Term | Definition |
Vibration | the back-and-forth motion of an object |
Transparent | describes materials that let nearly all light pass through them |
Translucent | describes materials that let some light pass through, but not all |
Opaque | describes materials that do not let any light pass through them |
Reflection | light/sound bouncing off of an object |
Refraction | bending of light |
Absorption | traps in light energy and turns it in to heat energy |
Friction | the force that results when two materials rub against each other or when their contact prevents sliding |
Force | a push or pull that acts on an object |
Revolution | one full orbit around the sun (1 year) |
Axis | an imaginary line around which an object spins |
Rotation | one whole spin of an object on its axis (1 day) |
Planet | a large, round object that revolves around a star and has cleared the region around its orbit |
Moon | a natural object that revolves around a planet |
Comet | a frozen mass of different types of ice and dust orbiting the sun |
Inner Planets | any of the four closest planets to the sun (small and rocky) |
Outer Planets | any of the four planets in our solar system beyond Mars (large & gaseous) |
Dwarf Planet | a large round object that revolves around the sun but has not cleared the region around its orbit (Pluto) |
Asteroid Belt | The region between Mars and Jupiter of rocky masses that revolve around the sun |
Ecosystem | all the living and nonliving things in an area and their interactions |
Predator | a consumer that hunts and eats another animal |
Prey | any animal that is hunted by others for food |
Habitat | a place that provides all the things (food, water, space, shelter) an organism needs to live |
Food Chain | depicts one way energy flows through an ecosystem |
Food Web | a diagram that combines many food chains into one picture |
Consumer | an organism that cannot make its own food; its role is to eat other organisms |
Producer | an organism that can produce its own food |
Photosynthesis | the process by which producers (plants) make their own food using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide |
Carnivore | a consumer that eats only meat |
Herbivore | a consumer that eats only plants |
Omnivore | a consumer that eats both plants and animals |
Decomposer | an organism that gets its energy by breaking down wastes and dead organisms |