Vocabulary

Space

1. Astronomy: the study of space, its objects, and their origins 
2. Sun: the star that is the central body of the solar system, around which the planets revolve and from which they receive light and heat 
3. Planet: a celestial body moving in an orbit around a star 
4. Galilean moons: the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo Galilei in January 1610: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto 
5. Moon: a natural satellite that revolves around a planet 
6. Meteor: a piece of rock from space that burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, creating a streak of light (a meteorite is a meteor that lands on Earth). 
7. Asteroid: object of rock, metal, and ice that is smaller than a planet and revolves around the Sun 
8. Asteroid belt: the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter 
9. Comet: a solar system object made mostly of ice, which follows a long, narrow orbit around the Sun 
10. Gravity: force of attraction between any two objects 
11. Orbit: path an object in space follows as it revolves around another object such as Earth around the Sun 
12. Telescope: an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer 
13. Rover: (planetary rover) is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other astronomical body 
14. Satellite: an object that revolves around another object in space; can be natural or man-made 
15. Probe: an unmanned spacecraft designed to explore the solar system and transmit data back to Earth 
16. Rocket; a vehicle propelled by a rocket engine 
17. Shuttle: vehicle built by NASA that is capable of taking off from Earth, carrying a crew and a cargo into space, and returning to Earth to be used again 
18. Space Station: an orbiting manned structure that can be used for a variety of purposes (assemble or service satellites, refuel spacecraft, etc.) 

 
Layers of the Earth

1. Geology – study of Earth’s structure, composition, forces, history and future
2. Crust – the solid outermost layer of the earth; broken into tectonic plates (continental and oceanic)
3. Tectonic Plate – a section of the lithosphere that moves very slowly
4. Lithosphere – consists of the crust and the upper mantle
5. Mantle – the plastic putty-like layer of the earth (above the core)
6. Plasticity – the capability of being molded
7. Asthenosphere – the upper part of the mantle; semi-solid layer on which the tectonic plates float 
8. Convection Currents – movement of heart through the mantle where less dense materials rise and more dense materials sink
9. Outer Core- liquid; less dense than the inner core
10. Inner Core – centermost (deepest) part of the earth; solid and very hot

Forces that Shape the Earth

1. Plate boundary: place where 2 tectonic plates meet (can be convergent, divergent, or strike-slip
2. Convergent: place where two or more plates come together
3. Divergent: boundary in which two plates are moving away from each other
4. Transform: boundary in which two plates are passing beside each other; strike-slip
5. Mid-ocean ridge: divergent (separating) boundary on the ocean floor (between two plates)
6. Ocean basin: depressions in the earth covered by sea water (ocean) 
7. Fault: a crack in the earth’s crust
8. Earthquake: shaking of the earth’s crust
9. Tsunami: a series of waves created when a body of water, such as an ocean is rapidly displaced; earthquakes, mass movements above or below water, volcanic eruptions have the potential to generate a tsunami
10. Volcano: magma from the earth’s mantle forces its way through cracks and openings in the earth’s crust
11. Hot spots: formed by plumes of magma in the mantle that can cause underwater volcanic mountains
12. Uplift: the building up of the earth’s crust due to forces that result in mountain building
13. Mountain: an area of land that rises abruptly from a surrounding region
14. Trench: a narrow, elongate, v-shaped depression in the ocean floor; the deepest parts of the ocean
15. Seafloor Spreading: a process in which new ocean floor is created as molten material from the earth's mantle rises in margins between plates or ridges and spreads out.

Rocks

1. Process: a series of continuous actions or changes leading to an end
2. Classify: to organize into groups based on similar characteristics (properties)
3. Rock: a combination of two or more minerals occurring together
4. Igneous Rock: rock that is formed from hardened magma or lava
5. Crystallization: the process of mineral crystals forming from magma
6. Sediment: loose pebbles, sand grains, silt, clay, mud, bone, or shell material
7. Weathering: process by which rocks are broken into smaller pieces; can be chemical or mechanical (physical)
8. Erosion: process of moving soil and rock by water, wind or glacial action
9. Deposition: the accumulation or laying down (dropping) of matter by a natural process, the laying down of sediments in a river
10. Sedimentary Rock: layers of sediment that are compressed into rock
11. Compaction: the weighted layers of sediments pressing on the layers underneath (creating great pressure)
12. Cementation: the “gluing” of layers of sediments together when water is squeezed out due to compaction
13. Lithification: the process where sediments are compressed, compacted, and cemented into rock
14. Metamorphic Rock: new rock formed when older rock gets buried and undergoes heat and pressure (squeezing)

Minerals

1. Physical Property: any characteristic of a material that can be seen or measured
2. Mineral: a naturally formed solid material with a crystal structure
3. Hardness: ability to resist scratching
4. Streak: color of a mineral in powder form
5. Luster: ability to reflect light (metallic or nonmetallic)
6. Color: the element of art that is produced when light, striking an object, is reflected back to the eye

Chemistry 
(Part 1)

1. physical property:  any characteristic of a material that can be seen or measured without changing the identity of the material
2. matter:  anything that has mass and takes up space (volume)
3. mass:  the amount of matter in a substance; measured in grams
4. volume:  the amount of space a substance takes up; measured in liters
5. density:  the measurement of how much mass is contained in a given volume of an object; mass per unit volume
6. temperature:  the degree of movement of particles in a substance; measured in °C
7. state of matter:  solid, liquid, gas, and plasma
8. luster:  the ability of a material to reflect light (shiny or dull)
9. ductile:  can be drawn into wires without breaking
10. malleable:  can be bent or pounded into various shapes
11. conductivity:  the ability or power to conduct or transmit heat, electricity, or sound
12. melting point:  the temperature at which a solid changes into a liquid
13. boiling point:  the temperature at which a liquid changes into a gas
14. freezing point:  the temperature at which a liquid changes into a solid
15. physical change: a change in the physical properties of a material, but not in its identity
16. chemical property:  any characteristic that gives a substance the ability to be changed into a new substance
17. reactivity:  ability to react with another substance or with energy; change chemically
18. flammability:  the ability to burn
19. precipitate:  when two liquids combine forming a solid (a new substance)
20. chemical change:  a change in the identity of a substance because of the chemical properties of that substance

Chemistry Vocabulary
(Part 2)

1. Periodic Table:  a chart that organizes elements by their properties
2. chemical symbol:  an abbreviation of a chemical element; (the symbol for the element hydrogen is H)
3. metal:  an element that is a usually a solid, shiny conductor
4. nonmetal:  an element that is usually dull and easy to break and that does not conduct heat and electricity
5. metalloid:  an element with some properties of metals and some properties of nonmetals
6. period:  a row in the periodic table
7. family (group):  a column in the periodic table
8. element:  a substance that cannot be split into simpler substances.  Each element is made of just one kind of atom
9. compound:  matter made by two or more elements that cannot be separated physically
10. molecule:  one or more like atoms in an element and two or more different atoms in a compound
11. mixture:  a combination of two or more substances that can be separated physically
12. solution:  a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances; can be solids, liquids, or gases

Ecology

1. Ecology:  the study of the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment
2. Abiotic:  Non-living
3. Biotic:  living or once living
4. Biosphere:  a part of Earth and its atmosphere which can support life; where organisms live
5. Ecosystem:  all of the communities (biotic factors) in a given area and the abiotic factors that affect them
6. Community:  all of the populations of different species in a given area that interact with and depend on each other
7. Population:  all of the individuals of one species that live in the same space at the same time
8. Organism:  an individual that can carry out life processes

Energy 

1. Energy: the ability to do work or cause change
2. Law of Conservation of Energy: energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only change forms
3. Potential Energy: energy that is waiting to do work; stored energy; energy due to position
4. Kinetic Energy: energy that is actively moving or working
5. Chemical Energy: energy stored in between particles and is released during chemical reactions
6. Electrical Energy: the movement of electrons through wires, circuits, and sockets
7. Mechanical Energy: energy of motion
8. Nuclear Energy: energy stored in the nucleus of an atom that must split to release it
9. Radiant Energy: energy that travels in a wave-like motion
10. Sound Energy: energy that is caused by vibrations that can travel through air, water, or objects
11. Thermal Energy: heat caused by rapid movement of particles
12. Conduction: heat transferring through a solid object
13. Convection: the current that is caused by heat traveling through liquids and gasses (fluids)
14. Radiation: heat transferring as waves from a source

Physics

1. Physics: the study of forces and motion
2. Force: any push or pull
3. Newton: the unit used to measure force
4. Compression: a force the pushes or squeezes
5. Tension: a pulling or stretching force
6. Shearing: a sliding force
7. Balanced Force: Forces that are equal and opposite, so that there is no motion.
8. Unbalanced Force: Forces that are not equal or not in opposite directions. These cause objects to go into motion.
9. Gravity: a non-contact force that all matter exerts on other matter.
10. Weight: measures the amount of force that gravity exerts on an object.
11. Mass: the amount of matter that makes up an object
12. Friction: a force that is in the opposite direction of motion which causes the object to slow down, change direction, or stop.
13. Motion: the movement of an object from one place to another
14. Reference Point: a non-moving point that is used to determine that an object is moving
15. Speed: the distance that an object moves in a certain amount of time
16. Formula for Speed: speed = distance / time
17. Velocity: the speed and direction of a moving object
18. Average Speed: can be found by dividing the total distance an object travels by the total amount of time it takes.
19. Constant Speed: an object moving at the same spee
20. Acceleration: a change in the speed or direction of a moving object.