VOCABULARY
Find some terms that were hard to define? Use our glossary to help you better understand!
Terms include chapter and 5th grade science standard covered.
Terms include chapter and 5th grade science standard covered.
abiotic
(Ch 5, 5-2.2) – something that is nonliving; an object that is not and was never living
biotic
(Ch 5, 5-2.2) – something that is living, or used to be alive
brackish water
(Ch 7, 5-2.3) – water that is a mixture of fresh and salt water resulting in salinity higher than freshwater but lower than the average salinity of the ocean
chemical change
(Ch 8, 5-4.7) – Changes in the atoms and molecules of a substance that create a new substance
condense
(Ch 2, 5-4.2) - to make denser, in this case – the process of condensation where a gas physically changes into a liquid
consumer
(Ch 5, 5-2.4) – an organism that must eat for energy
decomposer
(Ch 7, 5-2.4) – an organism (bacteria, mushrooms, earthworms) that recycle dead and decaying matter back into its elemental building blocks
deposit
(Ch 4, 5-3.1) – to settle, in this case referring to the geological process of deposition (the process in which sediment settles out of the water column the moment it stops moving)
ecosystem
(Ch 5, 5-2.3) – a given area that incudes all the biotic and abiotic factors that interact with one another
erosion
(Ch 3, 5- 3.1) – the removal and transport of soil and rocks by water, wind, and ice
estuary
(Ch 7, 5-2.3)- an ecosystem where freshwater rivers meet the ocean; characterized by brackish water
gravity
(Ch 3, 5-5.1) – a force (a push or a pull on an object because of its interaction with another object) in which one body (like a moon or planet) attracts other bodies towards them
herbivore
(Ch 5, 5-2.4) – a consumer that eats only plants
matter
(Ch 1, 5-4.1)- anything that takes up space and has mass
photosynthesis
(Ch 3, 5-2.4) – a biochemical process in which light energy is used along with carbon dioxide (a gas) and water to produce sugar; photosynthesize is the act of going through photosynthesis
physical change
(Ch 2, 5-4.2)– a change in which the kind of substance does not change, but physical properties change, for example the state of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma), color, shape, or size.
pollutant
(Ch 5, 5-3.6) – any foreign substance that contaminates soil, air, or water; this can occur by mixing or dissolving
producer
(Ch 5, 5-2.4) – an organism that can produce, or make, its own food
primary producer
(Ch 6, 5-2.4) – the photosynthesizers that form the bottom of the food chain
predator
(Ch 4, 5-2.4) – a consumer that kills other animals for food
salinity
(Ch 7, 5-4.5) the amount of salt that is in water
tides
Tide (Ch 7, 5-3.4) – the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the Earth’s hydrosphere (the band of water on Earth)
weathering
Weathering (Ch 3, 5-3.1) – the wearing down of a rock or landform in place