Matter: anything that takes up space and has mass.
Volume: how much space an object takes up.
Mass: how much matter is in an object.
Solid: matter with a definite shape and size.
Liquid: matter with a definite volume but no definite shape.
Gas: matter with no definite size or shape.
Physicist: A scientist who studies how things work and how they affect our daily lives.
Work: done when a force changes the motion of an object.
Machine: an assemblage of parts that can transmit force, motion, and energy.
Compound Machine: a combination of two or more simple machines.
Simple Machine: a machine with no or few moving parts.
Lever: a straight bar that moves on a fixed point. It has 3 parts - the fulcrum, the load, and the force.
Screw: an inclined plane wrapped around a spiral
Inclined plane (ramp): a flat surface that is higher at one end.
Wedge: made of two inclined planes back to back. It uses force to raise an object or to split an object apart.
Pulley: uses a wheel and a rope to lift a load.
Wheel and Axle: has a wheel that turns on a post (called an axle). It changes the strength of a turning force.
Adaptation – a specialized characteristic or “tool” that an animal has that enables it to survive in its environment.
Behavioral adaptation – behaviors that allow animals to respond to life needs such as hibernation and migration
Physical adaptation – an alteration in an animal’s structure that helps it survive in the environment (includes mimicry and camouflage)
Camouflage – an animal’s skin or fur coloring that allows for concealment by appearing to be part of the natural surroundings (a physical adaptation)
Hibernate - to be or become inactive or dormant (usually in the winter)
Migrate – to travel, usually periodically, from one region to another for feeding or reproduction.
Mimicry- when one animal imitates the physical characteristics of another animal to avoid being eaten
Instinct – behaviors animals are born with that allow them to survive
Learned behavior – behavior that is obtained by interacting with the environment and cannot be passed on to the next generation except by teaching
producer – an organism such as a plant that makes its own food
consumer – an organism that eats producers or other consumers
decomposer – an organism that breaks down dead plant and animal material
habitat – the home of a living thing
food chain – a series of organisms that depend on one another for food.
herbivore – an animal that eats only plants.
carnivore – an animal that eats only animals.
omnivore – an animal that eats both plants and animals.
predator – an animal that hunts for food.
prey – the animals that predators eat.
environment - all of the factors influencing the life and activities of people, plants, and animals.
desert - hot, dry ecosystem with very little rain.
oceans - large body of salt water that covers 3/4 of the earth's surface.
grassland - an ecosystem in which grass is the main vegetation
forest - dense growth of trees and underbrush covering a large area.
aquatic enviornment - environment that contains water such as a pond, lake, river, stream, ocean, or marshland
terrestrial environment - environments on dry land such as deserts, grasslands, rain forests, and forests
biotic - all living things in an environment.
abiotic - all nonliving things in an environment (such as rocks, soil, etc.)
population - one group of the same kind of organisms that live in the same place (ex: giraffes and zebras are 2 different populations that are found in the grassland)
community - all of the living things in an enviornment
cycle - a repeated sequence of events
sequence - the order in which things happen
rotation - the motion of turning on an axis; spin; causes day and night
revolve - the movement of planets around the sun; to move in a circular fashion; causes the seasons to occur each year
new moon - the moon is dark
full moon - the moon is bright and you can see the entire shape
half moon - we see half of a circle that is bright
tides - the rise and fall of the ocean waters caused by the gravitational pull of the moon on the Earth