OGT Science All

Terms	Definitions
Abiotic	The nonliving parts of the environment
Absorb	Take up or take in; The sponge absorbs water well
Abundance	More than enough; a lot
Acceleration	A change in speed (or velocity)
Acid	A chemical that reacts easily with other substances and turns litmus paper red; less than 7 on the pH scale
Adaptation	A feature of an organism that helps it meet a particular need in its natural habitat
Adaptive radiation	The development of many different forms from a single group of organisms as they adapt to different environments
Advantaged offspring	Offspring that have characteristics which help them survive better than others
Advantageous characteristics	Characteristics that help an organism survive better than others
Agriculture	Using land to get food or to feed animals for human consumption (livestock)
Air mass	A large body of air that has the same characteristics throughout
Allele	One of the forms of a gene that is found in pairs on a chromosome; Some alleles are dominant over others
Alloy	A mixture of metals (and sometimes non-metals) which forms one metallic substance; Brass is an alloy of zinc and copper
Asexual Reproduction	Reproduction that happens without sex; one organism creates one or more organisms
Asteroid	An object made up of rock and metals which orbits the sun, mainly between Mars and Jupiter
Atmosphere	The air surrounding a planet
Atom	The smallest unit of a substance that has all of the properties of that substance
Atomic number	The number of protons in an atom
Atomic theory	A theory that says that all matter is composed of tiny indivisible and indestructible particles
Bacteria	The kingdom of life which has no cell membrane or nucleus and is always unicellular
Base	A chemical that reacts easily with other substances and turns litmus paper blue; greater than 7 on the pH scale
Bias	An influence in an unfair way; You are biasing my choice by telling me yours
Big Bang	The theory that the universe began suddenly from a tiny mass
Biogeochemical cycle	A way that a chemical element or molecule moves through both the biotic ("bio-") and abiotic ("geo-") parts of an ecosystem
Biology	The study of living things
Biome	A region of the world that has a particular climate and unique plants and animals that live there
Biotechnology	The study of the use of small organisms to help industrial processes
Biotic	Anything that is alive
Body cell	All of the cells in an organism not involved in reproduction
Bond	An electrical force that links atoms together
Brittle	Easily broken
Carbohydrate	An essential chemical in all cells that is broken down to form sugars; glucose, sucrose, lactose, galactose
Carbon cycle	The flow of carbon dioxide and oxygen throughout the Earth
Carrying capacity	The most amount of a particular organism that can be supported by an ecosystem
Cell differentiation	A process where cells change to perform different roles
Cell division	A process where one cell becomes more than one cell
Cell membrane	Surrounds the cell and keeps it together; also decides what material enters and leaves
Cell organelle	Parts of the cell that perform specific functions
Cell wall	The stiff outer layer of a cell that protects the cell and gives it shape
Cell	The basic structural and functional unit of all organisms
Cellular respiration	The process where organisms get energy from organic molecules
Ceramic	Something made of hard brittle material produced from nonmetallic minerals by baking at high temperatures
Characteristic	A distinguishing quality of something; generosity is one of his best characteristics
Chemical change	A change in a substance that results in a completely different substance or substances and cannot be undone
Chemical equation	A short notation for describing a chemical change; 2H2 + O2 è 2H2O
Chemical formula	The sequence of atoms that describes a certain molecule
Chemical property	Describes the ability of a substance to react and form new substances
Chemical reaction	What occurs when one or more reactants combine to form one or more products
Chemical	Material produced by or used in a reaction involving changes in atoms or molecules
Chemosynthesis	The creation of carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water that only happens in certain bacteria and fungi
Chloroplast	Organelle in plants and some other organisms which is responsible for photosynthesis
Chromosome	A thread-like strand of DNA or RNA in the cell
Cilia	A hair-like organelle on the outside of a cell used in movement
Climate	The weather in some location over a long period of time
Cloning	The creation of genetically identical copies of some organism
Collision	An event where two objects come together
Comet	A small, frozen object outside the earth which travels around the sun in an ellipse
Commensalism	A relationship between two organisms where one benefits and the other is unaffected
Community	The collection of all organisms that live together on an area of land
Competition	When more that one organism is trying to obtain the same resources
Conceive	To have the idea for something
Conclusion	An explanation of the results of an experiment
Conduction	The ability of a material to allow electricity or heat to pass through
Conductivity	The amount of conduction of a material
Conserve	To keep the same through a physical or chemical reaction; energy is conserved in this process
Constant	Does not change
Constrain	To limit, hold back or restrict
Context	The set of facts that surround a situation or event
Continental Drift	The theory that states the continents are constantly in motion
Convection	The process where heat causes fluids (gas or liquid) to rise and bring heat up
Covalent Bond	A type of chemical bond where electrons are shared between the atoms
Cyclic fluctuation	A process that involves change, but returns to the same state over and over again
Darwin	Charles Darwin, who came up with the most widely accepted theory of evolution
Data	The results or information that you get from doing a scientific experiment
Deciduous forest	A biome where the trees lose their leaves every year
Deduction	A way of making scientific discoveries where general ideas are tested very specifically
Deep interior	The mantle and core of the Earth
Deletion	The removal of a DNA base that results in a genetic mutation
Density	The mass of a substance per unit volume
Dissipate	To cause to separate and go in different directions
Dissolve	To cause to go into a solution
Distribution	The amount of scattering over a certain area
Diversity	The distribution and abundance of different plant and animal communities and species within a given area
DNA	Abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid, which contains the genetic instructions for all forms of life
Dominant	A genetic characteristic that is always expressed by the organism
Ductile	Can be drawn into wire
Earthquake	The movement of Earth's plates which results in shaking on the surface of the crust
Ecosystem	An ecosystem is an area consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (biotic factors) working together with all of the non-living (abiotic) factors of the environment
Electric force	The force between a positively-charged particle and an electron (negatively charged)
Electrically neutral	Neither positively charged or negatively charged
Electricity	Energy caused by the movement of electrons in a direction
Electromagnetic radiation	A wave that moves back and forth at a certain frequency and moves through space at the speed of light
Electromagnetic spectrum	The range of all possible electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic waves	A wave or "disturbance" in space; radio, television, x-rays, microwaves
Electron	A negatively charged particle outside the nucleus of an atom
Element	A substance composed of atoms with the identical atomic number; organized in the periodic table
Emigration	The act of leaving one place for another
Endothermic	A chemical reaction that absorbs heat energy
Energy production	Since energy cannot be created or destroyed, this refers to getting energy into a more usable form
Energy pyramid	A diagram showing that as you go up the pyramid, the total amount of energy decreases
Energy transfer	Energy can be transferred from one place to another, but when this happens, energy is always lost
Energy	The property of something's ability to do work
Equilibrium	A system is at equilibrium when no change is occurring
Ethics	A system of principles that talks about good conduct
Eukaryote	A type of organism that has a true nucleus in its cell(s)
Evidence	Knowledge on which to base an idea or belief
Evolution	The events involved in the development over long periods of time of organisms
Evolutionary relationship	How closely related two organisms are in terms of evolution
Exert	To make a great effort
Exothermic	A chemical reaction that gives off heat energy
Extinction	No longer in existence
Extrusive	On the outside; when talking about rocks, extrusive rocks are formed on the surface of the Earth when lava cools
Eyewash	A safety feature of a classroom which allows people to safely wash their eyes of any chemicals or objects
Family	The classification group above genus
Faulting	The creation of a crack in the surface of the Earth due to plate tectonics
Fermentation	The process of energy production that happens in many organisms and does not require oxygen
Fission	The splitting of an atomic nucleus that releases energy
Flagella	An organelle of some prokaryotes that allows for movement and resembles a tail
Fluid	Anything that flows; both gases and liquids are considered fluids
Folding	A process that happens on the surface of the earth when rock is pushed together
Food web	A diagram that shows the relationships between different organisms in an ecosystem
Force	Something that produces a change in an object
Formation	The geological features of the earth
Fossil fuel	An energy source (fuel) made from ancient plant or animal remains (fossils)
Fossil record	A piece of evidence for evolution that shows the development of organisms over time across the entire world
Fossil	The remains (or an impression) of a plant or animal that existed in a past geological age and that has been removed from the soil
Frequency	The amount of times something happens per second
Friction	The resistance when one object contacts another
Fuel	A source of energy
Function	What something is used for
Fungi	The kingdom of living things that are eukaryotic and make their own energy; mushrooms, yeast, molds
Fusion	The combination of two or more atomic nuclei that releases energy
Gametes	The cells that are responsible for sexual reproduction; sperm, eggs
Gamma ray	A form of electromagnetic radiation that has a very short wavelength and high frequency
Gene frequency	The amount of times a particular gene is found in a population
Gene	The basic unit of heredity, composed of DNA and found on chromosomes
Genetic composition	The collection of all of the genes of a particular organism
Genetic drift	The frequency of a particular gene in a population changes in a certain direction
Genetic research	Research that investigates what information is in organisms' DNA
Genetic variation	Changes between organisms that is based on their DNA
Genetically modified food	Food that has been changed so that its DNA benefits humans
Genotype	The letters that represent the two alleles that make up a gene
Genus	A classification of living things that is more specific than the species
Geologic time scale	A chart that shows the eras and periods of major events on Earth
Geological	Referring to geology, the study of the Earth
Geology	The study of the Earth
Germ theory	The theory that says that diseases come from small organisms (germs)
Germ	A small organism that causes disease
Global warming	The idea that Earth's temperature is rising and causing mainly negative effects
Goggles	A safety device used whenever the eyes could be injured by a chemical or physical experiment
Gravity	The theory that all objects are drawn to each other depending on their distance from each other and their masses
Growth	The increase of size of an individual; can also be the presence of something
Habitat	The environment that a species depends upon for its survival
Hardness	A scale that tells how hard a particular rock is; harder rock scratches softer rock
Helium	The second-lightest chemical element and found primarily in stars like the sun
Heterozygous	Meaning different; in genetics, this refers to a genotype made up of both a dominant and recessive allele; Bb, Dd, Ff
Hierarchy	A sequence of groupings of things in a system; businesses have hierarchies which start with the president of the company, then managers (bosses) and finish with individual employees
Homeostasis	Maintenance of a constant internal environment in an organism.
Homozygous	Meaning same; in genetics, this refers to a genotype made up of two identical alleles; BB, dd, FF
Hurricane	An intense cyclone (spinning storm system) that has winds above 73 miles per hour
Hybrid	A combination of two different things; in genetics, this refers to the cross between a homozygous dominant and homozygous recessive individual to form heterozygous individuals; BB x bb = Bb
Hydrogen	The lightest chemical element and the main fuel in stars like the sun
Hypothesis	An educated guess that is used for experiments; a hypothesis must be tested in order to figure out whether it is true or false
Igneous	Rock that is formed from cooled magma (intrusive rock) or lava (extrusive rock)
Immigration	The movement of an organism into an area
Inadvertently	Unintentionally; usually because something was not taken into account
Independent assortment	Refers to the genetic concept that genes separate independently of each other during meiosis
Indestructible	Cannot be destroyed
Indivisible	Cannot be divided
Induction	A type of scientific thinking where specific instances are put together to form general ideas
Inference	A conclusion based upon facts
Informed consent	When performing an experiment involving people, this is the permission that the subject (person being experimented on) gives, but only when they know what will be done
Infrared	A part of the electromagnetic spectrum that has less energy than visible light; it is the radiation that heat gives off
Inheritance	Attributes that are received by offspring (children) from their parents
Inherited characteristics	Attributes that are received by offspring (children) from their parents
Inquiry	The process where information is received by asking questions
Interrelatedness	Describes how genetically related two species of organisms are
Intrusive	On the inside; refers to the type of rock that is formed inside the Earth when magma cools
Investigation	The work of inquiring into something thoroughly and according to specific steps
Ion	A charged particle that either has more or less electrons than protons
Ionic Bond	A type of bond where ions are formed; electrons are not shared between the atoms as they are lost from one atom and attracted to the other
Isotope	A version of an element having the same atomic number but a different atomic mass; this is due to an increase or decrease in the number of electrons
Jumping gene	A piece of DNA that can become a part of the chromosome at many different sites along the chromosome
Kinetic energy	The energy of movement
Lake effect snow	Snow created when cold air flows over relatively warm water then over cold land
Lamarck	Referring to the scientist who proposed the idea that evolution happens by the inheritance of acquired characteristics; Lamarck thought that giraffes' necks got longer because they grew during the lifetime of the parents and the parents passed long necks on to their offspring
Landform	A natural feature on Earth's surface
Life process	Something that occurs in an organism that is necessary to keep it alive
Light	A type of electromagnetic radiation that can be seen with eyes
Lipid	Refers to a group of fats that cannot be dissolved in water
Liquid	The state of matter where the particles are loose and form the shape of their container but do not necessarily fill up the container
Lithosphere	The section of Earth that is composed of rock
Living system	A group of organisms and their environment
Living thing	An organism
Logic	Reasoned and reasonable judgment; "it made a certain kind of logic"
Magma	Melted rock inside of the Earth
Magnet	A type of substance containing iron which also attracts iron (or steel)
Malleable	Can be pounded and shaped without breaking
Mass	How much matter there is in an object
Material Safety Data Sheet	A piece of safety equipment that comes with all ordered chemicals and states the properties of the chemical and safe handling procedures
Material	Something that is made up of matter
Matter	Something that has mass and occupies space
Mechanical	The use of tools or devices
Medium	The surrounding environment
Meiosis	The process of cell division which produces four sex cells (gametes) from one cell
Mendel	Gregor Mendel, the scientist who experimented with pea plants and discovered how genetic factors were passed down from parents to offspring
Metal	A chemical element from the left-hand side of the periodic table that is malleable, ductile and conducts electricity
Metalloid	A chemical element that has characteristics of both metals and nonmetals
Metamorphic	Rock formed when igneous or sedimentary rock is put under pressure, heated, or reacts chemically
Microorganism	A small organism that is only visible underneath a microscope
Microwave	A type of electromagnetic radiation that has low energy and is used primarily for communication (cell phones)
Mitochondria	An organelle in all eukaryotic cells which is responsible for energy production
Mitosis	The process of cell division which produces two body cells from one cell
Mixture	A substance consisting of two or more substances mixed together
Molecule	The smallest unit of a substance that is the combination of one or more atoms
Motion	A change in position or location
Movement	A change in position that does not necessarily mean a change in location
Multicellular	Made up of more than one cell
Mutation	A change in the DNA of an organism; substitution, deletion, insertion
Mutualism	A symbiotic relationship where both organisms benefit
Nanotechnology	Technology that is only visible through the microscope
Natural disaster	A result of severe weather (like tornadoes and hurricanes) or some geological event (like a volcano, earthquake or asteroid) that causes devastation and destruction
Natural selection	The process in which some organisms live and reproduce and others die before reproducing
Net force	The combination of all forces that act upon on object
Neutral	Not negatively charged and not positively charged; no charge
Newton	Sir Isaac Newton, a scientist who made hundreds of contributions to science like the law of gravity and his three major laws of physics; a Newton is a measure of force
Newton's 1st Law	An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an outside force
Newton's 2nd Law	The net force on an object is equal to the acceleration on that object times the mass of the object
Newton's 3rd Law	Every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction
Non-sustainable agriculture	Agriculture that is done so the land is over-farmed and cannot continue to produce forever
Nonmetal	A chemical element from the right side of the periodic table that is brittle and does not conduct electricity well
Nuclear decay	This happens when the nucleus of an atom breaks apart; usually, neutrons and protons leave the nucleus
Nuclear energy	Energy that is produced by fission or fusion reactions
Nuclear reaction	A reaction that happens in the nucleus of an atom; fission, fusion
Nuclear	Relating to the nucleus of an atom
Nucleic acid	In the nucleus of a cell, there are two major types of nucleic acids: DNA and RNA
Nucleotides	These are found on a strand of DNA or RNA as a sequence of bases
Nucleus	In biology, this refers to the middle of a cell; in physical science, this refers to the center of an atom
Observation	Noticing or paying attention
Offspring	Children, of any organism
Organic molecule	A molecule that contains carbon atoms bonded together
Organism	A living thing that can live and reproduce independently
Oxygen	One of the chemical elements on the periodic table that is used by all living things
Ozone	A form of oxygen that, in the atmosphere, protects living things from ultraviolet rays
Parasitism	A relationship in which one organism lives in or on another organism and benefits from that relationship while the host organism is harmed by it
Particle	An object in the atom that has mass
Peer review	A method of selecting essays to be published where a group of peers review and make comments about the submitted essays
Periodic table	An arrangement of chemical elements based on their atomic numbers and similarity of properties
pH scale	Measures the strength of acids and bases; an acid has a number below 7, a base has a number above 7 and neutral materials have a pH of 7 (like water)
Phenomenon	A fact, event or circumstance that can be observed
Phenotype	The physical expression (what can be seen) of a genetic characteristic; brown eyes, black hair
Phosphorous	One of the chemical elements on the periodic table that is used by all plants and animals
Photosynthesis	The process that happens in plants and some other organisms which takes the sun's energy and turns it into usable energy; 6CO2 + 6H2O + Light è C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6O2
Physical change	A change in a substance that results in a different form of the substance and can be undone
Physical property	A characteristic of a substance that can be observed; color, taste, texture, density
Physical science	Any of the sciences, such as physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology, that discusses the nature and properties of energy and nonliving matter
Pioneer	In biology, the first species that inhabit a certain area
Planet	Any large body of rock that orbits a star
Plastic	A material that can be molded and formed into objects and films
Plate tectonics	The theory that the earth's surface is divided into a few large, thick plates that are constantly moving
Position	The place in space where an object is found in relation to another object
Potential energy	Stored energy; energy that is released and then becomes kinetic energy
Precipitation	Any form of water that falls from the atmosphere; rain, snow, sleet, hail
Predation	When one animal hunts and feeds on another animal
Predator	An animal that hunts and feeds on prey
Predict	To use observations and inferences to make an educated guess about what will happen in an experiment
Prokaryote	A type of living thing that is single-celled and has no true nucleus
Propagate	To transmit or to continue a process
Proportional	A good size compared to something else
Protein synthesis	The creation of proteins in the cell from DNA
Protein	A sequence of amino acids
Proton	A positively-charged particle in the nucleus of an atom
Pure substance	A substance that has an identical chemical composition in every part
Purebred	For every genetic characteristic, a purebred is homozygous
Radiation	Energy that is transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles; when talking about heat, this is when heat spreads out from a central source
Radio wave	A type of electromagnetic radiation that has very low energy and a very long wavelength (can be 10 - 20 feet long); used for cell phones and radios of all kinds
Radioactive substance	A type of substance that releases neutrons and protons from its nucleus
Radiometric dating	Determining the age of a rock or fossil based on the amount of one isotope compared with another isotope; for example, the amount of carbon-14 versus the amount of carbon-12 can determine how old something is because carbon-14 breaks down to carbon-12 over time
Random motion	Motion that has no specific direction and cannot be predicted
Random	A lack of order and predictability
Reaction	When one or more substances are changed into other substances
Recessive	A genetic characteristic that is only expressed by the organism if there is no dominant characteristic present
Recycle	To break down a material so that it can be reused instead of throwing it away
Reflect	To throw or bend back
Reproduce	To create more of
Reproduction	The process of creating offspring
Resource	A supply of something that can be used when needed
Rock sequence	The order of rocks according to the geological age where they can be found
Science	The study of physical and material knowledge in an organized manner according to specific procedures
Sea-floor spreading	In geology, when oceanic plates move apart, the middle fills in with magma which cools and forms new sea floor
Segregation	In genetics, this refers to the separation of paired genes into separate sex cells (gametes)
Semiconductor	A type of material that allows electricity to flow with average resistance
Sequence	An arrangement in which things follow a pattern; in genetics, this refers to the bases of DNA, in order
Sex cell	A type of cell which is involved in reproduction; sperm, eggs
Sex-linked trait	A genetic characteristic that is present only on the X (or in some cases, the Y) chromosome and so behaves differently in males and females
Sexual reproduction	The combination of two individuals (genetically) to form one or more new organisms
Solid	One of the basic states of matter which has a definite shape and volume
Somatic cells	The type of cells that form the body of an organism and are not involved in sexual reproduction
Space	The unlimited area in which everything is located; "Space, the final frontier"
Species	A very specific classification of organisms; all members of a species can mate together
Speed	The amount of distance an object travels divided by the amount of time it takes; He traveled 30 mph
Star	An object in the sky that is made up of gases and very hot due to nuclear reactions (fission and fusion) that happen inside the star
Stem cell	A type of cell that can turn into any other type of cell
Substance	A type of matter that has the same properties; water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, diamond
Substitution	The replacement of one thing for another; in chemistry, this is a type of reaction where one atom or group is replaced by another; in genetics, this refers to a mutation where one base of DNA changes to another
Sulfur	A chemical element that is a part of fossil fuels and can contribute to acid rain
Superconductor	A type of material that allows electricity to flow with no resistance
Superimpose	To place one image on top of another
Support	In biology, this refers to the ability of the environment to provide basic needs to the organisms that live there
Survive	In biology, this refers to an organism that makes it to the next generation
Sustainable agriculture	Agriculture that is done so the land is used well and can continue on forever
Symbiosis	A relationship between two or more organisms
Synthesis	The combination of two or more things or concepts
Technology	The application of science to solve a particular problem
Temperature	The measurement of the average thermal energy of a system
Theory	A well proven explanation of some part of the natural world
Thermal energy	Heat
Time	A part of the measuring system used to measure how long an action takes
Tornado alley	The area in the midwest United States that gets a high amount of tornadoes
Total mass	The combination of all of the masses of everything that is being considered
Ultraviolet	A form of electromagnetic radiation that has more energy than visible light; most ultraviolet light is usually blocked in our atmosphere by ozone
Unbalanced charge	An electric charge, positive or negative, that is not neutral because there are either more or less electrons than normal
Unbalanced force	A force that is not balanced out by an opposite force; She was pushing against the wall, but when the wall fell it became an unbalanced force!
Undirected variation	Changes in a population that seem random but can result in mutations that benefit the organism
Unicellular	Made up of one cell
Unity	Property of something in that it is complete
Unstable nuclei	More than one nucleus (nuclei) that break down very quickly to smaller nuclei
Urban growth	The distance that a city (an urban center) is expanding
Variation	Something that has changed; in biology, this refers to the genetic difference between individuals
Velocity	The distance that an object travels over a certain amount of time and in a certain direction; He traveled at 30 mph south
Vibration	A shaky motion, especially inside of an atom
Virus	A small particle that contains DNA or RNA and is able to reproduce only inside of a living cell
Visible light	A form of electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye (other organisms are capable of seeing some infrared and ultraviolet radiation)
Volcanic action	The type and amount of lava that is erupting from a volcano
Volume	The amount of space an object takes up
Wave	A movement up and down or back and forth
Wavelength	Refers to the length of a single wave (back and forth); can be calculated from the crest of one wave to the crest of the next
Weather pattern	Weather that happens over and over again over a certain period of time
Weather	The current state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature, wind, clouds and precipitation
Weight	The combination of the mass and the force of gravity on an object
X-rays	A form of electromagnetic radiation that has low energy and is used in medical equipment

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