Science Vocab 4th and 5th grade Flashcards
1
Q
photosynthesis
A
how plants trap energy and then convert it to food
2
Q
plant parts
A
roots, stems, leaves, flower
3
Q
leaves
A
how plants capture light for photosynthesis
4
Q
roots
A
anchor plant and take in water and nutrients
5
Q
flower
A
for reproduction
6
Q
stem
A
for support and movement of water and nutrients
7
Q
how do populations thrive?
A
by members being able to reproduce (create offpsring)
8
Q
how do most plants reproduce?
A
by seeds
9
Q
what is pollination
A
the process by which pollen is transferred from the stamen to the pistil (by animal, wind, or water)
10
Q
what attracts pollinators?
A
scents and colors
11
Q
ecosystem
A
an area where living and nonliving things interact
12
Q
nonliving factors of an ecosystem
A
sunlight, water, nutrients, soil, and air
13
Q
food chain
A
a single line of food (example, grass, rabbit, bird, wolf)
14
Q
food web
A
an ecosystem’s interactions with each other
15
Q
Where is the greatest amount of energy in an ecosystem?
A
producers
16
Q
how does the sun’s energy cycle?
A
producers through consumers through decomposers
17
Q
community
A
the population of species that live in the same place at the same time together
18
Q
habitat
A
place where an animal or plant naturally lives
19
Q
what does a habitat have?
A
provides food, water, shelter, and space
20
Q
niche
A
the function or role that an organism performs in the food web of that community
21
Q
thermal energy
A
energy transfers from the sun and impacts air movement and weather conditions
22
Q
What determines an area’s climate?
A
The average data from the last 30 years
23
Q
what do we use to describe weather?
A
temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, precipitation, and cloudiness
24
Q
cumulus
A
clouds that are fluffy and white with flat bottoms, indicate fair weather
25
cumulonimbus
clouds may produce thunderstorms
26
stratus
smooth, gray clouds that cover the whole sky (block direct sunlight), light rain and drizzle may occur
27
cirrus
feathery clouds, associated with fair weather, snow or rain may come
28
high pressure air masses
clear sky, light winds
29
low pressure air masses
stormy weather and strong winds
30
atmosphere
dynamic system and changes in conditions
31
thunderstorm
typically between 30 minutes to 1 hour, heavy rain, lightning also precedes thunder
32
hurricanes
occur over warm, tropical weather, and have winds equal to or greater than 74 miles per hour
33
tornados
most form from thunderstorms as the wind changes direction and the air begins to rotate.
34
weather
day-to-day state of the atmosphere for a given area
35
climate
weather of a given area averaged over an extended period of time.
36
Solar system
is made up of eight planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
37
terrestrial planets
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
38
gas giants
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
39
Ways earth moves
rotation, revolution, tilt
40
tilt
The earth is on a tilt, which means it is always at an angle
41
rotation
a turn in place
42
revolution
a circle around something (the Earth revolves around the Sun)
43
moon phases
new, first quarter, full, last quarter
44
What causes the phases of the moon?
the reflection of sunlight off of the moon's surfaces
45
phases of the moon control what?
tides
46
high tide occurs
at new moon and full moons
47
sun
is a star, about 4.6 billon years old, and is 110 times the diameter of the Earth
48
Ocean floor is made up of:
continental slope, continental shelf, continental rise, abyssal planes, and ocean trenches
49
the ocean floor is covered in
thick layers of sediment
50
ocean water is made up of
mixture of gases, water, and dissolved solids
51
salinity
measure of salt dissolved in water
52
ocean current
caused by wind patterns and the differences in water due to temperature differences
53
an example of an ocean current is
the gulf stream
54
plants and floating organisms are
producers in the ocean food chain
55
organisms in the ocean are grouped by
floating organisms, swimming organisms, or non-moving organisms
56
watershed
an area of land over which surface water flows to a single collection place
57
Our watershed is
the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
58
Other major watersheds
Gulf of Mexico and the North Carolina sound
59
natural resources
necessary or useful to humans, comes from nature
60
Virginia's natural resources
minerals, plants, animals, water, soil, and land
61
Virginia's Water resources
lakes, rivers, bays, and the Atlantic Ocean
62
Plant resources
plants hold soil in place (reduce erosion and improve water quality), provide shelter, habitats, and oxygen
63
animal resources
provide food, fiber, and leather
64
minerals, ores, and rocks
natural resources that have a specific purpose
65
energy
the ability to cause change and that change can take multiple forms
66
energy forms
motion (mechanical), light (radiant), sound, electrical and magnetic fields, and thermal energy (heat)
67
law of energy
energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another
68
work
defined as a force acting upon an object, causing the object to move in the direction of the force
69
energy is moved from place to place by
moving objects, through sound, light, or electric currents
70
kinetic energy
moving objects
71
motion of an object is described by
its direction and speed
72
speed
how fast an object is moving
73
force
any push or pull that causes an object to move, stop, or change speed or direction
74
simple circuit has
bulb, battery, and wire
75
a closed circuit
allows electricity to flow within the circuit
76
opening a circuit
means electricity will not flow
77
conductors
allow electricity to flow through them
78
examples of conductors
metals
79
insulators
do not allow electricity to move through them
80
examples of insulators
rubber, wood, and plastics
81
static electricity
transfer of negatively charged particles
82
what creates a magnetic field?
a current flowing through a wire
83
simple electromagnet is made by
wrapping a wire around iron-bearing metal (like a nail) and creating a closed circuit
84
the strength of an electromagnet is affected by
the number of coils
85
sound is produced
as waves cause vibrations as they travel through matter
86
sound is a type of
mechanical energy and is transmitted by vibrations
87
sound must travel
through mediums (solids, liquids, and gases)
88
pitch
determined by the speed of the vibration
89
high pitch
faster vibration
90
low pitch
slower vibration
91
sounds travels faster through
solids
92
sound travels slowest through
gases
93
radiant energy
light
94
radiant energy that can be seen
visible light
95
light travels in
transverse waves
96
wavelength
distance between two corresponding points on successive waves (crest to crest or trough to trough)
97
frequency
number of waves passing a given point in a designated time
98
visible spectrum
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet
99
light travels in
a straight path unless it hits an object where it is reflected, refracted, transmitted
100
refraction
bending of light
101
refract
when light hits a prism and light is seperated (why you can see a rainbow)
102
transparent
can see through completely
103
translucent
can see through somewhat (like wax paper)
104
opaque
cannot see through
105
matter
anything that has mass and takes up space
106
mass
amount of matter in an object
107
weight
how much something weighs
108
matter is made up of
atoms that you cannot see
109
mixture
two or more substances are combined
110
solutions
a type of mixture where you cannot separate it (ex: sugar water, salt water, and soda)
111
earth's layers
crust, mantle, outer core, inner core
112
convergent boundaries
plates move toward each other
113
divergent boundaries
plates move apart from each other
114
transform boundaries
plates slip past each other
115
plate tectonics
plates on earth's crust that move slowly, driven by thermal energy
116
types of rocks
sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic
117
sedimentary
layers of sediment cemented together
118
igneous
rock that has melted and cooled
119
metamorphic
changed by heat and pressure
120
weathering
rock and other material that is broken down by chemicals or weather
121
erosion
materials moved by water and win
122
deposition
materials moved to new location as sediment
123
non-renewable energy sources
natural resources that cannot be replaced
124
examples of non-renewable energy sources
fossil fuels and natural gas
125
renewable energy sources
resources that are replaced naturally and can be used again
126
examples of renewable energy sources
wind, water, and sunlight
