Download WP: Investigation 1, Part 1 Vocabulary Sun: an average star at the

WP: Investigation 1, Part 1
Vocabulary
Sun: an average star at the center of the solar system
around which all other solar-system bodies revolve
Solar System: the sun and all the bodies that orbit it,
including the planets and their moons, the asteroids, and
the comets.
Orbit: the path an object takes around another object;
for example, Earth has an orbit around the sun
Planet: a large natural object that orbits around a star,
such as the Sun
Asteroid: a rocky object, which can be a few hundred
meters to several hundred kilometers wide, that orbits
the sun
Comet: a small body of ice and dust that orbits the Sun in
a large oval path
Content Entries
What is the Sun?
What is the solar system?
WP: Investigation 1, Part 2
Vocabulary
Gravity: the force of attraction between two objects;
larger bodies, like the Sun have a greater force of gravity
revolve: to travel in a path or orbit around another
object; for example, Earth revolves around the Sun
revolution: occurs when an object travels in an orbit
and returns to its starting position. It takes Earth 1 year
to make a complete revolution around the Sun.
Content Entries
What is gravity?
Why do planets travel around the sun in circular
paths?
WP: Investigation 2, Part 1
Vocabulary
pendulum: a mass (bob) hanging from a fixed point that
is free to swing to and fro
cycle: a motion that repeats itself
variable: anything that you can change in an experiment
that might affect the outcome
Content Entries
What is a variable?
What variables might affect the number of cycles the
pendulum makes in 15 seconds?
Where have you seen a pendulum?
WP: Investigation 2, Part 2
Vocabulary
standard: the basic procedure used in a controlled
experiment, before changing any of the variables
experiment: an investigation designed to find out how
variables affect outcomes
controlled variable: a variable that is not allowed to
change in an experiment
controlled experiment: one in which one, and only one,
variable is changed in order to assess its effect
Content Entries
Which variables made no difference in the number of
swings?
Which variable did make a difference in the number of
swings?
What is the relationship between the length of a
pendulum and the number of swings it makes in a unit
of time?
WP: Investigation 2, Part 3
Vocabulary
Independent variable: changed in an experiment to find
out how it affects the experiment outcome
Dependent variable: changes in response to changes in
the independent variable.
Two-coordinate graph: a display of experimental data
that shows a relationship between an independent
variable and a dependent variable
prediction: a reasoned estimation of a future event
based on context, data, or experience
Content Entries
What is a two-coordinate graph?
What is a prediction?
WP: Investigation 3, Part 1
Vocabulary
evaporation: water changes from liquid to gas
water vapor: the gas state of water
Content Entries
What happens to a wet paper towel in an open cup?
What happens to the water in a paper towel when it
evaporates?
WP: Investigation 3, Part 2
Vocabulary
seriate: to put objects in order by one property, like
amount of water left
thermometer: a tool used to measure temperature
Content Entries
Where did most evaporation happen?
Where did the least evaporation happen?
WP: Investigation 3, Part 3
Vocabulary
Surface Area: the area of a liquid exposed to or touching
the air
Content Entries
How does the surface area of a volume of water affect
evaporation?
WP: Investigation 3, Part 4
Vocabulary
condensation: when water vapor contracts a cool
surface, it condenses and become liquid water
frost: when water vapor contacts a surface below
freezing, it condenses and freezes
freezing point: the temperature at which water changes
state from liquid to solid; for water it’s 0 degrees Celsius
Content Entries
Where does that water that forms on the outside of a
cup of ice water come from?
What causes frost to form?
WP: Investigation 4, Part 1
Vocabulary
Earth material: a nonliving substance that makes up or
comes from the earth
Solar energy: energy from the sun; takes several forms
including visible light and infrared light that can be felt as
heat
Energy transfer: the change of energy from one form to
another (such as light to heat), or the movement of
energy from one object to another (such as heat moving
from air to water).
Heat sink: a material, such as water, that can absorb a
large amount of heat
Content Entries
What happens to materials exposed to solar energy?
Do soil and water heat up at the same rate?
WP: Investigation 4, Part 2
Vocabulary
Materials sink in water that are denser than water.
Materials float in water if they are less dense than
water.
Convection current: a circular current in a fluid caused
by uneven heating
Content Entries
Is hot water denser or less dense than roomtemperature water? How do you know?
Which is denser, hot water or cold water? How do you
know?
What causes a convection current?
WP: Investigation 4, Part 3
Vocabulary
compress: to squeeze molecules, such as air molecules,
into a smaller volume
pressure: the force or push caused by moving
molecules
atmosphere: the layer of air around Earth
Atmospheric pressure: the force applied in all
directions by the air in Earth’s atmosphere
Content Entries
What happens when air is pushed into a smaller
space?
What causes atmospheric pressure?
WP: Investigation 5, Part 1
Vocabulary
Salt water: the water found in the oceans containing
dissolved salts and other materials
Fresh water: contains little or no salt, and is located in
the atmosphere, glaciers, ice caps, lakes, rivers, streams,
soil, and groundwater
Water cycle: the process that recycles water by
evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and flow
Content Entries
Where is most of Earth’s water found?
Where is Earth’s fresh water found?
How is water recycled on Earth?
WP: Investigation 5, Part 2
Vocabulary
Weather Variables: include the amount of moisture,
movement, and heat in the atmosphere
Severe weather: extreme and out of the ordinary in one
or more ways
hurricane: huge column of spinning air and water that
forms over warm ocean water and gains energy from the
warm water until it travels over land
tornado: a column of spinning air that forms over land
when warm, moist air encounters a mass of cold air
thunderstorm: an electric rainstorm that forms when a
cold air mass runs into a warm air mass
drought: an extended period of below-normal
precipitation
Content Entries
What is the Sun’s role in weather?
What is the ocean’s role in weather?
WP: Investigation 5, Part 3
Vocabulary
Surface measurements: weather data collected at
Earth’s surface with weather instruments
Atmospheric measurements: weather data collected in
the atmosphere with radiosondes attached to balloons
Weather map: a picture of weather data displayed on a
map of part of Earth’s surface
Cold front: occurs when a mass of cold air collides with a
mass of warm air and pushes the warm air high into the
upper atmosphere
Warm front: occurs when a mass of warm air collides
with a mass of cold air and slides up over the cold air
mass
Content Entries
How are weather data obtained?
What kinds of data are displayed on weather maps?