NB G4 Scientific Literacy key terms

The place where a plant or animal lives and finds what it needs, including food, water, shelter, and space. Different living things are suited to different habitats.

All the living things in one area together with the non-living parts around them, such as soil, water, air, and sunlight. These parts interact and depend on one another.

The path that shows how energy passes from one living thing to another as each one is eaten. A food chain usually begins with a plant.

A living thing, usually a green plant, that makes its own food using sunlight, water, and air. Producers form the base of most food chains.

An animal that cannot make its own food and must eat plants, other animals, or both to get the energy it needs to live and grow.

A living thing such as a fungus or bacterium that breaks down dead plants and animals, returning nutrients to the soil. Decomposers help recycle materials within an ecosystem.

A body part or behavior that helps a living thing survive in its habitat. Adaptations develop over many generations, such as thick fur in cold places.

The stages a living thing passes through from the start of its life until it can produce offspring of its own. Frogs, butterflies, and plants each follow a typical life cycle.

A feature passed from parents to their offspring through genes, such as eye color or flower color. Inherited traits are not learned; they are present from birth or growth.

Anything that has mass and takes up space. Solids, liquids, and gases are all matter, and matter can change state when it is heated or cooled.

The amount of space that an object or a substance takes up. The volume of a liquid is often measured with a graduated cylinder in milliliters.

The change of a liquid into a gas, which happens when the liquid gains enough energy. A puddle drying in the sunshine is an everyday example.

The change of a gas into a liquid when it loses energy, such as water vapor forming drops on a cold glass. Condensation is the reverse of evaporation.

A push or a pull that can change how fast an object moves, the direction it moves, or its shape. Forces are measured in units called newtons.

A change in the position of an object over time, described by how fast and in what direction it moves. Motion is always compared with a reference point.

A force that resists motion when two surfaces rub against each other. Friction produces heat, can slow objects down, and can be reduced with smooth or rolling surfaces.

A closed loop that lets electric current travel from a power source through wires and a device such as a bulb, then back again. Breaking the loop stops the current.

A material that lets heat or electricity pass through it easily, such as copper, aluminum, or steel. Metals are the conductors most often used in wires and pots.

A material that slows or blocks the movement of heat or electricity, such as rubber, plastic, wood, or air. Insulators are used to protect people and keep heat in.

The ability to cause change or do work. Energy appears in forms such as light, heat, sound, and motion, and it moves between objects but is never created or destroyed.

The slow breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces by water, wind, ice, or living things. Weathering happens where the rock sits and does not carry the pieces away.

The carrying away of weathered rock, soil, and sand from one place to another by water, wind, or ice. Erosion slowly shapes valleys and coastlines.

The continuous movement of water between Earth's surface and the air through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection. The same water is used again and again.

The spinning of a planet or moon around its own center. Earth completes one rotation about every 24 hours, which causes day and night.

The movement of one object around another in space, such as Earth traveling around the Sun once each year. Revolution, together with Earth's tilt, causes the seasons.

The changing shapes of the Moon that we see from Earth as it revolves and different amounts of its sunlit side face us. One full cycle takes about a month.

The Sun and everything that travels around it, including the eight planets, their moons, and smaller objects such as asteroids and comets. Gravity holds this system together.

A force that pulls objects toward one another, and especially toward the center of Earth. Gravity keeps planets in orbit and makes dropped objects fall to the ground.

Information collected by using the senses or simple tools to notice details about objects and events. An observation can be described with words, numbers, or a drawing.

A testable idea that tries to explain an observation or answer a question, stated so that it can be checked in an investigation. It may be supported or changed later.

Any factor in an investigation that can change or be changed. In a fair test, only one variable is changed on purpose while all the others are kept the same.

An investigation in which only one factor is changed while every other condition is kept the same, so the results can be trusted. Trials are usually repeated.

The measurements, counts, and observations collected during an investigation. Data are often recorded in tables and shown in graphs so that patterns can be seen.

Facts, measurements, or observations that support or challenge a claim. Scientists rely on evidence rather than opinions when deciding which explanation to accept.

A statement explaining what the results of an investigation show and whether the hypothesis was supported. It should be based on evidence and may suggest new questions to explore.

Any human-made tool, machine, or system designed to solve a problem or meet a need, from a pencil to a satellite. Technology is tested and improved over time.

A material or source of energy found in nature that people use, such as water, minerals, timber, or oil. Some natural resources are replaced quickly and others are used up.

Using natural resources carefully so that they are not wasted or used up, for example by turning off lights, saving water, or recycling materials. Conservation helps keep resources available for the future.

The addition of harmful substances or forms of energy to air, water, or soil, which can damage living things and their habitats. Pollution often comes from human activities such as burning fuels.