1. Science: the study of all things based on evidence through observation and experiments, often using the scientific method (question, hypothesize, experiment, collect data, conclude, share)
2. Theory: an idea that has been tested by many, many scientists and is now accepted to be understood (but can CHANGE if new evidence is found).
3. Hypothesis: An idea you can test.
4. Inference: a conclusion made based on observations
5. Observations: information gathered by using five senses
6. Model: a small version of a big thing or a large version of a very small thing that allows further study, understanding, and sometimes testing hypotheses.
7. Prediction: what you think will happen
8. Variable: something that you can change in an experiment (or something you KEEP THE SAME, if it's the "control" variable)
9. Qualitative: an observation of the qualities of something, using adjectives to describe something
10. Quantitative: an observation of the quantities of something, using numbers to describe something
11. Mass: how much stuff (matter, or molecules, or atoms) are in an object; base unit is the gram; measured with a triple beam balance
12. Length: how tall/long/wide something is; base unit is the meter; measured with a ruler/meter stick
13. Temperature: a measure of the amount of heat energy in an object/system; base unit is degrees Celsius; measured with a thermometer
14. Volume: how much space an object takes up; base unit is the liter; measured with a graduated cylinder
15. Density: the amount of mass of an object divided by its volume (d=m/v)
16. Light year: the distance light travels in a year (9.461 x 10¹² kilometers, which looks like this: 9,461,000,000,000km )
17. Electromagnetic spectrum: energy that travels through space in waves (This includes radio, micro, infrared, visible light –ROYGBIV-, ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma)
18. galaxy: a group of stars, star systems, star clusters, dust and gas in space
19. supercluster: a group of galaxies in space
20. universe: the entirety of space as we know it, and everything in it
21. milky way: our (spiral) galaxy, of which we occupy a VERY small bit of space on an outer arm
22. cosmic background radiation: the evidence of the Big Bang that is heat from the expansion.
23. red shift: the evidence of the Big Bang that is the color of light when objects are moving away from each other (red=moving away, blue=moving toward)
24. Big Bang: the theory that explains the formation of the universe: (singularity, explosion/expansion, matter forms, galaxies form, expansion continues)
25. singularity: the few millimeter wide beginning of the universe (from which everything expanded).
26. Geocentric: the theory of the solar system that places the earth in the center, with all other objects orbiting it.
27. Heliocentric: the theory of the solar system that places the sun in the center, with all other objects orbiting it.
28. Inertia: the tendency for an object to continue to do what it’s been doing
29. Gravity: the pulling force that draws anything that has mass to other masses. Gravity is related to distance and amount of mass. a. higher mass=more gravity b. lower mass=less gravity c. further away=less gravity d. closer=more gravity.
30. Orbit: moving around another object in space
31. Ellipse: the shape of the orbits of planets, the asteroid belt, and comets/space trash in our solar system.
32. Telescope: a group of lenses that allow scientists (and YOU) to observe distant objects
33. Astronomical Unit: the distance from the sun to the earth.
34. rotate: to spin about an axis
35. revolve: to move around another thing (orbit!)
36. gaseous: made of gas, as in the four outer planets (beyond the asteroid belt). They are also colder, and bigger, and less dense than the rocky planets.
37. terrestrial: made of rock, as in the four inner planets (inside the asteroid belt). They are also warmer, smaller and more dense than the gassy planets.
38. asteroid: a large rocky/metal object in space
39. meteor: a small rocky/metal object moving through the atmosphere (meteor SHOWER!)
40. meteoroid: a small rocky/metal object in space
41. meteorite: a small rocky/metal object that has landed on the surface of the planet
42. comet: an icy/dirty snowball that makes a highly elliptical orbit around the sun and has a nucleus and coma in the head, with an ion and dust tail that follow it as it goes around the sun.
43. moon phases: the appearance of changing shape that occurs as the moon orbits the earth due to the amount of the lit side visible from earth.
44. waxing: getting larger (in terms of the moon, remember light on the right is RETURNING;)
45. waning: getting smaller (in terms of the moon, remember: light on the left is LEAVING;)
46. solar eclipse: a blocking of the light from the sun by the moon (this does NOT happen every month), during the NEW
moon.
47. lunar eclipse: a blocking of the light that illuminates the moon by the earth (this does NOT happen every month), during
the FULL moon.
48. gibbous: more than half lit, but less than full (in terms of the moon, right before and right after the full moon phase).
49. crescent: less than half lit, but more than new moon (the shape of a sickle, or a banana).
50. aquifer: an underground layer of rock that holds water
51. groundwater: water filling the spaces between rocks underground
52. permeable: material that allows water (or other substance) to pass through it
53. impermeable: material that does not allow water (or other substance) to pass through it
54. salinity: the measure of or amount of salt in something
55. brackish: a mix of fresh and salt water
56. watershed: an area where all rain/surface water drains to the same river
57. evaporation: the process by which water molecules in liquid water escape into the air as water vapor.
58. transpiration: the evaporation of water from trees and plants.
59. condensation: the process by which molecules of water vapor in the air become liquid water.
60. precipitation: any form of water that falls from clouds (rain, snow, sleet, or hail) and reaches Earth’s surface.
61. infiltration: the downward movement of water into soil
62. runoff: water that flows over the ground surface rather than soaking into the ground.
63. freshwater: water that has almost no salt in it
64. atmosphere: the envelope of gases that surrounds the Earth
65. air pressure: the pressure caused by the weight of a column of air pushing down on an area
66. altitude: elevation above sea level
67. troposphere: the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, where weather occurs
68. stratosphere: the second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, where the ozone layer is found
69. mesosphere: the layer the Earth's atmosphere directly above the stratosphere, where meteors burn up
70. thermosphere: the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere
71. ionosphere: the lower part of the thermosphere, where auroras occur
72. exosphere: the outer layer of the thermosphere, that gradually fades into space
73. thermal energy: the total energy of motion in the particles of a substance
74. temperature: a measure of how hot or cold an object is compared to a reference point
75. heat: the transfer of thermal energy from one object to another because of a difference in temperature
76. conduction: the direct transfer of thermal energy from one substance to another that it is touching
77. convection: the transfer of thermal energy by the movement of a fluid
78. radiation: the direct transfer of energy through space by electromagnetic waves
79. heat capacity: the heat required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius
80. fluid: any material that has the ability to flow
81. Coriolis effect: the effect of Earth's rotation on the direction of winds and currents
82. wind: the horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of lower pressure
83. local winds: winds that blow over short distances
84: global winds: winds that blow steadily from specific directions over long distances
85. jet streams: bands of high-speed winds about 10 kilometers above Earth's surface
86. barometer: an instrument used to measure changes in air pressure
87: anemometer: an instrument used to measure wind speed
88. land breeze: the flow of air from land to a body of water
89. sea breeze: the flow of cooler air from over an ocean or lake toward land
90. humidity: the amount of water vapor in a given volume of air
91. hygrometer: the tool used to measure humidity
92. relative humidity: the percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount of water vapor that air can contain at a particular temperature.
93. air mass: a body of air that has a uniform temperature, pressure, and humidity
94. storm surge: the rise in sea level caused by wind and pressure associated with a hurricane
95. eyewall: the area immediately outside the eye of a hurricane or cyclone, associated with tall clouds, heavy rainfall, and high winds
96. front: the boundary between two air masses of different densities
97. thunderstorm: a cloud or cluster of clouds that produces thunder, lightning, heavy rain, and sometimes hail and/or a tornado
97. tornado: a violently spinning vortex of air that extends downward from the bottom of the a thunderstorm to the ground; the Enhanced Fujita scale is used to categorize them- an EF0 begins at 65 mph.
98. hurricane: a weather phenomenon in which an ocean-based storm has winds above 119 kph (74 mph) directed around an area of low pressure; ranked using the Saffir-Simpson scale
99. earthquake: when the ground shakes or trembles suddenly. These events occur naturally when rocks break beneath earth's surface, when rocks move against each other in a fracture zone (fault), when molten rock suddenly rises in the crust or even when a landslide occurs.
100. Lithosphere: the solid and rigid outer layer of Earth. It included the crust and the very upper part of the mantle.
101. Lava: molten rock that has erupted onto the earth's surface
102. Magma: molten rock stored beneath earth’s surface
103. igneous rock: rocks that form when molten rock cools and hardens
104. tectonic plates: sections of the lithosphere that move very slowly and cause geologic phenomenon (earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami, etc.)
105. convergent boundary: where two plates move toward each other.
106. subduction: the boundary where one plate goes under another (because it's more dense, and that's from being older, typically)
107. divergent boundary: where two plates move away from each other
108: transform boundary: boundary or fault where two plates slide or move in opposite directions alongside or past each other.
109. Ring of Fire: pattern around the Pacific ocean of mostly convergent plate boundaries where volcanoes and earthquakes are abundant
110. mid-ocean ridge: a high ridge in ocean basins where two plates move away from each other or separate as molten rock rises between them.
111. Earth's heat: a result of TWO phenomenon, the original heat from formation, and radioactivity from materials inside the Earth. Know this: Earth has been cooling down from the outside-in, just like a loaf of bread out of the oven.
112. hot spot: where heat is concentrated in a relatively small area beneath a plate causing melting and volcanism
113. seamount: a volcanic peak that is below sea level
114: seafloor spreading: molten rock rises from below mid-ocean ridges, cools, and solidifies (crystallizes) into new seafloor rock. This new rock splits into two portions that move as the plates move away from each other.
115. trenches: deep linear areas of the ocean where a plate made of relatively old rock sinks into the asthenosphere
116. supercontinent: a single continental landmass made of all or most of the continental lithosphere at the time
117. Pangaea: a supercontinent that incorporated almost all the landmasses on Earth; it existed about 250 mya
118. sedimentary rock: rock formed from weathered and eroded rock being compacted and cemented
119. metamorphic rock: rock formed from intense heat and/or pressure
120. sediment: particles of rock that can be compacted and cemented into sedimentary rock
121.deposition: the dropping off of sediment (a river delta is an example of a place where deposition happens)
122. compaction: the slow process of pressure and gravity working to tightly pack sediments together
123. cementation: the process where the sediments get stuck to each other; this is a chemical process-new minerals form to make this happen
124. mass extinction: an event during which most of the species on the planet cease to exist (die)
125. fossil: the remains of a living organism trapped and preserved in sedimentary rock
126. K-T boundary: a layer of clay with a large amount of iridium that dates back to 66 million years ago on Earth (K-T stands for Cretaceous-Tertiary, and is now recognized as being the Cretaceous-Paleogene, or K-Pg)
127. index fossil: remains of a living thing that existed for a short period of time, which makes relative dating of the rock it's in easy.
128. Law of Superposition: older rock is lower than younger rock (care to be sure plate tectonics has not tipped the rock is key)
129. characteristics of a mineral (how to ID): hardness, luster, streak, cleavage/fracture, crystal structure, color and others (magnetism, luminescence, etc...)
130. mineral: inorganic, naturally occuring solid with a definite chemical composition and a crystal structure
131. inorganic: abiotic, or not from life (never alive)
132. organic: from something that was/is alive, biotic
133. definite chemical composition: having elements or molecules that are the same throughout
2. Theory: an idea that has been tested by many, many scientists and is now accepted to be understood (but can CHANGE if new evidence is found).
3. Hypothesis: An idea you can test.
4. Inference: a conclusion made based on observations
5. Observations: information gathered by using five senses
6. Model: a small version of a big thing or a large version of a very small thing that allows further study, understanding, and sometimes testing hypotheses.
7. Prediction: what you think will happen
8. Variable: something that you can change in an experiment (or something you KEEP THE SAME, if it's the "control" variable)
9. Qualitative: an observation of the qualities of something, using adjectives to describe something
10. Quantitative: an observation of the quantities of something, using numbers to describe something
11. Mass: how much stuff (matter, or molecules, or atoms) are in an object; base unit is the gram; measured with a triple beam balance
12. Length: how tall/long/wide something is; base unit is the meter; measured with a ruler/meter stick
13. Temperature: a measure of the amount of heat energy in an object/system; base unit is degrees Celsius; measured with a thermometer
14. Volume: how much space an object takes up; base unit is the liter; measured with a graduated cylinder
15. Density: the amount of mass of an object divided by its volume (d=m/v)
16. Light year: the distance light travels in a year (9.461 x 10¹² kilometers, which looks like this: 9,461,000,000,000km )
17. Electromagnetic spectrum: energy that travels through space in waves (This includes radio, micro, infrared, visible light –ROYGBIV-, ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma)
18. galaxy: a group of stars, star systems, star clusters, dust and gas in space
19. supercluster: a group of galaxies in space
20. universe: the entirety of space as we know it, and everything in it
21. milky way: our (spiral) galaxy, of which we occupy a VERY small bit of space on an outer arm
22. cosmic background radiation: the evidence of the Big Bang that is heat from the expansion.
23. red shift: the evidence of the Big Bang that is the color of light when objects are moving away from each other (red=moving away, blue=moving toward)
24. Big Bang: the theory that explains the formation of the universe: (singularity, explosion/expansion, matter forms, galaxies form, expansion continues)
25. singularity: the few millimeter wide beginning of the universe (from which everything expanded).
26. Geocentric: the theory of the solar system that places the earth in the center, with all other objects orbiting it.
27. Heliocentric: the theory of the solar system that places the sun in the center, with all other objects orbiting it.
28. Inertia: the tendency for an object to continue to do what it’s been doing
29. Gravity: the pulling force that draws anything that has mass to other masses. Gravity is related to distance and amount of mass. a. higher mass=more gravity b. lower mass=less gravity c. further away=less gravity d. closer=more gravity.
30. Orbit: moving around another object in space
31. Ellipse: the shape of the orbits of planets, the asteroid belt, and comets/space trash in our solar system.
32. Telescope: a group of lenses that allow scientists (and YOU) to observe distant objects
33. Astronomical Unit: the distance from the sun to the earth.
34. rotate: to spin about an axis
35. revolve: to move around another thing (orbit!)
36. gaseous: made of gas, as in the four outer planets (beyond the asteroid belt). They are also colder, and bigger, and less dense than the rocky planets.
37. terrestrial: made of rock, as in the four inner planets (inside the asteroid belt). They are also warmer, smaller and more dense than the gassy planets.
38. asteroid: a large rocky/metal object in space
39. meteor: a small rocky/metal object moving through the atmosphere (meteor SHOWER!)
40. meteoroid: a small rocky/metal object in space
41. meteorite: a small rocky/metal object that has landed on the surface of the planet
42. comet: an icy/dirty snowball that makes a highly elliptical orbit around the sun and has a nucleus and coma in the head, with an ion and dust tail that follow it as it goes around the sun.
43. moon phases: the appearance of changing shape that occurs as the moon orbits the earth due to the amount of the lit side visible from earth.
44. waxing: getting larger (in terms of the moon, remember light on the right is RETURNING;)
45. waning: getting smaller (in terms of the moon, remember: light on the left is LEAVING;)
46. solar eclipse: a blocking of the light from the sun by the moon (this does NOT happen every month), during the NEW
moon.
47. lunar eclipse: a blocking of the light that illuminates the moon by the earth (this does NOT happen every month), during
the FULL moon.
48. gibbous: more than half lit, but less than full (in terms of the moon, right before and right after the full moon phase).
49. crescent: less than half lit, but more than new moon (the shape of a sickle, or a banana).
50. aquifer: an underground layer of rock that holds water
51. groundwater: water filling the spaces between rocks underground
52. permeable: material that allows water (or other substance) to pass through it
53. impermeable: material that does not allow water (or other substance) to pass through it
54. salinity: the measure of or amount of salt in something
55. brackish: a mix of fresh and salt water
56. watershed: an area where all rain/surface water drains to the same river
57. evaporation: the process by which water molecules in liquid water escape into the air as water vapor.
58. transpiration: the evaporation of water from trees and plants.
59. condensation: the process by which molecules of water vapor in the air become liquid water.
60. precipitation: any form of water that falls from clouds (rain, snow, sleet, or hail) and reaches Earth’s surface.
61. infiltration: the downward movement of water into soil
62. runoff: water that flows over the ground surface rather than soaking into the ground.
63. freshwater: water that has almost no salt in it
64. atmosphere: the envelope of gases that surrounds the Earth
65. air pressure: the pressure caused by the weight of a column of air pushing down on an area
66. altitude: elevation above sea level
67. troposphere: the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, where weather occurs
68. stratosphere: the second-lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, where the ozone layer is found
69. mesosphere: the layer the Earth's atmosphere directly above the stratosphere, where meteors burn up
70. thermosphere: the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere
71. ionosphere: the lower part of the thermosphere, where auroras occur
72. exosphere: the outer layer of the thermosphere, that gradually fades into space
73. thermal energy: the total energy of motion in the particles of a substance
74. temperature: a measure of how hot or cold an object is compared to a reference point
75. heat: the transfer of thermal energy from one object to another because of a difference in temperature
76. conduction: the direct transfer of thermal energy from one substance to another that it is touching
77. convection: the transfer of thermal energy by the movement of a fluid
78. radiation: the direct transfer of energy through space by electromagnetic waves
79. heat capacity: the heat required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius
80. fluid: any material that has the ability to flow
81. Coriolis effect: the effect of Earth's rotation on the direction of winds and currents
82. wind: the horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of lower pressure
83. local winds: winds that blow over short distances
84: global winds: winds that blow steadily from specific directions over long distances
85. jet streams: bands of high-speed winds about 10 kilometers above Earth's surface
86. barometer: an instrument used to measure changes in air pressure
87: anemometer: an instrument used to measure wind speed
88. land breeze: the flow of air from land to a body of water
89. sea breeze: the flow of cooler air from over an ocean or lake toward land
90. humidity: the amount of water vapor in a given volume of air
91. hygrometer: the tool used to measure humidity
92. relative humidity: the percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount of water vapor that air can contain at a particular temperature.
93. air mass: a body of air that has a uniform temperature, pressure, and humidity
94. storm surge: the rise in sea level caused by wind and pressure associated with a hurricane
95. eyewall: the area immediately outside the eye of a hurricane or cyclone, associated with tall clouds, heavy rainfall, and high winds
96. front: the boundary between two air masses of different densities
97. thunderstorm: a cloud or cluster of clouds that produces thunder, lightning, heavy rain, and sometimes hail and/or a tornado
97. tornado: a violently spinning vortex of air that extends downward from the bottom of the a thunderstorm to the ground; the Enhanced Fujita scale is used to categorize them- an EF0 begins at 65 mph.
98. hurricane: a weather phenomenon in which an ocean-based storm has winds above 119 kph (74 mph) directed around an area of low pressure; ranked using the Saffir-Simpson scale
99. earthquake: when the ground shakes or trembles suddenly. These events occur naturally when rocks break beneath earth's surface, when rocks move against each other in a fracture zone (fault), when molten rock suddenly rises in the crust or even when a landslide occurs.
100. Lithosphere: the solid and rigid outer layer of Earth. It included the crust and the very upper part of the mantle.
101. Lava: molten rock that has erupted onto the earth's surface
102. Magma: molten rock stored beneath earth’s surface
103. igneous rock: rocks that form when molten rock cools and hardens
104. tectonic plates: sections of the lithosphere that move very slowly and cause geologic phenomenon (earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami, etc.)
105. convergent boundary: where two plates move toward each other.
106. subduction: the boundary where one plate goes under another (because it's more dense, and that's from being older, typically)
107. divergent boundary: where two plates move away from each other
108: transform boundary: boundary or fault where two plates slide or move in opposite directions alongside or past each other.
109. Ring of Fire: pattern around the Pacific ocean of mostly convergent plate boundaries where volcanoes and earthquakes are abundant
110. mid-ocean ridge: a high ridge in ocean basins where two plates move away from each other or separate as molten rock rises between them.
111. Earth's heat: a result of TWO phenomenon, the original heat from formation, and radioactivity from materials inside the Earth. Know this: Earth has been cooling down from the outside-in, just like a loaf of bread out of the oven.
112. hot spot: where heat is concentrated in a relatively small area beneath a plate causing melting and volcanism
113. seamount: a volcanic peak that is below sea level
114: seafloor spreading: molten rock rises from below mid-ocean ridges, cools, and solidifies (crystallizes) into new seafloor rock. This new rock splits into two portions that move as the plates move away from each other.
115. trenches: deep linear areas of the ocean where a plate made of relatively old rock sinks into the asthenosphere
116. supercontinent: a single continental landmass made of all or most of the continental lithosphere at the time
117. Pangaea: a supercontinent that incorporated almost all the landmasses on Earth; it existed about 250 mya
118. sedimentary rock: rock formed from weathered and eroded rock being compacted and cemented
119. metamorphic rock: rock formed from intense heat and/or pressure
120. sediment: particles of rock that can be compacted and cemented into sedimentary rock
121.deposition: the dropping off of sediment (a river delta is an example of a place where deposition happens)
122. compaction: the slow process of pressure and gravity working to tightly pack sediments together
123. cementation: the process where the sediments get stuck to each other; this is a chemical process-new minerals form to make this happen
124. mass extinction: an event during which most of the species on the planet cease to exist (die)
125. fossil: the remains of a living organism trapped and preserved in sedimentary rock
126. K-T boundary: a layer of clay with a large amount of iridium that dates back to 66 million years ago on Earth (K-T stands for Cretaceous-Tertiary, and is now recognized as being the Cretaceous-Paleogene, or K-Pg)
127. index fossil: remains of a living thing that existed for a short period of time, which makes relative dating of the rock it's in easy.
128. Law of Superposition: older rock is lower than younger rock (care to be sure plate tectonics has not tipped the rock is key)
129. characteristics of a mineral (how to ID): hardness, luster, streak, cleavage/fracture, crystal structure, color and others (magnetism, luminescence, etc...)
130. mineral: inorganic, naturally occuring solid with a definite chemical composition and a crystal structure
131. inorganic: abiotic, or not from life (never alive)
132. organic: from something that was/is alive, biotic
133. definite chemical composition: having elements or molecules that are the same throughout