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Although some of the terms on these blocks are obscure, I hope this set will provide fun
inspiration for great conversations about math and science. Strange new words can
encourage kids and adults alike to stay openly curious and ask bold questions! Some of the
blocks in the set might seem silly, but I believe that a willingness to feel foolish is the only way
to remain open to new discoveries and ideas.
Angles
Atom
Acute Angle
Absolute Zero
Azimuth
Count the angles;
one, two, three.
Each one the same,
sixty degrees. Add
them together and
what do you see? An
equilateral triangle,
obviously.
Everything in the
universe is made of
atoms! You, your dog,
your steamed broccoli
with cheese — all
made of atoms! What
do you think these
blocks are made of?
Acute! Acute! It
sounds like a sneeze.
My little angle is so
acute! Because it
measures fewer than
ninety degrees.
What if the atoms in
a substance weren’t
moving at all? How
cold would that be?
Absolute zero has
never been achieved.
But will it?
An azimuth is an angular
measurement in a
spherical coordinate
system. People
calculate the
azimuth to keep
themselves from getting
lost in the wilderness.
Background
Radiation
Bright Line
Spectrum
The universe began
with a bang. A BIG
bang. How big? So
big that more than
thirteen BILLION years
later, there’s still a
bit of a buzz in the
background.
If a gas is burning, we
can break apart the
light it makes. We see
a spectrum of colors,
but also thin bright
lines. Every element
has its own signature
bright lines — specific
colors that light up.
Binary
A binary code is
any code that turns
information into only
two states. Perfect
for when you need to
say something with an
electrical on-off switch.
Binomial
Coefficients
Buckyball
Smart folks in ancient
China, India, and
Greece — and others
in Germany, Italy, and
the Middle East —
found this pattern long
ago. But Pascal gets
all the credit for the
arithmetical triangle.
They’re molecules
made of 60 carbon
atoms arranged in an
interlocking hollow
sphere. Think of it as
a freakishly strong
cage but on a scale
so small we can barely
imagine it.
Cell Membrane
Callisto
CO2
Cirrus
A cell’s outer
membrane contains
all of its organelles,
and allows the cell
to hold water, store
energy, process food,
divide, and work with
other cells to build
plants and animals.
This moon of Jupiter
has more craters than
any other object in our
solar system. It might
be a nice place to live
though, with a little
atmosphere, possible
oceans, ice, and a
rocky surface.
When we breathe
in and out, we give
off carbon dioxide.
Sometimes we hear
that carbon dioxide is
a good thing; plants
need it! But other
times, we hear about
these molecules as
dangerous pollution.
Cirrus clouds are way
up high. They’re made
of tiny ice crystals, but
they look like someone
took a piece of cotton
and pulled it apart into
wispy, feathery stuff.
Degrees
Darwin’s Finches
D Orbital
Diurnal
Zero degrees Celsius
is freezing, which is
warmer than zero
degrees Fahrenheit,
and MUCH warmer
than zero degrees
Kelvin.
Darwin noticed
something interesting
about finches on a
series of islands. The
different kinds looked
alike except for their
beaks. This was the
moment when he
figured out that they
had started out as a
single species!
Depending on how
much energy each
electron has, it might
buzz around the
nucleus of an atom
in a nice simple S
orbital or a more
complicated one like
this D orbital.
Nocturnal creatures
sleep all day and
run around all night.
Diurnal animals
sleep at night and
run around playing
and working all day.
Are you nocturnal or
diurnal?
Electron
Electromagnet
Exobiology
Energy = Mass x
Speed of Light 2
Just one electron!
But don’t feel bad.
One’s the loneliest
number, but hydrogen
gets to be the most
abundant element in
the universe.
Did you know that you
can use electricity to
make a magnet? And
guess what: You can
also use a magnet to
make electricity! Isn’t
that weird?
Biology is the study of
life, right? EXO means
“from without” — as
in not from this planet.
Think of it as out-of-thisworld biology!
Einstein said that
energy and matter
are two sides of the
same thing, and you
can trade a little bit
of mass for a crazy
amount of energy.
Concyclic
Points
CON: with, at the
same time, or in the
same space. CYCLE:
circle. Put them
together, and it means
points on a circle!
Decaying
Orbit
An object in motion
tends to stay in motion
unless a planet’s
gravity acts upon
it. Then an object’s
orbit slowly breaks
down, and the object
eventually crashes into
the planet (hopefully
not on us!)
Europa
Another of Jupiter’s
many moons, Europa
is the icy, oceany
one. It’s so beautiful,
it’s sort of ridiculous!
Feynman
Diagram
Function
Faraday
Cage
F Orbital
Fruit Fly
F orbitals are crazy
complicated! They
look like the final exam
at Balloon Animal
University.
Big, important scientists
go to big, important
schools and get big,
important jobs taking
care of tiny, ordinary
old fruit flies. That’s
right, fruit flies. Turns out
that these common
little insects are
amazingly useful for
genetic research.
Richard Feynman
spent a lot of time
talking to his friends
about what happens
to different particles.
He pestered everyone
about using these
pictorial diagrams
until they not only
used them, but
started calling them
Feynman diagrams.
A function is a
relationship between
one or more variables.
It’s like a rule that says
“If x is this, then y has
to be this other thing.”
For a lot of students,
functions are the first
hint that math might
be interesting.
Galaxy
Gravity
Ganymede
Gyroscope
A galaxy is like a
massive star factory.
We live in one called
the Milky Way, a
barred spiral galaxy
thought to have a
black hole in the
center. We share our
galaxy with more than
100 billion other solar
systems.
Everything in the
universe that has
mass tugs slightly on
anything that comes
near. The pull is very
weak, but if an object
is big enough you can
feel it. Pick up a block,
then let go. Does it
float in the air? Why
not? Gravity!
Cool things about
Ganymede: it’s not
only the biggest moon
of Jupiter, it’s also the
biggest thing that
orbits any planet in our
solar system! In fact,
it’s big enough to be
a planet. It is also the
only moon that has its
own magnetosphere.
The motion of a
gyroscope is hard to
describe — it looks
impossible! But thanks
to Newton’s first law,
we can explain and
predict the way it
moves.
Hubble
Telescope
Hertz
H 2O
Heliocentric
Gravitational
Well
The gravitational force
of a massive object
pulls other objects
toward itself. The
bigger the mass, the
steeper the well, and
the less chance that
an object will be able
to escape.
Hexagonal Walls
For thousands of
years, scientists,
farmers, philosophers,
mathematicians,
and small bears have
wondered why bees
love making perfect
hexagons. But who’s
right?
Hubble, Hubble, toil
and trouble.
Mirror is wrong, and
budget double.
A glitch, a shuttle trip,
a mirror fix.
Now we have mindblowing universe pics.
Whenever something
makes a tone, like a
tuning fork, the air is
vibrating. A slower
vibration sounds like a
lower note — in fact,
every musical note
has its own vibration
frequency, measured
in Hertz.
Oh, sure, the theory
was solid, but can you
imagine the courage
it took for that first
person to step into the
cage and get struck
by lightning?
One big oxygen atom
Heliocentric means
and two cute smaller
“sun-centered.” It
hydrogen atoms, always
seems silly now, but
angled just like this so
for hundreds of years,
that water molecules
the smartest people
look like a famous
of every generation
cartoon rodent.
struggled to prove that
Earth travels around
the sun and not the
other way around.
Io
Infrared
Infinity
Ichthyosaur
Isotope
Jupiter pulls on Io,
and the other nearby
large moons pull back.
Gravitational forces
cause hundreds of
active volcanoes,
making it the most
geologically exciting
thing in our solar system.
Red, orange,yellow,
green, blue, indigo,
and violet. But
those are only the
wavelengths that
we humans can see.
Infrared is just a little
longer in wavelength
than red and just
beyond what our eyes
can see.
Let’s pull the word
apart: FIN.
FINish, FINal means
the end of something.
A finite resource
has an end, but Infinity
is the opposite. It
describes a thing with
no end or limit, such
as the edges of
space or a list of all
numbers.
Ichthyosaur was an
air-breathing reptile
that lived in the water.
Ichthys means fish but
ichthyosaur was not a
fish. Osaur means
lizard, which makes
even less sense.
Icthyosaur was not a
fish, or a lizard, or a
dinosaur.
If the number of
neutrons in an atom
is wonky, we call that
an isotope of the
element. They aren’t
very stable. They fall
apart quickly and give
off energy trying to get
back to their normal,
nicely balanced
number of neutrons.
Josephoartigasia
Jararaca
Jurassic
Junk DNA
Jupiter
Before I say this, just
know that these
have been extinct for
millions of years. You
will never meet one.
Okay? Ready?
THIS IS A RAT THE SIZE
OF A CAR.
The good news is
this large, highly
aggressive snake only
lives in one small part
of a country that’s
farther away than
any snake could
crawl. So you don’t
have to worry! Unless
you live in southern
Brazil. Then it’s all bad
news. Sorry.
Most people think
of a T. rex when
they hear “Jurassic.”
However, T. rex
wasn’t around until
the late Cretaceous.
That’s closer to
modern times than to
the Jurassic! I guess a
Stegosaurus isn’t
scary enough.
There’s a lot about
DNA that we still
don’t know. So it
seems pretty silly
that during the 60s,
a researcher started
calling the parts of
DNA molecules that
don’t have an obvious
purpose “junk.”
With just a bit more
mass and luck, she
could’ve been a
star! Jupiter has
dozens of moons,
and the biggest four
were discovered
by Galileo: Callisto,
Ganymede, Io, and
Europa.
Kreb Cycle
Acids
Kalium
(Potassium)
Kepler’s Laws
Kinetic Energy
Kelvin & Thomson
Atomic Model
The Krebs cycle refers
to a complex series
of chemical reactions
that produce carbon
dioxide and Adenosine
triphosphate (ATP),
a compound rich in
energy.
Pure potassium is a
soft metal that
conducts electricity
and is slightly
radioactive. It also
reacts with water. But
don’t worry, the tiny
amount inside
bananas isn’t going to
hurt you.
Kepler wanted to
know all about the
planets. How do they
move around the sun?
What does their path
look like? Why is their
path like that, and
what does it tell us
about the planet?
People throw the word No one knew how atoms
energy around a lot.
were organized, so these
In physics, energy is
guys made a really good
never good or bad, guess. They said that atoms
it’s potential or kinetic. act as though there is this
Potential is energy
positively-charged stuff with
that’s stored; kinetic
little blobs of negativelyis energy involved in
charged stuff scattered
movement.
throughout it, like raisins in a
plum pudding.
Lorenz Attractor
Lunar Eclipse
Lambda
Lens
Longitude
This is an example of
math and nobody
hates it because it’s
seriously gorgeous.
Three simple equations
(one for each axis)
draw these incredible
3D structures.
Hey, Earth! You make
a better door than a
window! When the
earth gets in between
the moon and the sun,
it blocks the sun’s light
from shining directly on
the moon.
Lowercase lambda
commonly represents
wavelengths in
physics.
A lens is an optical
device that lets light
through, but changes
its angle along the
way, refracting light
by focusing it or
spreading it.
Look at a globe and
notice thin lines going
up and down. Those
aren’t really on the
ground anywhere;
they are something
that people made
up to help people
navigate. Longitude is
measured in degrees,
denoted by capital
Lambda.
Mandelbrot Set
Marmot
Meniscus
Meteoroid
Matter
Mandelbrot was a
great mathematician.
How great? He was
great enough to have
this very famous fractal
set named after him.
Maybe someday you
will have a fractal set
named after you!
Marmots are freakishly
large ground squirrels.
They look like great
big, adorable
groundhogs.
Next time you get a
glass of water, look
closely at the inside
of your glass. Notice
where the surface of
the water touches
the sides of the glass
— see how it curves
upward? This is due to
a molecular hug that
water molecules like to
give each other.
This meteoroid is
about to enter the
atmosphere where
it will heat up and
become a meteor.
If it doesn’t burn up
entirely, it will hit the
earth and be called a
meteorite.
There is a sad
definition for matter:
“Matter does not
have a universal
definition, nor is it a
fundamental concept
in physics today.”
Whaaat? Matter used
to MEAN something!
Let’s propose a new
definition: matter is
STUFF.
Nucleotides
Naked Eye
Neuron
Nimbus
Nanosecond
Nucleotides are
special molecules
that act like bricks for
building DNA. Certain
ones fit together in
pairs to form a long
chain, like a ladder.
If you can see
something without
using a telescope or
microscope or any
other fancy instrument,
then that object can
be seen with the
naked eye.
A neuron is a special
kind of cell that sends
and receives electrical
signals. In fact, you
have neurons that are
sending and receiving
signals to help you
read about neurons
right now!
Nimbus is from the
Latin for “dark cloud,”
and is technically any
cloud that rains.
Imagine a second.
TICK-TOCK. Now cut
that in half: TICK.
You’re measuring
1/2. Fast, right? A
nanosecond is so
much faster than that.
Keep cutting until you
have a billionth of a
second.
Octonocular
Oscillation
Obtuse Angle
Oort Cloud
Optic Nerve
Octonocular means
eight-eyed. Spiders
have EIGHT eyes, so
they’re octonocular!
How cool is that?!
An oscillating current
is a type of electrical
current that changes
direction. In other
words, it oscillates.
They weren’t super
creative when they
came up with the
name for oscillating
current.
Why are you being so
obtuse? Oh, because
you’re an angle and
you measure more
than 90 degrees?
Okay then. Good job.
Did you know there’s
other cool stuff orbiting
around our sun too?
Far past all the planets,
there’s this sort of shell
called the Oort cloud.
It’s made of zooming icy
chunks.
This is a side view of
a human eyeball.
See that sticking
out part? That’s the
nerve that tells your
brain all about the
picture that’s being
projected onto the
back of your eyes.
Pi
P Orbital
Proton
Proton
Every orbital can
only hold TWO
electrons. P is the
second in terms of
energy required to
bump an electron
to the next level.
Here’s a way to
remember the
order:
Stop
Petting
Dirty
Foxes
Protons are particles
that live at the center
of an atom. Most of
the weight of each
atom comes from
the protons, and the
number of protons
tells us what element
it is. Protons are made
of three quarks: two
positive and one
negative, so the net
charge is positive.
Poles
Positive
Correlation
Do you ever play
with magnets? Try to
connect the magnets
end to end to make
a chain. What do
you notice about
the north and south
poles?
Sometimes people
notice that two things
tend to happen
together. We say those
things are positively
correlated. Thunder
and lightning, and
age and height are
all things that have a
positive correlation.
Pi seems like a really
abstract, weird
concept doesn’t
it? A straight line
through the center
of a circle — that’s
the diameter, called
d. The trip around
the perimeter—the
circumference— is
always is always three
diameters plus just a
little bit. 3.141592...
Quincunx Points
Quasar
Q.E.D.
Qualitative
Research
A quincunx is a
geometric pattern
consisting of five
points arranged in
a cross, with four of
them forming a square
or rectangle and a
fifth at its center.
Quasars are the
brightest things in the
universe. They sit in the
center of massive
galaxies, surrounding
supermassive black
holes, and shoot out a
beam of matter and
energy!
Q.E.D. stands for
quod erat
demonstrandum,
meaning “which is
what I needed to
prove.” We use it at
the end of geometry
proofs because
“I DID IT!” sounds
unprofessional.
Trends, correlations,
and quantifiable data
are great, but
sometimes you just
want to know what
kinds of ice cream
people prefer. That’s
where qualitative
research is a
champion.
Quark
What are atoms made
of? Quarks. What are
quarks made of?
Who knows? But know
that there are six types
of quarks, known as
flavors: Up, Down,
Strange, Charm,
Bottom, and Top.
Reaction
Rough
Endoplasmic
Reticulum
Right Angle
Ratio
Radioactive
Sometimes an atom
is too heavy and
complicated to hold
it all together. When it
starts to break down,
energy or particles
fall out all over the
place. Atoms that are
emitting stuff like that
are radioactive.
A chemical reaction
is a process that leads
to the transformation
of one set of chemical
substances to another.
Endoplasmic
reticulum is important
in helping a cell
make and package
proteins. The rough
endoplasmic
reticulum has
ribosomes attached
to it.
This angle is exactly 90
degrees. Right? Right!
A ratio is a relationship
between two numbers
of the same kind,
expressed as “a to b.”
So if every kid brings
three puppies to the
puppy party, the ratio
of puppies to kids is “3
to 1.”
Significant Digits
Sum
Spectrum
Stratus
S Orbital
This illustration is a
math pun. Get it?
DIGITS, as in numbers
we can use to
describe something
precisely... DIGITS, as in
fingers? Get it??
Please don’t throw
blocks.
What is the SUM of
1+2+3+4+5?
Summation is adding
up a sequence of
numbers. This capital
Sigma is used to tell
people what to add
up.
With a prism, you
can break up white
light into a rainbow
of colors. White
light contains many
different wavelengths
and each wavelength
looks like a different
color to our eyes
(and brains). This
continuous series of
wavelengths is called
a spectrum.
The word stratum is Latin
for “a covering layer.”
Stratus clouds look like
big soft blankets that
cover up the sky.
Electrons want to be
as close as possible
to the proton in the
center, but as far
from each other as
possible. When there
are only one or two
electrons with a low
level of energy, they’ll
be somewhere in this
imaginary sphere
called the S orbital.
Taxonomic Ranks
Titan
Turbellaria
Humans love to group
things into categories.
Taxonomy means
classifying living
things around us, and
people like Aristotle
have been working on
it since at least 1500
BC. It’s still a work in
progress.
Beautiful Saturn has
this jewel of a moon.
It is the only moon
with its own planet-like
atmosphere. It’s also
the only place other
than Earth with liquid
lakes, but the liquid is
methane and ethane
instead of water. Ew.
This is a real critter
that‘s around right
now. They’re flat
worms and they are
honestly, for real, that
cute. When you are
older, look up how
these guys reproduce.
It’s pretty awesome!
Transverse
Wave
This is a moving
wave that consists of
oscillations occurring
perpendicular to the
direction of energy
transfer.
Tauon
It’s another
teeeeeeny tiny
thing sort of like an
electron, but with
twice the mass of
a proton and a
negative charge.
Undulating
Flagella
Ungulate
Ursidae
Ultraviolet
Ungulates are
mammals that evolved
to walk on their toes
Who figured this out?
Heck if I know.
Some ungulates have
2 toes, others have 3.
A few now have none!
They live in the sea.
Remember the
taxonomy stuff from
the T block? People
have used that
classification system
to give every single
living thing they find
a family name. Bears
are in the mammal
family Ursidae.
So we keep talking
about this spectrum
of light that our eyes
can see: Red, orange
yellow, green, blue,
indigo, and violet.
Well, what about light
that’s barely beyond
violet? You can’t see
ultraviolet light, but
it can still give you a
sunburn.
You should know that
some creatures are
made of only one cell.
So how do they move
around? Cilia and
flagella. Flagella are
less sophisticated than
cilia, but they undulate
in a flippy floppy wave
motion that works
surprisingly well.
The universe is all of
everything, including
planets, stars, galaxies,
black holes, ice cream
cones, airedales,
space itself, the
smallest subatomic
particles, and all
of matter, energy,
and time. But don’t
freak out; you are
significant!
Virus
Vectors
Vacuole
Vacuum
Velometer
A virus is a tiny, illmannered thing that
invades the cells of
other creatures and
then makes copies
of itself. The invasion
makes animals and
people sick. Rude?
Viruses don’t care!
A vector is a line
with a specific
length and
direction; sounds
boring until you are
in charge of an
airpline or sailboat
and need to figure
out where you will
end up if you don’t
change course.
This is a
microscopic,
handy little blobby
container in plant
cells that is used to
hold water, contain
waste, or close off
stuff that might be
toxic to the cell.
Vacuum is space that
has nothing in it. Not
even air. If you set
up a vacuum pump
and suck all the air
molecules out of a
sealed chamber, the
void in the chamber
won’t look different.
What do you think
might happen to
an inflated, sealed
balloon in a vacuum?
This nifty little device
measures how fast
air is moving. Useful
for flying a plane,
studying the weather,
or bragging to your
friends that you know
how fast the air is
moving.
Western Blot
Watt
Wavelength
Water Cycle
White Dwarf
The result of this
medical test must be
transferred through
another complicated
process which
produces columns of
color which indicate
whether the subject
has a disease or not.
Watts represent how
much energy is being
used every second.
They’re named after
the late 1700s Scottish
inventor James Watt,
who made some
major improvements
to the newfangled
steam engine.
You may have noticed
that wavelengths
are brought up a
lot. In physics, the
wavelength is the
distance over which
the wave’s shape
repeats.
All of the water on
Earth spends time in
rivers and streams, the
air, the ice caps, the
oceans, and the cells
of plants and animals.
Every drop of water
has gone through this
cycle zillions of times.
After a red giant
star uses all its fuel,
then it usually begins
shedding its outer
layers. What’s left
behind is a very
dense, small remnant
of a star made of
carbon and oxygen.
Universe
X-Axis
X Chromosome
Xylem
Xiphosura
Xylocarp
The line on a graph
that runs horizontally
(left-right) through
zero. Remember it by
thinking of a letter X
standing across the
zero point, with one
foot on either side of
the Y-axis.
A chromosome is a
blob made out of
DNA coils. Some are
shaped like the letter
X, and some are
shaped like the letter
Y. Generally speaking,
girls are born with two
X chromosomes, and
boys are born with one
X and one Y.
Xylem is a kind of
plant tissue that pulls
water upward and
helps give it to other
cells throughout
the plant. In trees,
xylem is a thick, hard,
workable material
that we use to build
houses, pencils,
tables, boats, and
blocks.
The Xiphosura is an
ocean creature that
hasn’t changed
in many millions of
years. Horseshoe
crabs are the modern
version, and those
are nearly identical to
fossils that date back
to the Cretaceous.
Any fruit which has
a wood-like shell
instead of a peel.
Like a coconut!
Do you know how
hard it is to think of
interesting things
that start with X?
Y-Axis
YAG Laser
Y Chromosome
Yield
Year
The line on a graph
that runs vertically
(up-down) through
zero. Remember it
by thinking of a letter
Y standing straight
and tall in the center
of the graph.
One of the most
common high power
solid state lasers, YAG
lasers are used by
surgeons to perform
delicate surgery such
as cataract removal.
The name stands for
“yttrium aluminum
garnet.”
In mammals, a Y
chromosome will
trigger an embryo
to develop into a
biological male. The Y
chromosome wasn’t
named that because
it’s shaped like the
letter Y. They named
it Y just to follow
logically after the X
chromosome.
The amount of
energy discharged
in an explosion. It’s
expressed in terms
of TNT (dynamite),
which gives
something intense
like a nuclear
explosion a more
upbeat, cartoon
coyote quality.
A year is the time
it takes for Earth
to make one trip
around our sun. For
other planets, a
year can be longer
or shorter than Earth
years depending
on how long it takes
that planet to make
the trip.
Zapteryx Xyster
Zeolite
Zonal Wind
This Latin name for
the banded guitar
fish is reminiscent of
Xwysted Sister. Get it?
You’re too young.
Zeolites are
aluminosilicate minerals
with tiny holes
throughout. A block of
zeolite molecules is a
great water filter. Water
molecules flow through
freely, while impurities
are snagged by the
holes in the sieve.
A zonal wind blows
across the southern
USA along a latitude
from west to east. The
same wind stream helps
airplanes along that are
traveling from west to
east.
Z-Axis
Zoological
Oddity
The line on a graph
that represents
3-dimensional depth.
In 2-D drawings, it’s
drawn at a 45 degree
angle to illustrate
that it runs forward
and back, towards
and away from you
through zero.
Mammals, as a rule, do
not lay eggs, but there
are a tiny number of
species who didn’t get
the memo. Echidnas
are one example.
They look sort of like a
hedgehog and their
babies are called
PUGGLES.