Science is a rich content area for developing language concepts and vocabulary. While conducting FOSS investigations, students are involved in observing properties, comparing and organizing their observations, and identifying relationships from their observations. In order to effectively communicate the results of their investigations, it is important to use concise and appropriate vocabulary. Students need to develop a sound vocabulary that will serve them in science and life.
Informal descriptive language and precise scientific vocabulary is best developed after direct concrete experience. As students conduct the investigations in the FOSS Water Planet, vocabulary is introduced naturally after students have had an experience to which to connect the new words.
Vocabulary is introduced and reviewed with students in the Science Resources book. These terms, included in the FOSS Science Resources glossary, are listed below.
Printable pdf versions are also available. To view or print these files you must have a pdf viewer such as Adobe Acrobat. Acrobat is free and can be downloaded at http://www.adobe.com.
Water Planet Module Glossary Terms (pdf)
Water Planet Module Glossary (pdf)
Water Planet Module Spanish Glossary (pdf)
In the course of the investigations, students are encouraged to learn and use the following vocabulary:
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Air The mixture of gases surrounding Earth. |
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Asteroid Small, solid objects that orbit the Sun. Most of the asteroids in the solar system are located between Mars and Jupiter. |
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Astronomy The study of the universe and its celestial bodies. |
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Atmosphere The layer of gases that surrounds a planet or star. |
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Atmospheric pressure The force exerted on a surface by the mass of the air above it. |
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Atom The smallest particle of an element that has the properties of the element and can exist either alone or in combination with a similar atom as a molecule. |
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Blizzard A severe storm with low temperatures, strong winds, and large quantities of snow. |
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Bob A mass at the end of a pendulum. |
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Chemical property A characteristic of an element that relates to how it interacts with other elements. |
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Cloud Tiny droplets of water, usually high in the air. |
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Cold front The contact zone where a cold air mass overtakes a mass of warm, moist air. |
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Comet A mass of ice and dust orbiting the Sun. |
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Condensation The process by which water vapor changes into liquid water, usually on a surface. |
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Conserve To use carefully and protect. |
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Controlled experiment A scientific test where only one variable can change. |
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Controlled variable Any variable in an experiment that is not allowed to change. |
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Convection current A circular movement of fluid (such as air) that is the result of uneven heating of the fluid. |
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Crater A hole formed by an object impacting a surface. |
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Cycle A set of events or actions that repeats. |
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Data Information collected and recorded as a result of observation. |
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Dependent variable What you find out as a result of doing an experiment. |
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Dew Water that condenses on surfaces when the temperature drops at night. |
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Diameter The straight-line distance from one side to the other side of an object through the center. |
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Drought Less-than-normal amount of rain or snow over a period of time. |
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Earth The third planet from the Sun, known as the water planet. |
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Elevation The distance above sea level. |
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Energy transfer The movement of energy from one place to another, or the change of energy from one form to another. |
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Evaporate To change from liquid to gas. |
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Evaporation The process by which a liquid becomes a gas. |
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Extraterrestrial Beyond Earth. |
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Fog Water droplets that condense from the air close to the ground. |
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Forecasting Predicting future events or conditions, such as weather. |
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Freezing point The temperature at which a liquid turns into a solid (also the same temperature as the melting point). |
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Fresh water Water without salt that is found in lakes, rivers, groundwater, soil, and the atmosphere. |
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Front The leading edge of a moving air mass. |
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Frost Frozen condensation. |
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Gas A state of a substance with no definite shape or volume. |
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Gas giant Any of the four planets that are made of gas. These are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. |
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Glacier A huge mass of ice that moves slowly over land. |
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Gravitational attraction The mutual force of attraction between all bodies that have mass. |
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Gravity The force of attraction between two objects. |
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Hail Precipitation in the form of small balls or pellets of ice. |
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Helium A gas that makes up 26% of the Sun. |
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Humidity Water vapor in the air. |
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Hurricane A severe tropical storm or moving wind system that rotates around an eye. |
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Hydrogen A gas that makes up 72% of the Sun. |
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Independent variable The variable in an experiment that you control the value of in advance. |
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Intensity How concentrated energy is. |
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Jupiter The fifth planet from the Sun. |
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Kuiper Belt A huge region beyond the gas giants made up of different-size icy chunks of matter. |
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Liquid A state of a substance with no definite shape but definite volume. |
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Mars The fourth planet from the Sun. |
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Mass The amount of material in something. |
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Mercury The planet closest to the Sun. |
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Meteorologist A scientist who studies the weather. |
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Milky Way The galaxy in which the solar system resides. |
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Moon Earth’s natural satellite. |
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Neptune The eighth planet from the Sun. |
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Orbit To travel in a curved path around something else. |
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Pendulum A mass on one end of an arm that is free to swing back and forth in response to gravity. |
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Period The length of time it takes for a pendulum to complete a cycle. |
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Planet A large body orbiting a star. A celestial body. |
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Pluto The ninth planet from the Sun. |
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Precipitation Rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground. |
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Predict To estimate a future event based on data or experience. |
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Predictable Possible to estimate a future event based on data or experience. |
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Radiosonde An instrument sent into Earth’s atmosphere to measure temperature, pressure, and humidity. |
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Rain Liquid water that is condensed from water vapor in the atmosphere and fall to Earth in drops. |
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Recycle To use again. |
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Reflected Energy that bounces off an object and continues in a new direction. |
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Salt water Ocean water. |
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Satellite An object, natural or artificial, that orbits a larger object. Moons are satellites. |
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Saturated When the air cannot hold any more water vapor. |
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Saturn The sixth planet from the Sun. |
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Severe weather Out-of-the-ordinary and extreme weather conditions. |
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Sleet Precipitation in the form of ice pellets created when rain freezes as it falls to Earth from the atmosphere. |
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Snow Precipitation in the form of ice crystals grouped together as snowflakes. |
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Solar energy Heat and light from the Sun. |
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Solar system The planet Earth, the Moon, the Sun, and eight other planets and their satellites, and smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets. |
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Solar wind The regular flow of particles from the Sun. |
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Stationary front When a warm air mass and a cold air mass come together and stop moving. |
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Sun The star at the center of the solar system around which everything else orbits. Also called Sol. |
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Surface area The amount of space covering the topmost layer of water or land. |
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Surface water Fresh water on Earth’s surface, such as that in lakes and rivers. |
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Star A huge gas sphere that radiates light. The Sun is a star. |
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Terrestrial planet One of the four small and rocky planets closest to the Sun. These are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. |
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Thermonuclear reactions Reactions that change atomic structure and create heat and light energy, such as the reactions that occur on the Sun. |
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Thunderstorm Severe weather that results from cold air flowing under a warm, humid air mass over the land. |
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Tornado A rapidly rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground. Wind speeds can reach 417 kilometers per hour (260 mph) or more in a tornado. |
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Two-coordinate graph A plot of the relationship between an independent variable on the x-axis and a dependent variable on the y-axis. |
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Uneven heating The result of different amounts of energy being transferred to adjacent surfaces. |
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Uranus The seventh planet from the Sun. |
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Variable Anything you can change in an experiment that might affect the outcome. |
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Venus The second planet from the Sun. |
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Warm front The contact zone where a warm air mass overtakes a cold air mass. |
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Water cycle The global water-recycling system. Water evaporates from Earth’s surface, goes into the atmosphere and condenses. It returns to Earth’s surface as precipitation in a new location. |
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Water molecule Two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom bonded together. |
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Water vapor Water in its gas form. |
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Weather The condition of the atmosphere around us. Heat, moisture, and movement are the three important variables that describe weather. |
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Weather forecast A prediction of future weather conditions. |
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Weather map A map that shows weather data as a picture. |
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Weather variable Data that meteorologists measure. These include temperature, wind speed and direction, air pressure, cloud cover, and precipitation. |
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Wind Air in motion. |
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X-axis The horizontal number line of a two-coordinate graph. |
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Y-axis The vertical number line of a two-coordinate graph. |
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