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Science Glossary Grade 4, adaptation, , a characteristic of an organism that increases its chance of survival in its, environment, , atmosphere, , the layers of gas that surround Earth, other planets, or stars, , atom, , the smallest unit of a chemical element that can still retain the properties of, that element, , axis, , the imaginary line on which an object rotates (e.g., Earth’s axis runs through, Earth between the North Pole and the South Pole); an imaginary straight line, that runs through a body; a reference to the line in a coordinate system or, graph, , carnivore, , an animal or plant that consumes or obtains nutrients from animals, , change of state, , a physical change that occurs when matter changes to another state (i.e.,, liquid, gas, or solid), , chemical change, , a reaction or a change in a substance produced by chemical means that results, in producing a different chemical, , community, , all the populations of organisms belonging to different species and sharing, the same geographical area, , compound, , a substance made up of a combination of two or more elements held together, by chemical bonds that cannot be separated by physical means; has properties, unlike those of the elements that make up the compound, , condensation, , the process of changing from a gas (i.e., water vapor) to a liquid (i.e., dew);, the act of making more dense or compact, , conservation, , controlled use and/or maintenance of natural resources; various efforts to, preserve or protect natural resources, , constellation, , a star pattern identified and named as a definite group; usually thought of as, forming certain shapes or figures in a specific region of the sky, , consumer, , an organism that feeds on other organisms for food

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decomposer, , any organism that feeds or obtains nutrients by breaking down organic matter, from dead organisms, , density, , concentration of matter of an object; number of individuals in the same, species that live in a given area; the mass per unit volume of a substance in a, given area, , deposition, , layering matter in a natural process, , earthquake, , the shaking of the ground caused by a sudden release of energy in Earth’s, crust, , ecosystem, , an integrated unit of a biological community, its physical environment, and, interactions, , electricity, , energy created by moving charged particles, , element, , a substance that cannot be reduced to a simpler substance by chemical means, , energy, , a quantity that describes the capacity to do work; a source of usable power, , energy pyramid, , a pyramidal diagram that compares the amount of energy available at each, position, or level, in the feeding order, , energy transfer, , a change of energy from one form to another (e.g., mechanical to electrical,, solar to electrical), , environment, , the sum of conditions affecting an organism, including all living and, nonliving things in an area, such as plants, animals, water, soil, weather,, landforms, and air, , equator, , an imaginary circle around Earth’s surface located between the poles and a, plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation that divides it into the Northern and, Southern Hemispheres, , erosion, , the wearing away of Earth’s surface by the breakdown and transportation of, rock and soil, , evaporation, , the process by which a liquid is converted to its vapor phase by heating the, liquid

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experiment, , a procedure that is carried out and repeated under controlled conditions in, order to discover, demonstrate, or test a hypothesis; includes all components, of the scientific method, , food chain, , transfer of energy through various stages as a result of feeding patterns of a, series of organisms, , food web (food, cycle), , the interconnected feeding relationships in a food chain found in a particular, place and time, , force, , a quality that tends to produce movement or acceleration of a body in the, direction of its application; a push or pull, , fossil, , a whole or part of a plant or animal that has been preserved in sedimentary, rock, , friction, , a force that opposes the relative motion of two material surfaces in contact, with one another, , fulcrum, , the pivot point of a lever, , galaxy, , a large collection of stars, gases, and dust that are part of the universe (e.g.,, the Milky Way galaxy) bound together by gravitational forces, , gas, , one of the fundamental states of matter in which the molecules do not have a, fixed volume or shape, , gravitation, , a force of attraction between two masses, , gravity, , the observed effect of the force of gravitation, , habitat, , a place in an ecosystem where an organism normally lives, , heat, , a form of energy resulting from the temperature difference between a system, and its surroundings, , herbivore, , an animal that feeds on plants, , igneous rock, , a type of rock that forms from molten or partly molten material that cools and, hardens, , inclined plane, , a type of simple machine; a slanted surface that makes it easier to move a, mass from a lower point to a higher point

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inertia, , the property of a body, due to its mass, that causes it to resist any change in, its motion unless overcome by a force, , investigation, , a procedure that is carried out in order to observe a response caused by a, stimulus; not a complete experiment, , kinetic energy, , the energy possessed by a body because of its motion, , lever, , a type of simple machine; consists of a rigid bar that pivots about a fulcrum,, used to transmit and enhance power or motion, , life cycle, , the entire sequence of events in an organism’s growth and development, , light, , electromagnetic radiation that lies within the visible range, , liquid, , one of the fundamental states of matter with a definite volume but no definite, shape, , magnetic, , having the property of attracting iron and certain other materials by virtue of, a surrounding field of force, , mass, , the amount of matter an object contains, , matter, , a solid, liquid, or gas that possesses inertia and is capable of occupying space, , metamorphic, rock, , a type of rock that forms from existing rock because of extreme changes, caused by heat, pressure, or chemical environments, , microscopic, , relating to an object too small to be visible without the use of a microscope, , mixture, , the product of a thorough blending of two or more substances, not chemically, combined, , moon, , a natural satellite that revolves around a planet, , moon phase, , a phrase that indicates the fraction of the Moon’s disc that is illuminated (as, seen from Earth); the eight moon phases (in order): new moon, waxing, crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last, quarter, waning crescent

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nonrenewable, resource, , a resource that can only be replenished over millions of years, , organ, , a structure containing different tissues that are organized to carry out a, specific function of the body (e.g., heart, lungs, brain, etc.), , organism, , any living plant, animal, or fungus that maintains various vital processes, necessary for life, , photosynthesis, , a chemical process by which plants trap light energy to convert carbon, dioxide and water into carbohydrates (sugars), a reaction; a change in matter from one form to another, without forming new, substances, , physical change, , planet, , a large body in space that orbits a star and does not produce light of its own, , pollution, , any alteration of the natural environment producing a condition harmful to, living organisms; may occur naturally or as a result of human activities, , population, , a group of organisms of the same species living in a specific geographical, area, , potential energy, , the energy an object has because of its position or structure; stored energy, , predator, , an organism that preys on and consumes animals; usually an animal, , prey, , an organism caught or hunted for food by another organism, , producer, , an organism that makes its own food from the environment; usually a green, plant, , pulley, , a type of simple machine; a circular lever, usually a wheel with a groove, where a rope can be placed and used to change the direction of a force, , reflection, , the bouncing off or turning back of light, sound, or heat from a surface, , refraction, , the bending of waves as they enter a different medium

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renewable, resource, , a resource that is replaced or restored, as it is used, by natural processes in a, reasonable amount of time, , resource, , any material that can be used to satisfy a need, , scientific, method, , a plan of inquiry that uses science process skills as tools to gather, organize,, analyze, and communicate information, , sedimentary, rock, , rock formed from layers of sediment that overlay and squeeze together or are, chemically combined, , solar system, , a star and all the planets and other bodies that orbit it; the region in space, where these bodies move, , solid, , having a definite shape and a definite volume; one of the fundamental states, of matter, , solution, , a mixture of two or more substances uniformly dispersed throughout a single, phase, , star, , a large, gaseous, self-luminous body held together by gravity and powered by, thermonuclear reactions, , Sun, , the closest star to Earth and the center of our solar system, , system, , a set of objects, organisms, or different parts acting to form a whole, , tissue, , similar cells acting to perform a specific function; four basic types of tissue, are muscle, connective, nerve, and epidermal, , topography, , the surface, shape, and composition of a land area, , universe, , the total sum of all matter and energy that exists, , volcano, , a vent or fissure in Earth’s surface through which magma and its associated, materials are expelled; generally a mountain-like structure, , volume, , a measure of the amount of space an object takes up; also the loudness of a, sound or signal, , water cycle, , the path water takes as it is being cycled through the environment, including, condensation, evaporation, and precipitation

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weathering, , the natural processes that break down and change rock into soil, sand, and, other materials; differs from erosion in that no transportation of those, materials takes place, , wheel and axle, , a type of simple machine; a circular frame or disk revolving around a central, axis