Hydrosphere Vocabulary
Hydrosphere Vocabulary
Hydrosphere – water on Earth (hydro=water, sphere=shape of Earth)
Adhesion –attraction of water molecules to other polar molecules (ex. water to glass)
Buoyancy – upward force that keeps things afloat
Cohesion – attraction between water molecules (ex. water droplet)
Density – amount of mass in a unit of volume, d=m/v
Molecules – group of atoms bonded together
Polarity – molecule has a charge that pulls other molecules towards it
Property – characteristic
Specific heat – amount of energy needed to raise the temp. of 1kg of a substance 1oC
Surface tension –surface water sticks together like a film (why “Jesus lizard” can walk on water)
Universal solvent – water is able to dissolve many substances
Aquifer – layer of rock or sediment with usable groundwater (ex. open space in rocks)
Condensation – water changes from a gas to a liquid (water cycle – happens in atmosphere)
Distribution – how things are spread out over an area
Evaporation – water changes from a liquid to a gas (water cycle – from ground to sky)
Glaciers – large, slow-moving mass of ice
Ground water – water in the ground
Ice caps – ice mass that covers land area (ex. mountain peak)
Lake – body of liquid surrounded by land
Ocean – major body of salt water
Precipitation – water coming from atmosphere to earth as rain, snow, or hail
River – freshwater watercourse that flows toward a larger body of water
River basin – aka drainage basin, water drains from a specific area down a river
Stream – flowing body of water, smaller than a river
Surface water – water at the Earth’s surface (on top)
Water cycle – process of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
Watershed – area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place
Well – man-made holder of water that pumps water to a house, accesses water in underground aquifers
Dissolved gases – in water: oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen
Estuary – semi-enclosed coastal body of water, sea and freshwater, filters pollutants, breeding area
Hydrothermal vents – heat escaping from inside Earth, underwater, near volcanoes, supports diverse life
Minerals – naturally occurring solid formed through geological processes (rock – more than one mineral)
Reservoir of nutrients –
Upwelling – current that brings deep, cold water to the ocean surface, mixes nutrients also
Aquatic food web – food chain in the water
Terrestrial – land animals
Toxins – poisonous substances
Pressure – force applied to an object
Turbidity – cloudiness or haziness of a liquid caused by particles (Ex. Ocean – too much salt or nutrients)
Temperature – how hot/cold something is, can be measured in Fahrenheit or Celsius
Water movement – how water moves (ex. tides, waves, upwelling)
Dissolved oxygen – amount of oxygen dissolved in ocean, greatest near ocean surface because of oxygen gas in atmosphere and photosynthesis
Nitrates – nitrogen compounds involved in eutrophication – too many nitrates leads to less oxygen which leads to fish death
pH – measure of acidity/basicity of a solution, scale from 1-14, closer to 1 – acid, closer to 14 – base, water is neutral at 7 (half way on scale)
Salinity – measure of the amount of salts dissolved in seawater
Bio-indicators – organisms that are used to monitor the health of an environment (ex. lichens – algae found on rocks and tree trunks – if disappear – indicator that the environment is not healthy)
Man-made forces – unnatural forces, humans created them (ex. dams)
Natural forces – forces that are a part of nature (ex. estuaries are natural filters of pollutants)
Information systems –
Sonar – Sound Navigation and Ranging, technique that uses sound to navigate (ex. dolphin, bat)
Submersibles – underwater vessel
Economic trade-off – risk versus benefits (ex. chemotherapy – risk – possible side effects, benefits – you live, is it worth it?)
Non-point source – pollution that comes from a wide area (ex. farm fields)
Over fishing – fisherman catch too many fish too quickly so the fish cannot reproduce and the fish supply begins to run out
Point source – pollution that enters water from a specific location (ex. pipe)
Pollutant run-off –don’t sink into ground, instead runs across Earth’s surface to water
Monitor – to watch, to be aware of the state of a system
Safe water quality – water is not polluted, water is safe (clean enough) for organisms to live in and for us to drink
Standards –
Stewardship – being a good citizen (ex. pick up trash, recycle, protect environment)
Chemistry Vocabulary
Natural chemical- a chemical that is found in nature
Synthetic chemical- a chemical that is “fake,” created by man
Atom- basic unit of matter, smallest particle
Compound- produced when elements combine, properties different from each of the elements in it
Matter- anything that has mass and takes up space
Mass- the amount of matter in an object
Mixture- combo of compounds and elements that can be separated (ex. sand and water mix)
Classify- to arrange according to subject matter, to assign to a category
Corrosion- a process in which a substance is changed or weakened by a chemical reaction (ex. rust)
Element- substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances
Group- family of elements that have similar properties (column – up and down)
Malleability- the ability of a material to be hammered or rolled into sheets
Metal- element that is malleable, ductile, a good conductor of electricity, and is shiny
Metalloid- element that shares some properties with both metals and nonmetals
Non-metal- element that is usually a gas or brittle solid (easily breakable) and is a poor conductor of heat and electricity
Period- horizontal row of elements in the periodic table whose properties change gradually
Periodic table- arranges elements according to their atomic numbers (# of protons) so that elements with similar properties are in the same column
Property- characteristic
Conductors- elements through which heat can move (usually metals)
Density- physical property, d=mass/volume
Electrical conductivity- electricity moving through an element
Magnetism- the ability of a material to be attracted or repelled to another material due to a magnetic field
Malleability- the ability of a material to be hammered or rolled into sheets
Saturated solution- a solution in which the max amount of solvent has been dissolved, any more solute added will sit on the bottom
Solubility- that amount of a substance that can be dissolved in a given amount of solvent
Solute- the substance to be dissolved (ex. the sugar in sugar water)
Solution- a homogeneous mixture in which substances are distributed uniformly throughout
Solvent- the substance to do the dissolving (ex. usually water)
Boiling point- temperature at which a substance goes from a liquid to a gas
Melting point- temperature at which a substance goes from a solid to a liquid
Specific heat- amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1kg of a substance by 1oCelcius
Chemical change- a change that causes the substances involved to form a new substance
Endothermic reaction- chemical reaction in which heat energy is absorbed (heat on reactant side)
Energy- usable heat or power
Exothermic reaction- chemical reaction in which heat energy is released (heat on product side)
Gas- particles are moving very quickly
Heat- a degree of warmth, form of energy
Liquid- particles are moving faster than in solid but slower than in gas
Non-reactive- elements that do not react
pH- measure of acidity/basicity of a solution, scale from 1-14, closer to 1 – acid, closer to 14 – base, water is neutral at 7 (half way on scale)
Physical change- same substance, just looks different
Reactive- elements that will react
Solid- particles are slow moving or not moving at all
Temperature- how hot/cold something is, can be measured in Fahrenheit or Celsius
Volume- how much space an object takes up
Law of Conservation of Matter/MASS- states that the matter/mass of the products of a chemical change is ALWAYS same as matter/mass of what you started with (reactants)
System- collection of structures, cycles, and processes that relate to and interact with each other
Asthma- chronic (long lasting) condition in which the airways get inflamed/swell to prevent airflow
Birth defects- abnormalities of the baby (ex. six toes, third nipple)
Cancer- disease in which a group of cells reproduce very quickly and invade the body
Hazard- situation which poses a threat
Quarantine- isolating organisms with disease to prevent the disease from spreading
Pollutant- wastes, such as sewage and chemicals, which can hurt the environment or damage organisms
Absorption- a route by which substances can enter the body through the skin
Concentration- how much solute is present in a solution compared to the amount of solvent
Dose- how much of something to take (ex. 1 tsp cough medicine)
Exposure- comes into contact with a chemical
Ingestion- consuming (eating) a substance
Inhalation- breathing in a substance (ex. air-borne diseases)
Potency- how strong/effective a medicine is (higher potency-takes less to produce results)
Toxic- a substance that will damage an exposed organism
Threshold- how much you can take (ex. people who can take more pain have a higher threshold)
Risks and benefits of chemicals- many chemicals are beneficial to humans but also have side effects/risks of harm (ex. chemotherapy)
Preservatives- chemical that is added to products to prevent it from decomposing/going “bad”
Sanitation- hygienic means of preventing human contact from the hazards of wastes to promote health
Cell Theory Vocabulary
Cell- structural and functional unit of all known living organisms, smallest unit of an organism
Cell theory- states that all organisms are made up of one or more cells, the cell is the basic unit of life, and all cells come from other living cells
Microscope- device that magnifies substances that cannot be seen clearly by the naked eye
Multi-cellular- organisms with more than one cell (ex. humans)
Organ system- group of organs that work together
Organelle- structure in the cytoplasm of a cell that has a specific purpose
Nucleus- controls all activities of a cell, contains DNA (brain of the cell)
Mitochondria- breaks down food and releases ENERGY (mitt–used in baseball – need energy for baseball)
Golgi body- package cellular materials and transport them within the cell or out of the cell (post office)
Vacuole- in plant cells, stores water and cell wastes (like a Vacuum)
Ribosome- small structure on which cells make the own proteins (ribs-give you protein)
Cell membrane- protective outer layer of all cells that regulates what goes in/out of the cell (the bouncer)
Chloroplast- green, chlorophyll-containing, plant-cell organelle that uses light energy to produce sugar from CO2 and H2O
Cytoplasm- gel-like mixture inside the cell membrane that is the location of most of a cell’s life processes, contains organelles
Single cell- only one cell that performs all processes on its’ own (ex. bacteria)
Tissue- group of similar cells that work together to do one job
Unicellular- see single cell
Cell function- the “job” of a specific cell
Metabolism- total of all chemical reactions in an organism
Reproduction- the process to create a new cell or cells
Waste disposal- through the lysosomes, breaks down waste (like Lysol breaks down dirt)
Diffusion- molecules move from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration (ex. Febreze)
Energy capture/release- in the mitochondria
Osmosis- passive transport that occurs when water diffuses through a cell membrane (water spreads throughout)
Algae- chlorophyll containing, plantlike protists that produce oxygen through photosynthesis
Fungi- a living microbe that can be very large (ex. mushroom), many contain hyphae (long, branch-like cells), ex. athlete’s foot, ringworm
Protozoa- protists that are one- or many celled that can be plantlike, animal-like (ex. amoeba), or fungus like
Cellular growth/division- meiosis: cell divides into four sister cells (ex. humans) vs. mitosis: cell splits into two cells that are exactly the same as each other and the original cell (ex. bacteria)
Chemical processes-
Homeostasis- property of a system that maintains a stable, constant condition
Nutrients- compounds that are released into lake water and used by plants, algae, and some plankton for growth
Microbiology Vocabulary
Microbes- any organism or life form that cannot be seen with the naked eye
Microscopic organisms- extremely small organisms that cannot be seen without a microscope
Bacteria- unicellular organisms that lack membrane-bound structures, prokaryotes, can be shaped like a sphere (coccus), rod (bacillus), or spiral (spirillum)
Contagion- an infectious disease that can be transmitted or spread from one organism to another
Disease-causing agent- any organism that can cause/create a disease (ex. chicken & salmonella)
Microbial- very small
Mutagen- toxic chemical that causes a physical or chemical change in the DNA of an organism
Parasite- organism that derives nourishment or habitat from the tissues or fluids of another organism, feeds off the host
Pathogen- any microbe that causes disease
Virus- microbe surrounded by a protein coating that infects and multiplies in host cells, contain DNA, once you have it you always will, considered to be not alive
Carrier- a person with a disease that they can pass on to other organisms
Disease- any change that disrupts the normal function of one or more body systems
Emerging disease- an disease that has appeared in the population for the first time
Infectious disease- any disease that can spread/infect someone else (ex. AIDS)
Non-infectious disease-any disease that cannot spread/infect someone else (ex. cancer)
Re-emerging disease- a disease that has reappeared in an area
Reproductive potential- has the ability to reproduce (asexual or sexual)
Vector- an animal that carries and transmits a disease
Antibiotic treatment- limit/stop the growth of bacteria, treatment for bacterial infections
Anti-microbial product- substance that is designed to kill microbes before they enter the body
Comparative studies - research that involves comparing two topics (ex. one treatment option vs. another)
Contamination- presence of a substance in another chemical or mixture that is not supposed to be there
Diagnosing disease- testing to determine what disease/microbe an organism has
DNA sequencing- figuring out an organism’s DNA structure
Quality control- testing procedures that are designed to find defective products or materials during manufacturing (ex. testing for contamination of foods)
Prevention- to keep a specific event from happening
Research- gathering background information on a subject
Risk- the threat or probability of an event occurring (ex. risk of chemo – loss of hair)
Treating disease- to cure or at least stop the symptoms of a disease (ex. antibiotics)
Treatment- a way to cure or at least stop the symptoms (ex. chemotherapy)
Biotechnology- industrial use of living organisms, or parts of living organisms to produce foods, drugs, or other products
Ethical issues- varying opinions on a subject that usually deals with morals (ex
Evolution Vocabulary
Atmosphere- the air in which we live in
Biosphere-all the living things on Earth
Catastrophic events (asteroids, ice ages, volcanic eruptions) - uncontrollable natural disasters
Evolution-how things change over time
Extinction-the disappearance of a species
Fossil-remains, imprints or traces of prehistoric organisms-we can tell how and where they lived
Geological history-the past events about Earth
Geologic time-divisions of Earth’s history into time units based on the types of life-forms that lived during that period
Scale- measure of geologic changes over time
Geosphere-Ocean crust and Earth’s crust
Hydrosphere-Water on Earth
Ice core- drill a cylinder of ice and then look at it to predict climate changes over many years
Index fossils- lived for a short period of time over a wide area
Law of superposition- the rock layers- explains oldest on the bottom and the youngest on top
Natural and anthropologic factors-natural and/or human factors that affect climate change over long periods of time (global warming)
Rock- a mixture of natural minerals
Unconformity-gap in rock layer that is due to erosion or periods without any deposition
Biological evolution-how living things have changed over time
Geological evolution-how Earth/land has changed over time
Technological evolution-how technology (computers/TV’s/phones/etc) have changed over time
Major geological events – (lithosphere plates) Pangaea
Mechanical and chemical weathering-erosion from wind or water is mechanical and chemical is from acid rain or chemical reactions
Reflectance curves- shows the percentages of electromagnetic wavelengths that are reflected from a surface (water or soil)
Satellite-an object that obits in space and collects data
Satellite imagery-pictures taken from a satellite
Spectral analysis-Looking and understanding satellite images (what the different colors mean based on the reflectance curves)
Maps-landscape of an area (GPS- Global Positioning System)
Ground truthing-Going on the land, with a map and making sure it is accurate
Remote sensing-Seeing but not touching (a way of collecting information about an object) it’s used to study Earth’s surface from space.
Resource management- keeping track of resources so we do not run out (oil)
Urban sprawl-spreading out of a city (negatives-loss of farmland, wildlife, more pollution)
Populations & Ecosystems Vocabulary
Abiotic - All the non living factors in an area
Autotrophs- Organism that produces complex organic compounds from simple inorganic molecules using a source of energy such as sunlight.
Biotic - All the living factors in an area
Commensalism- symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits while the other species is not affected
Competition- relationship between living things that depend on the same resources in the same place and at the same time consumer organism that consumes other organisms for food
Cooperation- type of animal behavior in which social animals live and work together for the good of the group
Decomposer- organism that breaks down the remains of dead organisms and other organic wastes
Freshwater ecosystem- aquatic ecosystem such as a pond, lake, stream, or river in which the water contains little or no salt
Food Chain- A description of the path by which energy moves from the sun to plants and animals
Food Web- A diagram that shows how food chains in a community are related and interlinked
Habitat -A place where plants and/or animals naturally live and grow
Heterotrophs- Organism which obtains carbon from outside sources
Niche - A habitat supplying the factors necessary for the existence of an organism or species; ecological role of an organism in a community in regard to food consumption
Nitrogen Cycle- model describing how nitrogen moves from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and then back to the atmosphere.
Marine ecosystem - aquatic ecosystems in the salt water of the ocean
Mutualism- type of symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit
Parasitism- symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits while the other species is harmed
Photosynthesis- A process in which a plant uses sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce sugar and release oxygen
Producer- organism that makes its own food through a chemical reaction
Respiration- The process of consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide
Symbiotic- close relationship between organisms of different species in which at least one of the organisms benefits from the relationship
Terrestrial ecosystem- an ecosystem of or pertaining to land
Natural Resources Vocabulary
Consequences- The effects, results, or outcome of something occurring earlier.
Conservation- careful use of resources to reduce damage to the environment though such methods as composting and recycling materials.
Depletion- To decrease seriously or to exhaust the abundance of supply
Energy Transformation- the transformation of energy from forms provided by nature to forms that can be used by humans
Nonrenewable- natural resource, such as fossil fuels, that cannot be replaced by natural processes as quickly as it is used
Renewable- natural resources, such as water, sunlight, and crops, which are constantly being recycled or replaced by nature
Solar Energy- Solar energy is the energy received by the earth from the sun. This energy is in the form of solar radiation, which makes the production of solar electricity possible.
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Front of the Card
VOCABULARY WORD
Back of the Card:
Topic of the word
Definition
Other Important Facts (example density is used in both chemistry and water so they need to know about both)
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