Check and practice the vocabulary I found in NYS science test exam.
Living
things – things that take in food, water, and gases,
reproduce, grow, and respond to the environment.
Mammal
- worm-blooded animal with fur that gives birth to live babies and fees them
milk.
Bird
– worm-blooded animal with feather that lays eggs.
Reptile
– cold-blooded animal with dry, scaly, skin that lays eggs.
Fish
- cold-blooded animal with scales and gills that lays eggs in the water.
Amphibian
– cold-blooded animal with smooth skin that lives on both land and in the
water.
Insect
- invertebrate animal with 6 legs. They have segmented bodies and some have
wings.
Vertebrate
– animal with a backbone.
Invertebrate
– animal with no backbone.
Exoskeleton
– the hard outer shell of some invertebrates.
Metamorphosis
– the change in body shape that insects and amphibians go through as they
develop.
Insect
metamorphosis – egg, larva, pupa, adult.
Larva
– the caterpillar stage of a butterfly.
Pupa
– the chrysalis, or cocoon, stage of butterfly.
Frog
metamorphosis – egg, tadpole, young adult, adult.
Plant
needs – sunlight, water, air, nutrients.
Animal
needs – food, water, air, shelter.
Inherited
trails – trails that are passed down from parents to their
offspring. Examples are eye color and number of limbs in animals, and flower
color in plants.
Learned
trials – trails that are learned, like being able to ride a
bike.
Producers
– organisms that make their own food using sunlight. Includes all plants.
Consumers
– organisms that eat other organism for food.
Decomposers
– organisms that break down dead plants and animals. Includes worms and fungi.
Herbivores
- consumers that eat only plants.
Carnivores
– consumers that eat only animals.
Omnivores
– consumers that eat both plants and animals.
Ecosystem
– all of the living and nonliving things interacting together in an area.
Desert
– a very hot, dry ecosystem.
Rainforest
– a very warm, wet ecosystem with lots of trees.
Temperate
forest – a forest ecosystem with different weather for each
season.
Ocean
– a salt water ecosystem.
Lake
– a fresh water ecosystem.
Nocturnal
– active at night.
Diurnal
– active during the day.
Camouflage
– an adaptation that helps an organism hide by blending in with their
environment.
Adaptation
– a special structure or skills that helps an organism survive in its
environment.
Food
chain –
a diagram showing how energy is passed from one organism to the next.
Food
web – a group of overlapping food chains.
Warm-blooded
– body temperature stays the same all the time.
Cold-blooded -
body temperature rises and falls with the temperature of the environment.
Hibernation
– going into a deep sleep for the winter.
Migration
– traveling to a different area in search of food or nice weather.
Pollution
– harmful things in the water, air, or on land.
Natural
resources –things from the earth that organisms use
to survive, ex. air, water, space, sunlight, food, etc.
The
3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – these are ways that people
can protect the environment.
Solid
– matter that does not change shape when put into a new container. Particles
are packed tightly and move slowly.
Liquid
- matter that changes shape and volume when put into a new container. Particles
move very fast and slide around.
Gas
– matter that changes shape and volume when put into a new container. Particles
move very fast and are spread far apart.
Evaporation
– the change from liquid to gas.
Condensation
– the change form gas to liquid.
Freezing
– the change from liquid to solid.
Melting
– the change from solid to liquid.
Thermometer
- a tool that measures temperature.
Mass
– a measurement of the amount of matter in something.
Volume
- a measurement of the amount of space something takes up.
Graduated
cylinder – a tool used for measuring volume.
Balance
– a tool used to measuring mass.
Ruler
– a tool used to measuring length.
Expand
– increase in volume because of heat.
Contract
- decrease in volume because of cold temperature.
Density
– a measurement of the amount of matter in a certain space.
Magnet
– attracts iron, but not paper, plastic, aluminum, or copper.
Conductor
– something that lets heat or electricity go through it.
Insulator
- something that does not let heat or electricity go through it.
Static
electricity – an electrical charge caused by rubbing
certain object together, like a balloon on someone’s hair.
Attract
– force pulling two objects together, such opposite charges (positive and
negative), or opposite magnetics poles (north and south).
Repel
- force pushing two objects apart. This happens to objects with “like” charges
(opposite and positive or negative and negative) or the “like” magnetics poles
(north and north or south and south).
Type
of energy – electrical, heat, light, and
mechanical.
Circuit
– the path electricity travels from the battery, to the light bulb, and back to
the battery.
Closed
circuit – the circuit with now breaks in the path
of the electricity – the bulb will light.
Open
circuit – the circuit with one or more breaks in
the path of the electricity – the bulb will not light.
White
– the color seen when an object reflects all colors of light back to the eye.
Black
– the color seen when an object absorbs all colors of light and reflect no
light back to the eye.
Red
– the color seen when an object absorbs all colors of light except the color
red.
Reflection
- when light bounces off an object.
Refraction
– when light is bent by a lens.
Prism
– breaks white light into all the colors of the rainbow.
Force
– a push or a pull.
Balance
forces – when the force are equal on all sides of an object
so its motion does not change. Equilibrium.
Unbalance
forces – when the force on an object are unequal, causing
the object to start or stop moving.
Friction
– the force created when the two surfaces rub against each other.
Gravity
– the force that pulls objects towards each other. It is what causes objects to
be pulled towards the Earth.
Lever
– a simple machine that lifts objects by using a plank that is resting on a
fulcrum.
Inclined
plane – a ramp that is a type of simple machine. Used to
raise objects up or down.
Pulley
– a simple machine that consist of a rope that fits into a groove in a wheel.
Used to raise objects up or down.
Screw
- a simple machine that is an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder – used
to fasten objects together.
Wheel
and axle - a simple machine that has a center rod
attached to a wheel.
Renewable
– resources that can be replaced.
Nonrenewable
- resources that cannot be replaced.
Fossil
fuels – coal, oil and natural gas.
Erosion
– the slaw process of moving sediment from one place to another, usually by
moving water.
Weathering
– the slaw process of breaking down rocks into smaller pieces.
Earthquake
– the shaking that results from the movement of the plates that make up the
Earth’s surface.
Volcano
– mountain created as lava erupts from inside the earth.
Landslide
– the sudden movement of rocks and soil down a slop.
Fossil
– the remains of an organism that lived long ago, mot commonly preserved in
sedimentary rock.
Igneous
– rock formed from cooled magma or lava.
Sedimentary
– rock formed when layers of sediments were pressed and cemented together.
Metamorphic
– rock formed by heat and pressure deep inside the Earth.
Minerals
– that makes up rocks. They have different colors, hardness, streak colors, and
luster (shininess).
River
delta – the place where a river deposits the sediments it
picks up, forming a triangle shape.
Flooding
– when water cannot be absorbed into the land and overflows rivers. Causes
damage but also deposits new soil on plains making fertile farmland.
Cirrus
– wispy, feathery clouds high in the sky.
Cumulus
– clouds that look like fluffy, rounded piles of cotton.
Stratus -
clouds that are form in low, flat layers, blanketing all or most of sky.
Precipitation
– water falling from the sky as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
Anemometer
– tool used to measure wind speed.
Rain
gauge – tool used to measure rainfall.
Barometer
– tool used to measure air pressure.
Hygrometer
– tool used to measure humidity.
Low
pressure system – air pressure that comes with high wind,
warm temperatures and storms.
High
pressure system – air pressure that comes with clear
skies and calm weather.
Continent
– large land mass.
Mountain
– land mass with high peaks.
Valley
– the low land between hills and mountains.
Island
– land surrounded on all sides by water.
Moon
– the natural satellite of the Earth, which does not produce its own light.
Planets
– the large round bodies that revolve around the Sun.
Solar
eclipse – when the Moon moves between the Earth
and the Sun, blocking the sun’s light.
Lunar
eclipse - when the Earth moves between the Sun
and the moon, casting a shadow on the Moon.
Full
moon – when no parts of the moon is lit by the Sun, making
it dark.
Moon
phases – the different shapes we see of the moon each night,
caused by the moon’s changing position.
Planet
Order – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, Neptune.
Revolve –
Earth’s motion around the Sun. Takes 365 ¼ days.
Rotate
– Earth’s spinning motion on its axis. Takes 24 hours.
Leap
Day – every 4 years we add this to our calendar to
account for the 365 ¼ days it takes Earth to revolve around the Sun.
Axis
– the imaginary line around which the Earth spins. It is tilted.
Seasons
– different weather patterns at different times of year, caused by the tilt of
the Earth’s axis.
Constellation
– a group of stars that forms a pattern in the sky. Used for navigation, like a
map.
Galaxy
– a group of billions of stars clustered together.
Milky
Way – our galaxy, which gets its name from the white
streak of stars we see in the sky.
Weight
– a measure of the force of gravity on an object. On Earth, mass and weight are
the same. But in places with different gravity, weight will change.
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