Scientific Method
An educated guess or a testable prediction about the outcome of an experiment.
What is a hypothesis?
The transfer of heat through direct contact between two objects.
What is conduction?
Known as the "brain" of the cell, it contains the genetic material (DNA).
What is the nucleus?
The movement of particles from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration.
What is diffusion?
The natural process where gases in the atmosphere trap heat to keep Earth warm.
What is the greenhouse effect?
The single factor in an experiment that the scientist purposely changes.
What is the independent variable?
The transfer of heat through the movement of fluids, such as liquids or gases.
What is convection?
Often called the "powerhouse," this organelle converts nutrients into energy.
What is the mitochondria?
The diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane.
What is osmosis?
Non-renewable energy sources like coal, oil, and gas that release carbon when burned.
What are fossil fuels?
This part of the experiment is kept under "normal" conditions and is used for comparison.
What is the control group?
The transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves, which can travel through a vacuum.
What is radiation?
This rigid outer layer is found in plant cells but is completely absent in animal cells.
What is the cell wall?
The process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create food.
What is photosynthesis?
An "accounting" of how much thermal energy the Earth absorbs or reflects.
What is the "energy budget".
Data that is described using words and observations rather than numbers.
What is qualitative data?
This occurs when a substance increases in volume because its particles are moving faster and taking up more space.
What is thermal expansion?
The green organelle where photosynthesis takes place.
What is a chloroplast?
A membrane that allows only certain substances to pass through while blocking others.
What is selectively permeable (or semi-permeable)?
The primary greenhouse gas produced by human activities like driving cars and factories.
What is carbon dioxide (CO2)?
The variable that is measured or observed to see how it responds to changes.
What is the dependent variable?
A material, like wood or plastic, that does not allow heat to transfer through it easily.
What is an insulator?
This jelly-like substance fills the cell and surrounds the organelles.
What is cytoplasm?
The process where cells create new cells.
What is cellular reproduction/cell division?
The total amount of greenhouse gases produced by an individual, event, or organization.
What is a carbon footprint?