The project online science dictionary Custom Search Good-Science-Fair-Projects.com has provided this online science dictionary to shed some light on those confusing words that keep popping up in your project. But first I have included some... Frequently searched for definitionsBelow is a list of words that appear in the projects or explanations used on this site. This online science dictionary is unique in that the explanations are engineered and worded to fit in with the particular project/s the word or term is used in. So this page is a work in progress – lets keep it relevant, hey?! A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z online science dictionary
A
Abiotic is a term used when discussing ecosystems and refers to the non-living components of the ecosystem, e.g. sun (energy), soil, water, air, temperature, climate etc.Absorption (of light) is the term used to describe when light is “held” by an object. Of the seven colors of white light, some colors are absorbed while others are reflected by any given object. A white object will absorb no light while a black object will absorb all of white light.
Alloy. This is the word used to describe a metal that is made up of a mixture of 2 or more metals. It results in a metal with properties from both of the component metals. An example is brass, which is made of copper and zinc. Copper is a soft, yellow metal, whereas brass is hard, but still yellow in color. online science dictionary
B
Biotic is a term used when discussing ecosystems and refers to the living components of the ecosystem, e.g. plants, animals and microscopic organisms.online science dictionary
C
Crystal is the term used to describe the solid form of certain substances. Examples include salt and sugar. When dissolved in a liquid, salt and/or sugar will no longer be in crystal form. When the liquid evaporates, the components reform into the typical crystal for that substance. Each type of crystal will have a regular shape due to chemical bonds that are formed in a specific way, depending on the elements that make it up.online science dictionary
D
Density of an object is the amount of matter in a given space. For instance, a piece of metal will have more matter in a square inch than the amount of matter in a square inch of water or air, so it is more dense than both water and air.
Diffusion of a liquid or gas is when the liquid or gas moves from a place of high concentration (i.e. there is a lot of it) to a place of low concentration (i.e. there is less of it) until a balance is reached. Whether it is a gas or a liquid that is moving, both need a medium to move in. online science dictionary
E
Energy flow in an ecosystem is an indication of how the energy from a food source is used and then passed on to the next link in the food chain. As a general rule, only 10% of the energy in one link of the food chain will be made available to the next link of the chain, the rest being used for growing, reproducing and other metabolic processes by the first link.
Evaporation is when energy causes liquid particles, whether they are water particles or some other liquid, to change from being in liquid form (or phase) to the gas form (or phase) of that substance. In order for this to happen, energy, specifically heat energy, is needed. online science dictionary
F
Food chain is the term used when discussing ecosystems to indicate how one organism (1) is a food source for another organism (2) which then becomes food for the next organism (3). An example (using the numbers listed above) of a short food chain is that grass (1) will be eaten by an antelope (2) which will in turn be eaten by a lion (3). (NOTE: Food chains are not only 3 organisms long as in the example, but can be longer or shorter.) A food chain is also an indication of how the energy from food sources is used and passed on to the next organism in the chain.Food web is used to describe the interactions between various food chains in a ecosystem. For example, not only will antelope eat grass but so will a zebra. Likewise, a lion as well as a cheetah will eat both a zebra and an antelope. online science dictionary
H
Hypothesis is a statement made by a scientist that tries to answer a question or suggest a solution to a problem that he has. By researching and conducting experiments, he either proves the statement to be correct, and therefore the problem is scientifically solved; or it does not quite prove it to be correct and the statement needs to be adjusted and more research and experiments conducted until it is shown to be correct. Sometimes a hypothesis can be so way off that it has to be scrapped altogether.online science dictionary
K
Kinetic energy is the energy something has when it is moving, for example a ball thrown at you will have kinetic energy. Exactly how much kinetic energy it had you will know when it thumps into you!online science dictionary
M
Magnet: A magnet is a metal object, usually made of iron or an alloy of iron that has magnetic properties. This means it attracts certain metals. Magnets can come in various shapes and sizes, the most common shapes being the bar magnet (which is just a straight magnet) or a horseshoe magnet (that has the shape of ... you guessed it ... a horseshoe). The ends of magnets are stronger and are known as the poles (north and south).Magnetic field is the area around a magnet that is influenced by the forces given off by the magnet. Any other magnet or magnetic material in this field will be influenced by it. Magnetic fields can be seen by putting some iron filings around a magnet. They will line up in lines going from the north to the south pole of the magnet. Massive (big) surface area is obtained by either flattening out a 3 dimensional object (example is flattening a plasticine ball), adding a whole stack of little bits onto a flat surface (example is the villi in the intestine of animals), or breaking an object into smaller bits (what happens when you chew your food – it creates a larger surface area).
Media (the plural of medium) specifically when talking about movement of light, is the term used to describe the substances that light moves through, e.g. air, water, glass, perspex etc. Metabolic processes is the general term used to describe the reactions and functions that happen inside any living organism that allows and causes life to continue within that organism. online science dictionary
O
Osmosis is when water (or any other liquid) moves by diffusion across a membrane. An example is when water moves from soil, across the membrane of the outer cells of a plant root, into the root. Another is when plasma (the liquid part of blood) moves out of the capillaries into the spaces between the cells of the body. online science dictionary
P
Prism is the word used to describe a transparent, 3 dimensional shape that is used to split white light into it's spectrum of colors. It usually has a triangular shape with rectangular sides. Prisms can be made from perspex, glass or crystal. They are also used in higher quality instruments such as binoculars and periscopes.online science dictionary
R
Reflection is the term used to describe the manner in which light “bounces” off objects. The most obvious object is a mirror, but light reflects to varying degrees off almost all objects.Refraction is when light moves from one mediumto another and as it does it changes speed (slower in a more dense medium and faster in a less dense medium), resulting in a slight change of direction, or we say that it bends.
online science dictionary
S
Saturated solution is all about running out of capacity. When you add something that dissolves (a solute, e.g. salt) into something that will dissolve it (a solvent, e.g. water) until no more solute will dissolve, it is said that the solution is saturated.Soil profile. If you took a piece of ground where there is soil and cut down into it until you hit bedrock, you would have cut through the soil profile. This is the term used to describe the different layers of soil in a particular area as you go from the ground surface to the bedrock. An example of where a soil profile can be seen is where a hill has been cut away to make way for a road. Solar radiation, is the term used to describe the energy that the sun gives off and that reaches the earth. Solar radiation consists of visible (white) light, near-infrared light and some ultraviolet light (this is the part that gives you sunburn). Solute describes any substance that will dissolve in a particular liquid. Examples include salts and sugars. Solution is the term used to describe when you add something that dissolves (a solute, e.g. salt) into something that will dissolve it (a solvent, e.g. water). So when the salt has dissolved in the water we say that we have a salt-water solution. A solution is a mix of 2 (or more) substances (one a liquid) that can be separated by evaporatingthe liquid. Solvent is a liquid in which another substance (the solute) will dissolve, e.g. water – in which salt or sugar will dissolve. Stoma (pl. stomata) is the microscopic opening found on the underside of a plant leaf that allows gases to be exchanged. Oxygen and water vapor (through the process of evaporation) will leave the plant and carbon dioxide will enter. The stoma are opened or closed by a mechanism controlled by two guard cells that surround the opening. Surface Area is the term used to describe the area of an object that is exposed. In other words, if you took a tennis ball, the outside of the ball is it's surface area. If you cut the tennis ball in half, the original outside part is still part of the surface area but now include the inside as well. online science dictionary
T
Transpiration occurs when water is evaporatedout of a plant mainly through holes called stomataon the underside of the leaves. There are other places however on a plant, from where transpiration can take place, such as the stem and petals of flowers. online science dictionary
V
Villi are the thousands of tiny projections (bits that stick out) that line the inside of the small intestine. Imagine them as tiny, short fleshy hairs lining your intestine. In fact there are so many of them that they give the inside of your intestine a velvety look and feel. It is through these villi that nutrients from your food is absorbed and passed into the blood stream to be distributed throughout your body.
online science dictionary
W
White light is the part of the light spectrum that we can see. It is made up of seven colors and is responsible for giving everything their colors.This dictionary is an extra service for those using the projects on Good-Science-Fair-Projects.com. So the definitions are specifically written for the science fair projects found on this site. For this reason you may not find the word you are looking for. If this is the case, have a look at this online science dictionary.
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