Hinge a joint on which a cover or lid moves back and forth 

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