Science Terms N-P

Question 1

net force

Answer 1

the vector sum of all the forces acting on an object

Question 2

newton

Answer 2

the metric and System International unit of force. One newton equals one kg/s2.

Question 3

non-renewable resource

Answer 3

a resource that is not replaced in nature as quickly as it is used. In many cases it is not replaced or re-formed at all.

Question 4

normal force

Answer 4

this force acts between any two surfaces in contact. It is the part of the contact force that acts normal or perpendicular to the surfaces in contact.

Question 5

nucleolus

Answer 5

an organelle found inside a nucleus that is responsible for the production of ribosomes

Question 6

nucleotide

Answer 6

the smallest unit of DNA. There are five different types of nucleotides: adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine, and uracil. The arrangement of genes is based directly on the specific arrangement of nucleotides.

Question 7

nucleus

Answer 7

an organelle in a cell that contains all of the DNA and controls the functions of the cell

Question 8

object distance

Answer 8

the distance from an object to a mirror or lens

Question 9

oceanography

Answer 9

the study of the Earth’s oceans

Question 10

orbit

Answer 10

the path an object takes as it travels around another in space

Question 11

organic

Answer 11

a material that is plant or animal in origin

Question 12

oxbow lake

Answer 12

a crescent shaped lake formed when a meander is cut off from the river it was part of

Question 13

oxidation

Answer 13

the loss of electrons by a substance in a chemical reaction

Question 14

parallel circuit

Answer 14

a circuit with more than one path for the current to follow

Question 15

period

Answer 15

the time, often measured in seconds, for one complete repetition or rotation

Question 16

phloem

Answer 16

vascular tissue found in plants that transports mostly sugar and water; can travel either “shoot to root” or “root to shoot.”

Question 17

photon

Answer 17

a particle of light. A discreet amount of light energy where a single photon of light is the smallest unit of light energy possible.

Question 18

photosynthesis

Answer 18

a process by which the sunlight’s energy, water, and carbon dioxide are transformed into sugar and oxygen

Question 19

physical property

Answer 19

a property that can be observed without performing a chemical transformation of that substance

Question 20

plate tectonics

Answer 20

the theory in which Earth’s crust is made up of many plates that float on the mantle. This theory explains the movement of the continents, the formation of mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, and the existence of mid-oceanic ridges.

Question 21

polymer

Answer 21

a large molecule made up of repeating units of one or more small molecules (monomers)

Question 22

position

Answer 22

the location of an object in a coordinate system. Common units of measure are meters (m).

Question 23

potential difference

Answer 23

the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points. This is commonly called voltage. The common unit of measure for potential difference is called volts.

Question 24

potential energy

Answer 24

the energy due to an object’s position or state

Question 25

precession

Answer 25

the process by which the Earth’s axis traces out a circle on the celestial sphere

Question 26

precision

Answer 26

the measurement of the closeness of measurements obtained from two or more experimental runs

Question 27

pressure

Answer 27

force per unit area. Units used to measure pressure are torr, atmosphere (atm), and pascal (pa).

Question 28

procedure

Answer 28

a logical list of steps that explain the exact actions taken to perform an experiment

Question 29

projectile

Answer 29

an object in two-dimensional motion that has a vertical acceleration equal to -g (or g downward) and a horizontal acceleration of zero

Question 30

protein synthesis

Answer 30

a process by which DNA will transport its information by way of RNA to the ribosomes where proteins will be assembled