How we do science
a system of measurement that uses the meter, liter, and gram as base units of length (distance), capacity (volume), and weight (mass)
The metric system
Non-living physical and chemical elements in the environment, such as water, soil, and sunlight.
Abiotic
A diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among various biological species based on similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics.
Cladogram
The concentration of salt in water.
Salinity
The star that is located very near the earths north pole
Polaris
The type of graph used when the data has a numerical variable and a non-numerical variable
A bar graph
A species that has a disproportionately large impact on its ecosystem relative to its abundance.
Keystone species
A trait that is present in an organism but was absent in the last common ancestor of the group being considered.
Derived character
Parts per million
Ppm
A group a stars that create a pattern
Constellation
A proposed explanation for a phenomenon, which can be tested through experimentation.
A hypothesis
An organism that produces its own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
Autotroph
The process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.
Natural selection
A laboratory instrument used to measure the volume of a liquid.
Graduated cylinder
A bright constellation with the shape of a "W" or "M" in the northern sky, near the North Star, opposite the Big Dipper.
Cassiopeia
The lens or eyepiece that a user looks through while using a microscope
Ocular lens
The process of water filtering through soil and rock layers.
Percolation
A group of organisms believed to have evolved from a common ancestor.
Clade
A tool used to measure water transparency in bodies of water.
Secchi disk
a constellation that is always visible from a specific latitude because it is close to one of the celestial poles and never sets below the horizon
Circumpolar constellation
One millionth of a centimeter
Micrometer
The part of a cell that is responsible for building proteins
Ribosomes
The observable physical or biochemical characteristics of an organism, determined by both genetic makeup and environmental influences.
Phenotype
a form of nitrogen that can be found in water from sources like agricultural runoff, septic waste, and natural deposits
Nitrites
a massive, reddish supergiant star in the constellation Orion
Betelgeuse