NB G6 Science flashcards
NB G6 Science · Build recall with a focused review session.
33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Hypothesis
- A testable, falsifiable prediction or explanation offered before an experiment; evidence can support or reject it, but it is never absolutely proven.
- Independent variable
- The single factor the experimenter deliberately changes between trials, so its effect on the measured outcome can be observed.
- Dependent variable
- The factor that is measured or observed in response to the independent variable; it is the data recorded at the end of each trial.
- Control group
- The group in an experiment that receives no treatment or a standard condition, providing a baseline for comparing the experimental results.
- Quantitative data
- Observations expressed as numbers with units, such as length in centimeters, mass in grams, or time in seconds, which can be averaged and graphed.
- Food chain
- A model showing one path of energy transfer from producer to consumer to decomposer, with arrows pointing toward the organism that receives energy.
- Photosynthesis
- The process by which plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to make glucose and release oxygen, storing energy in chemical bonds.
- Decomposer
- An organism such as a fungus or bacterium that breaks down dead plants and animals, recycling nutrients back into the soil and ecosystem.
- Carrying capacity
- The maximum population size an ecosystem can support over time without degrading the resources the population depends on.
- Symbiosis
- A close, long-term relationship between two different species, classified as mutualism, commensalism, or parasitism depending on who benefits.
- Cell membrane
- The thin outer covering of a cell that controls which materials enter and leave, keeping the cell's internal conditions stable.
- Mitochondria
- Cell structures that release energy from food through cellular respiration, often called the powerhouses of the cell.
- Vertebrate
- An animal with a backbone and internal skeleton, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
- Binomial nomenclature
- The two-part scientific naming system using genus and species, with the genus capitalized, the species lowercase, and both italicized or underlined.
- Adaptation
- An inherited body feature, behavior, or internal process that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment.
- Density
- The amount of mass in a given volume, calculated as mass divided by volume; objects denser than water sink while less dense objects float.
- Physical change
- A change in size, shape, or state of matter that does not create a new substance, such as melting ice or tearing paper.
- Chemical change
- A change in which new substances with different properties form, often signaled by gas, color change, precipitate, or temperature change.
- Mixture
- Two or more substances combined without chemically bonding, so each keeps its own properties and the parts can be separated physically.
- Speed
- The distance an object travels divided by the time it takes, expressed in units such as meters per second or kilometers per hour.
- Balanced forces
- Equal forces acting in opposite directions on an object, producing no change in the object's motion or direction.
- Kinetic energy
- The energy an object has because of its motion; it increases as the object's mass or speed increases.
- Friction
- A force that opposes motion when two surfaces touch, converting some motion energy into heat and slowing objects down.
- Water cycle
- The continuous movement of water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection, driven mainly by energy from the Sun.
- Erosion
- The process by which wind, water, ice, or gravity moves weathered rock and soil from one location to another.
- Tectonic plates
- Large moving sections of Earth's crust and upper mantle whose collisions and separations cause earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building.
- Rock cycle
- The ongoing process in which igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks change from one type to another through melting, cooling, weathering, and heat.
- Revolution
- The orbit of one object around another, such as Earth traveling around the Sun once each year and causing the seasons.
- Rotation
- The spin of an object on its own axis; Earth's rotation once about every 24 hours causes day and night.
- Moon phases
- The changing shapes of the Moon we see, caused by the relative positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon as the Moon orbits Earth.
- Solar system
- The Sun and all objects bound to it by gravity, including eight planets, their moons, asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets.
- Renewable resource
- A natural resource such as sunlight, wind, or water that is replaced by natural processes faster than humans use it.
- Trade-off
- A compromise in which one benefit or quality is given up to gain another when choosing among possible designs or solutions.