TN Science Academic Vocabulary Review

Abiotic The nonliving part of a biome

Atmospheric Convection Process in which heat energy is transported through a fluid. When warm air rises and cooler air sinks.

Adaptive Engineered Technologies Engineering that results in a product or process that changes living organisms (i.e. knee replacement or laser eye surgery)

Assistive Engineered Technology Engineering that results in a product or process that helps living organisms but does not change them (i.e. wheel chairs or glasses)

Asteroid A large chunk of rock that orbits the sun.

Bias A wish or expectation to have an experiment lead to a certain conclusion, can be conscious or unconscious.

Biome A region with a distinct climate and set of organisms.

Biosphere The part of Earth where life exists

Biotic Any of the living things in a biome.

Cause and Effect A cause is something that makes something else happen. An effect is what happens as a result of the cause.

Chemical Potential Energy The energy stored in the chemicals that make up an object.

Climate Change Any long-term change in the weather patterns over a long period of time

Conductivity A material’s ability to conduct an electrical current.

Control A standard setup in which all variables are controlled and to which the experimental results are compared.

Criteria What's expected (usually during an experiment)

Design Constraint Limitations on the requirements of a system or material (usually during an experiment)

Elastic Potential Energy The energy that is stored in a stretched object that can snap back.

Electrical Conductor A material that allows electrical energy to pass through it easily.

Energy Transformation When the energy in an object is changed or transformed into another form of energy.

Gravitational Potential Energy The energy that an object has because of its position.

Hygrometer An instrument that is used to measure relative humidity

Meteorological Data Information collected by a meteorologist or weatherman to track weather patterns such as tornados, hurricanes, storms, etc.

Ocean Current A body of water that flows through the ocean.

Protocol Written procedure given to follow when conducting experiments (i.e. material lists, record sheets, safety instructions)

Prototype A working model of a new piece of technology that is being developed.

Psychrometer A tool used for measuring humidity or moisture in the air.

Scavengers An animal that eats animals that have recently been killed.

Simple Circuits The minimum things needed to have a functioning electrical circuit.

Tides The rise and fall of the Earth’s oceans.

Variable Any factor that can affect the results of an experiment. (independent variable) one variable that is changed to test the hypothesis (dependent variable) the factor that changes because of the manipulated variable