General
The size, extent, quantity, or importance of something, often indicating a large scale or high degree. (ex: brightness of a star, intensity of a hurricane)
Magnitude
The movement of people, animals, or things from one place, region, or location to another, often over long distances or on a seasonal basis.
Migration
The most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, constituting approximately 78% of dry air by volume.
Nitrogen
The process where a liquid (like water) turns into a gas (vapor) at its surface without boiling.
Evaporation
A variable that stands alone and isn't changed by the other variables you are trying to measure.
Independent
A technique for detecting, locating, and identifying submerged objects using sound waves.
SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging)
The process by which species develop traits that improve their ability to survive and reproduce in a specific environment
Adaptation
The natural breakdown, disintegration, or decomposition of rocks and minerals on Earth’s surface by physical, chemical, and biological processes.
Weathering
The smallest, basic building block of ordinary matter that makes up everything around us.
Atom
A variable in scientific experiments that remains fixed and unchanged throughout the process.
Constant
The straight distance from the center of a circle or sphere to any point on its outer edge.
Radius
The process used by plants, algae, and certain bacteria to turn sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into sugar (food) and oxygen.
Photosynthesis
The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus, which is where an earthquake or underground explosion originates.
Epicenter
Groups of two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds.
Molecule
The factors or causes within an experiment's design, setup, or execution that reduce the precision or accuracy of measurements. (Ex: Instrumental, Observational, Experimental, Systemic)
Source of Error
The invisible force that pulls any two objects with mass or energy toward one another.
Gravity
A diagram that maps the genetic history and relationships of a family across multiple generations.
Pedigree Chart
The long-term pattern of weather conditions—such as temperature, precipitation, and wind—in a specific region averaged over a long period.
Climate
What is the melting/freezing point of water in Celcius?
A standard baseline in an experiment that does not receive the experimental treatment or independent variable.
Control
The height of a wave.
Amplitude
Plants, trees, or shrubs that shed their leaves annually at the end of the growing season, typically in autumn, to conserve water and energy.
Deciduous
A regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another one.
Orbit or Revolution
The force applied perpendicular to a surface per unit area.
Pressure
A straightforward method of determining a physical quantity (like length, weight, or temperature).
Direct Measurement