1. End of Year Vocabulary

2. Big Bang Theory: the theory that the universe may have been created in a huge explosion at least 12 billion years ago
Blue Shift: the displacement of the spectrum to shorter wavelengths (blue) as objects move towards the observer.
Heavy Elements: any element heavier than helium
Mass: A measure of how much matter is in an object
Nuclear Fusion: The nuclear reaction in which light elements combine to form heavier elements.
Red Shift: the displacement of the spectrum to the longer wavelengths (red) as objects move away from the observers.

3. Theory: a system of ideas intended to explain something.
Universe: all existing matter and space considered as a whole; the cosmos
Astronomy: the branch of science that deals with space, and the physical universe as a whole.
Abiotic: non-living things
Atmosphere: the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.

4. Biodiversity: the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem
Biome: a large naturally occurring community of plants and animals occupying a major habitat, e.g., forest or tundra.
Biotic: all living or once living things
Ecosystem: community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
Extinction: the state or process of a species, family, or larger group being or becoming extinct.
System: a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole, in particular

5. Aesthetic: concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty
Ethical: involving questions of right and wrong behavior
Social: the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of society
Economic: relating to the process or system by which goods and services are produced, sold, and bought
Stellar: relating to a star or stars
Photosynthesis: the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water

6. Bio Mass: organic matter used as a fuel, especially in a power station for the generation of electricity.
Species: a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding
Plate Tectonics: a theory explaining the structure of the earth's crust and interactions of rigid lithospheric plates that move slowly over the underlying mantle.
Convergent: coming closer together (plate tectonics two plates moving together would be convergent plates)

7. Divergent: Moving apart (divergent plates are spreading apart)
Transform: Transform plates are sliding past one another.
Plate: the two sub-layers of the earth's crust (lithosphere) that move, float, and sometimes fracture and whose interaction causes continental drift, earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, and oceanic trenches.
convection current: the transfer of heat by the mass movement of heated particles into an area of cooler fluid

8. Hypothesis: proposed planation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
seafloor spreading : the formation of new areas of oceanic crust, which occurs through the upwelling of magma at midocean ridges and its subsequent outward movement on either side
biomes: naturally occurring community of flora and fauna
Climate: the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period usually over 30 years.

9. Weather: the state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.
Geosphere: All rocks, minerals, and ground that are found on and in the Earth. This includes the mantles and core
Biosphere: the regions of the surface of the Earth occupied by living organisms
Hydrosphere: all the water on the earth's, such as lakes and seas, ground water and water that is in the atmosphere.

10. volcanic eruption: the sudden occurrence of a violent discharge of steam and volcanic material.
Hot spot: A place deep within the Earth where hot magma rises to just underneath the surface, creating a bulge and volcanic activity
Fault: a place where sections of the crust of the Earth move relative to each other.
Ground water: water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock
Reservoir: a natural or artificial place where water is collected and stored for use

11. Glacier: a slowly moving mass or river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or near the poles.
Salinity: the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water
Tide: the alternate rising and falling of the sea, usually twice in each lunar day at a particular place, due to the attraction of the moon and sun.
Carbon Cycle: series of processes by which carbon compounds interact within the environment

12. Matter: Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space
Nitrogen Cycle: series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms, including nitrogen fixation and decomposition.
Ozone Layer: a layer in the earth's stratosphere which absorbs most of the ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth from the sun.
Depletion: reduction in the number or quantity of something

13. Fossil fuel: a natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms.
Lithosphere: the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.
Absorbed: to draw in (heat, light , energy, etc.)
Coriolis Effect: the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern and is important in the formation of cyclonic weather systems.

14. Greenhouse gas: a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation, e.g., carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons.
Meteorology: the branch of science concerned with the processes and phenomena of the atmosphere
Radiation: the emission of energy as electromagnetic waves
Reflection: the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it.
Topography: the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area