vocabulary review. the nonliving parts of the environment

Vocabulary Review

The nonliving parts of the environment

Abiotic factors

Rain, sleet, or snow that contain acid from air pollution

Acid precipitation

a change in velocity or speed of an object

Acceleration

Ecosystems found in water

Aquatic ecosystems

The most basic part of matter

atom

When different charges or poles of a magnet come closer together

attract

Each line on the sides of a line graph

axis

Plural form of axis

axes

A tool that measures the mass of an object

balance

Forces that have a net force of zero

Balanced forces

A long, narrow island that forms parallel to a beach

Barrier island

The living parts of the environment

biotic

Consumers that eat only other animals

carnivore

The largest population of a certain organism that an ecosystem can support

Carrying capacity

The smallest unit of life

cell

A thin layer that allows some materials to pass in and out of

plant and animal cells

Cell membrane

The stiff outer layer of a plant cell

Cell wall

A change that forms a new type of matter

Chemical change

A feature of matter tha can cause a chemical change

Chemical property

The process in which two substances combine and

undergo a chemical change

The parts of a plant cell that produces food

chloroplasts

A method of separating the parts of a mixture based on their weights. Separating a liquid

solution

chromatography

A uniformly mixed mixture that contains particles which are

larger that those in a solution, but smaller than in those in

suspension

colloid

All of the populations which live in the same area

community

A tool used to measure direction

compass

The amount of solute dissolved into a solvent

concentration

A solution that contains larger amount of the solute

concentrated

Statements that you think are true based on knowledge and

observations

conclusion

Areas which have colder temperatures and contain trees, such as pine trees that produce seeds in cones and that have leaves shaped like needles

Coniferous forest

The wise use of natural resources

conservation

Features on land

Continental plates

The plates under land

Part of the ocean floor that begins at the shore and slopes

gently toward the ocean

Continental slope

Parts of the experiment that stay the same

Controlled variable

A very large movement of water

current

A jelly-like substance that fills plants and animal cells

cytoplasm

information

data

Slowing down

decelerating

An organism that gets energy by breaking down nutrients in dead

organism

decomposer

An object’s mass compared to its volume

density

The variable in an experiment which changes depending upon the independent variable; also called the responding variable

Dependent variable

The dropping of sediment or particles by water, wind, or ice

deposition

To imagine and create the best way to solve problem or how to

make a new product

design

A solution that has smaller amounts of a solute

dilute

North, south, east, and west

direction

To break apart

dissolve

When parts of the Earth’s crust shifts

earthquake

The study of the interactions between organisms and their

environment

ecology

A scientist who studies ecology

ecologist

A group of living things and their nonliving environment

ecosystem

The movement of weathered rock from place to place

erosion

A body of water found in an area where freshwater and salt water

mix

estuary

The process by which a liquid turns to a gas

evaporation

Controlled test

experiment

A crack in the rock of Earth’s crust

fault

Paper or other screen with small holes in it, used to separate

mixtures

filter

Medical care used in an emergency

First aid

Process used to separate items of different densities in a liquid

floatation

The rising and overflowing of a body of water especially onto

land that is normally dry. Floods can change land and oceans,

and often cause erosion

flood

The path of energy as it flows from one organism to the next

Food chain

A diagram of several interconnected food chains

Food web

A push or pull on an object

force

The force that acts on an object to stop its motion

friction

A state of matter whose particles are always in motion

gas

Warm areas that receive some rainfall,are usually flat or have

gently rolling hills, and are often called prairies, plains, or pampas

grasslands

The force that pulls all objects on Earth toward the center of the

Earth

gravity

Consumers that eat only plants

herbivore

A mixture is not mixed evenly througout

Heterogeneous mixture

A mixture which is the same (mixed evenly) througout

Homogeneous mixture

An organism which is infected by a parasite

host

An answer or explanation to a question

hypothesis

A variable which changes in an experiment; also called a

manipulated variable

Independent variable

The tendency of an object to remain at rest or in motion unless

acted upon by a force

inertia

A conclusion drawn from what you know and what you have

learned from your observations

A narrow strip of water that is protected by barrier islands

inlet

Looking at a problem in a scientific way and asking

questions in order to solve it; a test for a hypothesis

investigation

When large pieces of land slide down a hill

landslide

Resources and environmental factors that limit the size of a

population

A way to organize and display information using horizontal lines; line graphs show changes over

time

Line graph

A state of matter that takes the shape of the container it is in

liquid

A substance that reduces friction

lubricant

Molten rock under Earth’s surface

magma

The attraction and repulsion of magnetic objects to each other

magnetism

To use a tool to make things look larger

magnify

The total amount of matter in an object

mass

Something that has mass and takes up space

matter

An underwater mountain range

Mid-ocean ridge

Two or more kinds of matter that are mixed

mixture

The smallest piece of matter that retains all the properties of that object and is made up of many

atoms

molecule

The part of a plant and animal cell that controls growth and

contains genes

nucleus

Using the five senses to learn more about the world

observation

The part of Earth that is covered by oceans

Ocean basin

The plates under the ocean

Oceanic plates

A consumer that eats both plants and animals

omnivore

The organism that must live on or inside another organism in order

to get energy

parasite

A change in matter in which the type of matter stays the same

Physical change

A feature of matter that you can recognize with your senses

Physical property

A substance which causes pollution

pollutant

A group of organisms of the same species living in the same

place

population

An organism that eats other organisms

predator

An organism that is eaten by another organism

prey

Organisms that produce their own food

producers

The new substance that forms during a chemical reaction

production

Matter that is not a mixture

Pure substance

The rate at which a solute is dissolved

Rate of solubility

The substances that react with each other during a chemical

reaction

reactant

When two like charges or poles of a magnet move away from

each other

repel

An organism’s need

resources

Pieces of information gathered from an investigation

results

A crack in the ocean floor caused by tectonic plats moving apart

Rift zone

A smaller ridge of sand parallel to the beach

sandbar

A solution that contains the maximum amount of a solute that

it can hold

saturated

Mountains that are far away from mid-ocean ridgs

seamount

Using a strainer to separate parts of a mixture

sifting

A part of a line graph that represents velocity

slope

A form of air pollution

smog

A state of matter whose particles are close together and do not

move much

solid

The amount of solute that can be dissolved into a solvent

solubility

The substance that makes up the smaller part of a solution

solute

The substance that makes up the larger part of a solution

solvent

A measurement of distance over time

speed

The form that matter has

State of matter

The amount of a substance’s surface that is exposed

Surface area

A mixture in which the particles separate easily

suspension

Plates which make up Earth’s surface

Tectonic plates

A forest that contains trees which lose their leaves each autumn

Temperate deciduous forest

An ecosystem on land

Terrestrial ecosystem

The feel of a surface

Texture

The rise and fall of the levels of the oceans

tides

An ocean feature that has a length of thousands of kilometers

is generally hundreds of kilometers wide and extends 3 to

4 Kim deeper that the surrounding ocean floor

trench

A forest found in much warmer areas that receives plenty of rain

Tropical rain forest

Forces that have a net force balance not equal to zero

unbalanced

A large membrane-covered chamber which stores chemicals

and wastes inside a plant cell

vacuole

A part of an experiment that may change or vary

variable

Speed and direction

velocity

An opening in Earth’s crust through which molten lava, ash,

and gases are ejected

volcano

How much space an object take up

volume

A motion of ocean water caused by wind

wave

The breakdown of rock at or near Earth’s surface

weathering

The pull of gravity on an object

gravity