocabulary Word	Definition
aquatic	Having to do with water.
decomposer	An organism that gets its energy from breaking down decaying organic material. The role of decomposers is the recycling of nutrients throughout the ecosystem.

photosynthesis	The process by which plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to create sugar for themselves for food, as well as oxyge.
producer	Any organism that makes its own food from the sun’s light using photosynthesis.
radiation	A way that heat energy can travel. Radiation occurs when heat energy leaves its source and travels through water or air to reach its destination.

consumer	An organism that gets energy from eating other organisms.
decomposer	An organism that gets energy from breaking down decaying organic material. Decomposers are responsible for recycling nutrients in an ecosystem.
food chain	The way energy flows in a straight line as it passes from one organism to another.
niche	The specific role an organism plays within its ecosystem.
symbiosis	A close, prolonged relationship between two organisms of different species that may, but does not necessarily, benefit the organisms.

Essential Terminology: Motion & Design

1. acceleration: rate of increase of speed or velocity (example: accelerator pedal on a car)
2. air resistance (drag): force of air pushing against the motion of an object
3. balanced force: an object remains in place, no movement occurs
4. control: part of an experiment that does not change, serves as the standard to compare other observations
5. direction: the way the force is applied determines this way an object moves
6. energy: ability to do work
7. energy, kinetic: energy of motion (moving ball going down a ramp)
8. energy, potential: stored energy (ball positioned at the top of the ramp)
9. fair test: changing only one variable and keeping the other conditions the same
10. force: any push or pull on an object
11. friction: force that resists motion between two touching surfaces, slows things down and can also produce heat, acts in the opposite direction of the force
12. gravity, gravitational force: force that brings objects toward earth
13. inertia: the tendency of an object to resist a change in motion or keep doing what it is doing
14. Note: the greater the mass of an object, the greater the inertia
15. mass: how much matter an object contains
16. momentum: force or speed of movement; mass in motion, example: a moving train has much more than a moving soccer ball

• Note: momentum = mass of an object x velocity
• (increasing the mass or speed increases the momentum)

17. motion: an object changing position over time; change in position is measured by distance and time
18. Newton’s 1st law of motion: *An object tends to stay at rest and an object tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

• Objects tend to keep doing what they are doing.
• If the forces acting upon an object are balanced, the acceleration of that object will be zero (no motion).
• *also known as the “law of inertia”

19. Newton’s 2nd law of motion: * Acceleration is always in the direction of the unbalanced force.

• *If you want something to accelerate faster, you need to decrease its mass.
• Acceleration of an object depends upon two variables—the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object.
• Force = mass x acceleration or F = ma

20. Newton’s 3rd law of motion: *Explains why forces act in pairs.

• For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
• When one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts the same amount of force back on the first object (but in the opposite direction).
• Equal forces acting in opposite directions create a net force of zero.
• Action and reaction forces are equal forces acting in opposite directions. The reason they can’t cancel each other out is because they are acting on different objects.

21. propeller: two or more twisted blades that rotate around a central point or shaft (shaft: pipe or tube)
22. recursive: consequential steps
23. resistance: force pushing against the motion of an object
24. speed (rate): distance divided by time (or d/t), example: 25 mph
25. unbalanced force: motion occurs; the movement goes in the direction of the greater force (example: winning a tug-of-war game)
26. validity: conducting a fair test
27. variable: something in an experiment that can be changed
28. velocity: speed with direction (ex.: 45 mph NW)
29. weight: force of gravity pulling down on an object
30. work: moving an object over a distance

Motion & Design Vocabulary

FORCE: Any push or pull on an object MOTION: An object changing position over time; change in position is measured by distance and time Rate/Speed: distance divided by time (or d/t), example: 25 mph Distance: How far an object travels

 

Science Vocabulary–Human Body Part 1

Concept/Vocabulary Word	Definition
characteristics	quality of an organism
DNA	material in life forms that transfers genetic characteristics
inherited	characteristics from parents
likeness	similarity
organism	individual living system
traits	distinguishing characteristics