4th Grade Science Vocabulary

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4th GradeScience Vocabulary

• Tomball ISD
• Compiled by Kim Brown

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state of matter

• a state of matter is a class of materials,
  usually solid, liquid, and gas

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matter

• everything in the universe that has mass and
  takes up space

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solid

• the state of matter that has a definite shape and
  takes up a definite amount of space

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liquid

• the state of matter that takes the shape of its
  container and takes up a definite amount of space
  

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gas

• the state of matter that has no definite shape
  and takes up no definite amount of space

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graduated cylinder

• a piece of laboratory glassware or plasticware
  used to accurately measure out volumes of
  chemicals

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volume

• the amount of space that matter takes up

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buoyancy

• the ability of matter to float in a liquid or gas
  

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density

• the property of matter that compares the amount
  of matter to the space it takes up

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microscope

• is an instrument for viewing objects that are too
  small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye

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circuit

• a path that is made for an electric current

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conduction

• the direct transfer of heat between objects that
  touch

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conductor

• a material that electric current can pass through
  easily

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electric cell

• a battery that supplies energy to move charges
  through a circuit

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electric current

• a flow of electric charges

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parallel circuit

• a circuit that has more than one path along which
  current can travel

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climate

• the average temperature and rainfall of an area
  over many years

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meteorologist

• a person who studies or predicts the weather

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tornado

• an intense windstorm that often forms within a
  severe thunderstorm

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hurricane

• a large, spiraling storm system that can be a
  much as 600 km across

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symmetry

• the condition in which each feature on one half
  of an object has a matching feature on the other
  half

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reflection

• the bouncing of light off an object

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metamorphosis

• a change in the shape or characteristics of an
  organism's body as it grows

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photosynthesis

• the process by which a plant makes its own food
  

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transpiration

• the process by which plants lose water to the air
  

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extinct

• no longer in existence the result when the last
  individual of a population dies and that organism
  is gone forever

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endangered

• a population of organisms that is likely to
  become extinct if steps are not taken to save it

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learned behavior

• a behavior an animal learns from its parents

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fossil mold

• an imprint made by the outside of a dead plant or
  animal

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fossil

• a preserved clue to life on Earth long ago

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weathering

• the process by which rocks are broken down into
  smaller pieces

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sedimentation

• the process of building up layers of sediment
  over millions of years

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sediment

• any particulate matter transported by fluid flow,
  which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid
  particles on the bed or bottom of a body of water

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erosion

• the movement or transportation of sediment to new
  locations

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dissolve

• when one material forms a solution with another
  material

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mineral

• a natural, solid material with particles arranged
  in a repeating pattern

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energy

• the ability to cause changes in matter the
  ability to do work

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hypothesis

• predicts the outcome of an experiment
• an educated guess

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conclusion

• After your experiment, you analyze your data and
  draw a conclusion. Was your hypothesis
• -right?
• -or was it wrong?
• Either way, your need to share what
• you have learned next.

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theory

• taking what you learned from previous experiments
  and in the world around you to explain existing
  observations and to predict new ones

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inexhaustible resource

• a resource, such as air or water, that can be
  used over and over and can not be used up

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renewable resources

• resources that can be replaced in a human
  lifetime

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non-renewable resources

• a resource that cannot be readily replaced once
  it is used

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parallel circuit

• a circuit that has more than one path along which
  current can travel

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melting point

• the temperature range at which it changes its
  state from a solid to a liquid

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translation (slide)

• a movement of a figure along a straight line

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Credits

• Vocabulary definitions
• Harcourt Science Glossary (http//www.harcourtscho
  ol.com/glossary/science/index4.html)
• Wikipedia (http//www.wikipedia.org/)
• Pictures
• Harcourt Science Glossary (http//www.harcourtscho
  ol.com/glossary/science/index4.html)
• www.flickr.com
• Microsoft Clipart