Interactive Science Dictionary

3rd Nine Weeks Science Words

1.     erosion the action of picking up rocks/soil and carrying it to another location
2.     depositionthe dropping of sediments in a new location 
3.     processa series of events that lead to a change       
4.     weatheringthe breaking down or wearing away of rocks 
5.     deltaa long flat area of land at the mouth or base of a river formed by the deposit of sediments
6.     inexhaustible resourcesthings in nature that are in unlimited supply
7.     earthquakea shaking of Earth’s crust caused by plate movement deep below the Earth’s surface   
8.     faulta crack in Earth’s crust
9.     Pangaeaa super continent;all the pieces of land on Earth (called continents) pushed together
10.  platespieces of the Earth’s crust
11.  natural resourcessome-thing that comes from nature that we need and use
12.  renewable resourcesthose things that can easily be replaced in a short time
13.  fossil fuelsoil, coal, and natural gas 
14.  nonrenewable resourcesthings found in nature that cannot be easily replaced
15.  condensationwhen water vapor turns from a gas back into a liquid
16. precipitation - the falling of water in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail
17.  water cyclethe change of water from one state to another
18. evaporation - the change of water from a liquid to a gas
19.  accumulationwhen water gathers after it rains or snows
20.  staran object in space that produces its own heat and light   
21.  eclipsean event in space that happens when one object casts a shadow on another object
22.  constellation – a group of stars that people who lived long ago thought formed a picture in the sky
23.  satellitean object in space that travels around another object in space
24.  phases – changes in the moon’s shape and how it looks to people on Earth
25.  seasonstimes of changes in temperature, amount of daylight, and plant growth
26.  climate – the general pattern of weather conditions in a region over a period of many years    
27.  tropical climate zone -  a climate zone found near the equator generally having two seasons: wet and dry
28.  temperate climate zone – a climate zone that has four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall    
29.  polar climate zone -  a climate zone that has two major seasons: light and dark
30.  full moon – the phase of the moon that occurs when the half moon (facing Earth) is fully lit
31.  tidesthe rise and fall of  Earth’s ocean waters due to the gravitational pull of the moon
32.  new moon – the phase of the moon where the moon is between the sun and Earth     
33.  waxingwhen the moon is appearing bigger each night because more and more of the lit side is visible                                                                   34.  waning - when the moon is appearing smaller each night because less and less of the lit side  is visible 
35.  glucosethe sugar that a plant makes when it combines carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight
36.  xylem – tiny tubes in a plant’s stem that carry water up to the leaves through capillary action     
37.  photosynthesis - the process that a plant goes through to use the light from the sun to make its own food
38.  chlorophyll – a green chemical that captures the energy in sunlight to make food 
39.  phloemtubes that carry glucose (food) to the rest of the plant                      
40.  nymph – an immature version of an adult