The following terms should be numbered and defined in the glossary of your science journal.

1. Science- the process of observing, explaining, and understanding our world

2. Hypothesis- a testable prediction for a problem

3. Variable- in an experiment, the factor that you change to see what will happen

4. Independent Variable- the variable which is changed by the scientist in an experiment

5. Dependent Variable- the variable that the scientist focuses his or her observations on to see how it responds

6. Observation- an act or instance of noticing or perceiving using all senses

7. Inference- the act of drawing a conclusion based on observations and prior knowledge

8. Fact- information that has been objectively verified

9. Theory- an explanation or model that covers a group of occurences in nature and has been confirmed by a number of experiments and observations

10. Inquiry- a systematic process for using knowledge and skills to acquire and apply new knowledge

11. Matter- Anything that has mass and takes up space

12. Mass- the amount of matter in an object; SI unit is the gram

13. Volume- the amount of space occupied by an object; SI unit is the cubic meter

14. Solid- Matter having definite shape and a definite volume

15. Liquid- Matter having a definite volume but not definite shape. A fluid.

16. Gas- Matter having no definite shape and no definite volume

17. Plasma- the fourth phase of matter having unique properties and formed at very high temperatures

18. Element- a substance that contains only one kind of atom; cannot be broken down into simpler substances

19. Compound- a substance containing two or more chemically combined elements and having properties different from those elements

20. Mixture- a combination of different sustances that keep their own physical and chemical properties despite being mixed

21. Atom- the smallest particle of an element with all the properties of the element that can combine with other atoms to form molecules

22. Molecule- Two or more chemically bonded atoms; the smallest part of a compound having all the properties of the compound

23. Decomposition Reaction- a chemical reaction in which a single reactant breaks down into simpler parts, such as elements

24. Experimental Error- a deviation from accuracy or correctness; a mistake

25. Chemical Reaction- interaction between substances in which existing chemical bonds break and new bonds form, creating one or more new substances

26. Physical Change- a change in a substances physical properties but not in its chemical identity

27. Sublimation- Phase change from a solid directly to a gas

28. Chemical Bond- the attractive force that holds atoms or ions together

29. Chemical Change- change in the chemical identity of a substance

30. Exothermic Reaction- a chemical reaction that releases energy

31. Endothermic Reaction- any chemical reaction that absorbs energy

32. Solubility- the ability of a substance to dissolve in another substance

33. Covalent Bond - A type of chemical bond formed between nonmetals in
which atoms share one or more electrons.

34. Ionic Bond - A chemical bond between a metal and a nonmetal in which
electrons are transferred from one atom to another.

35. Ion - An atom or group of atoms having an electric charge as a result of losing or
gaining one or more electrons.

36. Isotope - Atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons,
and therefore different atomic masses.


SPACE SCIENCE GLOSSARY
1. Rotation - the spinning motion of a body on its axis.

2. Revolution - the elliptical motion of a body as it orbits
another body in space.

3. Crater - a bowl - shaped depression with a raised rim
formed by the impact of a meteoroid.

4. Ray - the white lines that extend in all directions from some
craters.

5. Ejecta - the material thrown from craters.

6. Rilles - structures that look like canyons or stream courses.

7. Maria - (or mare for one) large dark gray or black areas that
are fairly smooth created from the ancient lava flows.
Mare means "ocean" in latin.

8. Highlands - light colored areas with lots of rough mountains
and craters.

9. Asteroid - large chunks of rocky material from within the
solar system.

10. Meteoroid - medium to small solid objects from within the
solar system.

11. Meteorite - when a meteoroid hits another object, like the
moon.

12. Comet - a small body if ice, rock and cosmic dust loosely
packed together that gives off gas and dust in the
form of a tail as it passes close to the Sun.

13. Apparent Magnitude - how bright a light appears to an
observer or how bright a star
appears to an observer from Earth.

14. Absolute Magnitude - the actual or tru brightness of a star.

15. Light Year - The distance light travels in one year at 186,000 miles per second or about 6 trillion miles.

16. Parallax - The apparent shift of the position of an object when viewed from different locations.

17. Fusion - A process in which particles of an element collode and combine to form a heavier element, such as the fusion of hydrogen into helium that occurs in the Sun's core.

18. Sunspot - A darker spot on the photosphere of the Sun. A sunpot appears dark because it is cooler than the surrounding area.

METEOROLOGY

1. Weather - The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place.

2. Atmosphere - The outer layer of gases of a large body in space, such as a planet or star; the mixture of gases that surrounds the solid Earth; one of the four parts of the Earth System.