100 Things You Will Learn 3rd and 4th Quarter

Nature of Science

1. science – the process of trying to understand the world.
2. technology – use of knowledge gained through scientific thinking and problem solving to make new products or tools.
3. scientific method – step-by-step procedure of scientific problem solving, which can include identifying the problem, forming and testing a hypothesis, analyzing the test results, and drawing conclusions.
4. observation – bit of information gathered with the senses.
5. inference – conclusion drawn from an observation.
6. hypothesis – statement that can be tested.
7. independent variable – single factor in an experiment that the experimenter changes.
8. dependent variable – factor that will be measured in an experiment.
9. constant – factor that stays the same in an experiment.
10. control – standard used for comparison in an experiment.

Rocks and Minerals

11. rocks – mixture of one or more minerals, rock fragments, volcanic glass, organic matter, or other natural materials.
12. rock cycle – model that describes how rocks slowly change from one form to another through time.
13. sedimentary rock – a type of rock, such as limestone, that is most likely to contain fossils and is formed when layers of sand, silt, clay or mud are cemented and compacted together or when minerals are deposited from a solution.
14. igneous rock – rock formed when magma or lava cools and hardens.
15. metamorphic rock – forms when heat, pressure, or fluids act on igneous, sedimentary, or other metamorphic rock to change its form or composition.
16. ore – deposit in which a mineral exists in large enough amounts to be mined at a profit.
17. gem – beautiful, rare, highly prized mineral that can be worn in jewelry.
18. mineral – naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has a definite chemical composition and an orderly arrangement of atoms.
19. crystal – solid in which the atoms are arranged in an orderly, repeating pattern.

Weather

20. atmosphere – Earth’s air, which is made up of a thin layer of gases, solids, and liquids; forms a protective layer around the planet and is divided into five distinct layers.
21. troposphere – layer of Earth’s atmosphere that is closest to the ground, contains 99% of the water vapor and 75% of the atmospheric gases, and is where clouds and weather occur.
22. ionosphere – layer of electrically charged particles in the thermosphere that absorbs AM radio waves during the day and reflects them back at night.
23. stratosphere – the layer above the troposphere. It contains no moisture or dust but it does contain a layer of ozone that absorbs UV radiation from the Sun.
24. mesosphere – layer above the stratosphere. The temperature plunges reaching -90°C. This is where meteors burn up while entering Earth’s atmosphere. We call these shooting stars.
25. exosphere – beyond the thermosphere, Earth’s atmosphere makes a transition into space. This is the exosphere where atoms and molecules escape into space. The temperature plunges to -270°C and the concentration of atmospheric gases fades to nothing.
26. atmospheric pressure (air pressure) - Pressure caused by the weight of the atmosphere. At sea level it has a mean value of one atmosphere but reduces with increasing altitude.
27. ozone layer – layer of the stratosphere with a high concentration of ozone; absorbs most of the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.
28. ultraviolet radiation – a type of energy that comes to Earth from the Sun, can damage skin and cause cancer, and is mostly absorbed by the ozone layer.
29. chlorofluorocarbon (CFC’s) – group of chemical compounds used in refrigerators, air conditioners, foam packaging, and aerosol sprays that may enter the atmosphere and destroy ozone.
30. heat – movement of thermal energy from a substance at a higher temperature to a substance at a lower temperature.
31. radiation – energy transferred by waves or rays.
32. solar energy – energy rays from the Sun.
33. radiant energy - Energy in the form of waves, especially electromagnetic waves. Radio waves, x-rays, and visible light are all forms of radiant energy.
34. conduction – transfer of energy that occurs when molecules bump into each other.
35. convection – transfer of energy that occurs when molecules bump into each other.
36. hydrosphere – all the waters of the earth.
37. condensation – change of matter from a gas to a liquid state.
38. Coriolis effect – causes moving air and water to turn left in the southern hemisphere and turn right in the northern hemisphere due to Earth’s rotation.
39. jet stream – narrow belt of strong winds that blows near the top of the troposphere.
40. sea breeze – movement of air from sea to land during the day when cooler air from above the water moves over the land, forcing the heated, less dense air above the land to rise.
41. land breeze – movement of air from land to sea at night, created when cooler, denser air from the land forces up warmer air over the sea.
42. weather – state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, determined by factors including air pressure, amount of moisture in the air, temperature, wind and precipitation.
43. humidity – amount of water vapor held in the air.
44. relative humidity – measure of the amount of moisture held in the air compared with the amount it can hold at a given temperature; can range from 0% - 100%.
45. dew point – temperature at which air is saturated and condensation forms.
46. fog – a stratus cloud that forms when air is cooled to its dew point near the ground.
47. precipitation – water falling from clouds – including rain, snow, sleet, and hail – whose form is determined by air temperature.
48. air mass – large body of air that has the same characteristics of temperature and moisture content as the part of Earth’s surface over which it formed.
49. front – boundary between tow air masses with different temperatures, density, or moisture; can be cold, warm, occluded, and stationary.
50. wind - air in natural motion, as that moving horizontally at any velocity along the earth's surface.
51. tornado – violent, whirling windstorm that crosses land in a narrow path and can result from wind shears inside a thunderhead.
52. hurricane – large, severe storm that forms over tropical oceans, has winds of at least 120 km/h, and loses power when it reaches land.
53. blizzard – winter storm that lasts at least three hours with temperatures of -12°C or below, poor visibility, and winds of at least 51 km/h.
54. thunderstorm - a temporary storm of lightning and thunder, usually with rain and gusty winds, sometimes with hail or snow, produced by cumulonimbus clouds.
55. floods - a great flowing or overflowing of water, esp. over land not usually submerged. A flash flood is a sudden and destructive rush of water down a narrow gully or over a sloping surface, caused by heavy rainfall.
56. cumuliform clouds – puffy, sometimes fast-moving and rapidly growing kind of cloud. Cumulus comes from the Latin word that means “heap.”
57. stratiform clouds – flat and layered. Stratus is a Latin word meaning “layer.”
58. meteorologist – studies weather and uses information from Doppler radar, weather satellites, computers and other instruments to make weather maps and proved forecasts.
59. station model – indicates weather conditions at a specific location, using a combination of symbols on a map.
60. isotherm – line drawn on a weather map that connects points having equal temperature.
61. isobar - line drawn on a weather map that connect points having equal atmospheric pressure; also indicate the location of high- and low-pressure areas and can show wind speeds.
62. climate – average weather pattern in an area over a long period of time; can be classified by temperature, humidity, precipitation, and vegetation.
63. tropics – climate zone that receives the most solar radiation, is located between latitudes 23°N and 23°S, and is always hot, except at high elevations.
64. polar zone – climate zones that receive solar radiation at a low angle, extend from 66°N and S latitude to the poles, and are never warm.
65. temperate zone – climate zones with moderate temperatures that are located between the tropics and the polar zones.
66. hibernation – behavioral adaptation for winter survival in which an animal’s activity is greatly reduced, it’s body temperature drops, and body processes slow down.
67. season – short period of climate change in an area caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis as Earth revolves around the sun.
68. El Nino – climatic event that begins in the tropical Pacific Ocean; may occur when trade winds weaken or reverse, and can disrupt normal temperature and precipitation patterns around the world.
69. greenhouse effect – heat-trapping feature of the atmosphere that occurs when certain gases in Earth’s atmosphere, such as methane, CO₂, and water vapor, trap heat.
70. global warming – increase in the average global temperature of Earth.
71. deforestation – destruction and cutting down of forests – often to clear land for mining, roads, and grazing of cattle – resulting in increased atmospheric CO₂ levels.

Earth in Space

72. axis – imaginary line around which Earth spins; drawn from the north geographic pole through Earth to the south geographic pole.
73. rotation – spinning of Earth on its axis, which causes day and night; it takes 24 hours for Earth to complete one rotation.
74. revolution – the motion of Earth around the Sun, which takes about 365 ¼ days, or one year, to complete.
75. orbit – curved path followed by Earth as it moves around the Sun.
76. solstice – time when the Sun reaches its greatest distance north or south of the equator.
77. summer solstice – June 21 or 22 is the day when the North Pole leans toward the Sun.
78. winter solstice – happens on December 21 or 22 when the North Pole leans away from the Sun.
79. equinox – twice-yearly time when the Sun is directly above Earth’s equator and there are equal hours of day and night. Spring equinox – March Fall equinox - September
80. crater – depression formed by impact of meteorites or comets; the more craters in a region, the older the surface.
81. moon phase – changing views of the Moon as seen from Earth, which are caused by the Moon’s revolution around the Earth.
82. solar eclipse – occurs during a new moon, when the Sun, the Moon, and Earth are lined up in a specific way.
83. lunar eclipse – occurs during a full moon, when the Sun, the Moon, and Earth line up in such a way the Moon moves into Earth’s shadow.
84. solar system – system that includes the Sun, planets, comets, meteoroids and other objects that orbit the Sun.
85. astronomical unit – unit used to measure distances in the solar system; 1 AU = 150,000,000 km.
86. asteroid – small, rocky space object found in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars.
87. comet – space object made of rocky particles and ice that forms a tail when orbiting near the Sun.
88. nebula – cloud of gas and dust particles in interstellar space.

Measurements

89. anemometer – measures wind speed in miles per hour (mph).
90. barometer – measures air pressure in millibars (mb).
91. hygrometer – measures relative humidity as a percentage (%).
92. temperature – measure of the average kinetic energy of the individual particles of a substance. Can be measured in Celsius, Fahrenheit, or Kelvin.
93. kinetic energy – energy an object has due to its motion.
94. energy – the ability to do work
95. matter – anything that takes has mass and takes up space.
96. mass – the amount of matter in an object. Measure in grams (g).
97. volume – the amount of space an object occupies. Measured in mL or cm³
98. density – mass of an object divided its volume. Measured in g/cm³

100.weight – The force of gravity on an object. Mass times the acceleration of gravity (9.86 m/s). Measured in Newtons (N).