1. Third Grade by Serena Georges Science Vocabulary Words

2. adaptations A part of animal’s body or way that an animal behaves that helps it survive

3. carnivore An animal that eats other animals

4. chemical change When a screw or nail begins to rust it is a chemical change A change that forms a different kind of matter

5. classify Group items by specific characteristics, color, shape, size, etc.

6. community A population of organisms that live in an ecosystem

7. condensation The changing of a gas into liquid

8. consumer A living thing that eats other living things as food

9. core The center of the Earth

10. crust The Earth’s outermost surface

11. decomposer A living thing that breaks down dead organisms for food

12. desert An ecosystem where there is very little rain

13. Earth The third planet from the Sun

14. earthquake The shaken of the Earth caused by movement of the crust and mantle

15. ecosystem The living and nonliving things in an environment

16. environment The things, living and nonliving, that surround a living thing

17. evaporation The process by which a liquid changes into a gas

18. extinct Describes a species that is gone forever

19. food chain The path of food from one living thing to another

20. food web A model that shows how a food chain overlaps

21. force A push or pull

22. forest An areas in which the main plants are trees

23. fossil Something that lasted from a living thing that died long ago

24. fossil fuels A fuel formed from the remains of once living organisms

25. fresh water Water that has very little salt in it

26. gas A form of matter that does not have a definite shape or a definite volume

27. glaciers A large, slow-moving river of ice, form by compacted layers of snow

28. grassland An ecosystem made up of large, flat areas of land that are covered with grass

29. gravity A force that pulls objects towards each other

30. habitat A place where a population lives in an ecosystem

31. herbivore An animal that eats plants

32. hibernate To enter a deep sleep in which life activities slow down

33. humus The part of the soil made up of the decayed parts of once living things

34. inclined plane A simple machine that has a flat surface set at an angle to another surface

35. inexhaustible resource A natural resource such as air or water that can be used over and over and can’t be used up

36. inner core The central part of the Earth’s core

37. inclined plane A simple machine made of a flat surface set at an angle to another surface

38. inherit To receive traits from parents

39. instinct A behavior an animal knows how to do without being taught

40. landform A natural shape or feature of the Earth’s surface

41. lever A bar that moves on or around a fixed point

42. liquid A form of matter that has volume that stays the same, but can change its shape

43. loam A type of topsoil that is rich in minerals and has lots of humus

44. magnet An object that attracts certain materials, such as iron, steel, nickel or cobalt

45. magnetism The force of repulsion (pushing) or attraction (pulling) between poles of magnets

46. magnetic pole The end of a magnet

47. magnetic field The space all around a magnet where the force of the magnet can act

48. mantle The layer of the Earth between the crust and the core

49. matter Anything that takes up space

50. mass The amount of matter in an object

51. migrate To travel as a group from one place to live in another

52. mimicry An animal’s imitation of another animal or object in order to avoid predators

53. mineral An object that is solid, is formed by nature and has never been alive

54. motion A change in position

55. mountain A landform; a place on Earth’s surface that is much higher than the land around it

56. natural resource Material found in nature and that is used by people

57. nonrenewable resource A resource such as coal or oil that can be used up

58. omnivore An animal that eats both plants an animals

59. observation When you observe an object using your senses or record data about the object using scientific instruments.

60. orbit The path an object takes as it moves around another object in space Earth orbits the Sun.

61. predict To say what will happen using clues to support my guess

62. physical change A change to matter in which no new matter is formed

63. physical property Anything you can observe about an object using your senses

64. plain A landform; a flat area of Earth’s surface

65. planet A large body of rock or gas that orbits the sun

66. plates Part of the Earth’s crust that is broken up into huge areas that drift atop the mantle

67. plateau A landform; a flat area higher than the land around it

68. population A group of the same kind of living thing that all live in one place at the same time

69. precipitation The water that falls to Earth as rain, snow, sleet or hail

70. predator An animal that hunts another animal for food

71. prey An animal that hunted by a predator

72. producer A living thing that makes its own food

73. push A force used to move or change an object’s position

74. pull A force used to move or change an object’s position

75. recycle To reuse a resource to make something new

76. reflection The bouncing of a light off an object

77. refraction The bending of light when it moves from one kind of matter to another

78. renewable resources A resource that can be replaced in a human lifetime

79. revolution The movement of one object around another object

80. reusable resources A resource that can be used over and over and can’t get used up like air and water

81. rotation The spinning of an object on its axis

82. salt water Water that has a lot of salt in it

83. scientific method Steps scientists take to answer a question or solve a problem.

84. simple machines A tool that helps people do work

85. solar system The Sun and the objects that orbit around it

86. solid A form of matter that takes up a specific amount of space and has a definite shape

87. soil A loose material in which plants can grow in the upper layer of the Earth

88. speed The measure of how fast something moves over a certain distance

89. star A hot ball of glowing gases, like our sun

90. temperature A measure of how hot or cold something is

91. thermometer A tool used to measure temperature

92. topsoil The top layer of soil made up of the smallest grains and the most humus

93. trait A body feature that an animal inherits; it can also be some things an animal does

94. tropical rain forest A hot, wet forest where trees grow very tall and their leaves stay green all year

95. valley A landform; a lowland area between higher lands, such as mountains

96. vibrate To move quickly back and forth, producing sound

97. volcano An opening in Earth’s surface from which lava flows

98. volume The amount of space matter takes up

99. water cycle The movement of water from Earth’s surface into the air and back to the surface again

100. weathering The process by which rock is worn and broken down

101. weight The measure of the pull of gravity on an object

102. wind The movement of air

103. work The measure of force that it takes to move an object a certain distance