Grade 8 General Science flashcards
Grade 8 General Science · Build recall with a focused review session.
24 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Observation
- Information obtained through appropriate senses or instruments, separated from the explanation proposed to account for it.
- Hypothesis
- A testable proposed explanation or prediction that can be compared with evidence rather than treated as established fact.
- Independent variable
- The condition deliberately varied in an investigation so its relationship with a measured outcome can be examined.
- Dependent variable
- The measured outcome examined in relation to a changed condition while other relevant influences are considered.
- Controlled variable
- An important condition kept comparable across a test so differences are easier to interpret within the investigation.
- Resolution
- The smallest displayed or distinguishable increment of an instrument, which is not the complete uncertainty of a measurement.
- Particle model
- A representation of matter using particles and their arrangement or motion to explain selected physical observations.
- Physical change
- A change such as melting that need not alter the chemical identity of the substance being described.
- Chemical reaction
- A process rearranging atoms into different chemical substances while conserving atoms in a correctly balanced account.
- Atom
- A basic unit of an element that can participate in bonds and chemical rearrangement without becoming a different element.
- Cell
- A basic unit of living organization with structures and processes that support the functions of an organism.
- Digestion
- The breakdown of food into forms that can be absorbed, distinguished from simply transporting substances through the body.
- Respiration
- Cellular chemical processes releasing usable energy, which must not be reduced to the movement of air during breathing.
- Photosynthesis
- A process using light energy to support the production of organic substances from appropriate inorganic inputs in photosynthetic organisms.
- Producer
- An organism building organic matter from inorganic sources using light or chemical energy within the relevant ecological system.
- Consumer
- An organism obtaining organic matter by feeding on other organisms or their products within a food relationship.
- Decomposer
- An organism involved in breaking down organic material and returning substances to pathways of nutrient cycling.
- Food web
- A representation of connected feeding relationships whose arrows should be interpreted according to the stated transfer convention.
- Nitrogen fixation
- Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia or related ammonium forms, distinguished from the later processes of nitrification.
- Nitrification
- Biological oxidation processes converting reduced nitrogen toward nitrite and nitrate under suitable conditions in the nitrogen cycle.
- Energy transfer
- Movement of energy between parts of a system, distinguished from a claim that all energy remains equally useful.
- Sound wave
- A mechanical disturbance transferring energy through a material medium rather than traveling as sound through a vacuum.
- Evaporation
- Escape of particles from a liquid surface into the gas phase, which can occur without the whole liquid boiling.
- Ecosystem
- Organisms and their physical environment considered through interactions, material cycling and energy transfers within a defined system.