Download to the definitions in Word format

Tennessee Academic Vocabulary – Eighth Grade Science Vocabulary
Curriculum Area:
WORD
acceleration
biome
DEFINITION
Pronunciation: ik-"sel-&-'rAsh&n, akFunction: noun
1 : the act or process of accelerating
: the state of being accelerated
2 : the rate of change of velocity with
respect to time; also : change in
velocity
Pronunciation: 'bI-"Om
Function: noun
: a major type of ecological
community <the grassland biome>
Biotic factors: living or having
Biotic and abiotic
lived
factors
Abiotic factors:non-living,
never having lived
group of symbols representing
Chemical equation a chemical reaction.
Continental drift
and plate
tectonics
Continental drift refers to the
movement of the Earth's
continents relative to each other.
Plate tectonics (from Greek
τέκτων, tektōn "builder" or
"mason") is a theory of
CURRICULUM OPPORTUNITIES
NUMBER OF
EXPOSURES
Dichotomous key
DNA
Dominant and
recessive traits
earthquake
geology that has been
developed to explain the
observed evidence for large
scale motions of the Earth's
crust.
Identification of plants and
animals in biology is
frequently aided by using a
dichotomous key, a (usually
written) device constructed
from a series of highly
organized statements
arranged into couplets.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
is a nucleic acid that contains
the genetic instructions for the
development and functioning
of living organisms.
Dominant traits: Dominant
traits are traits that always
appear and that we see
Recessive traits: Recessive
traits are traits that disappear
or recede into the background
and only show up in a few
generations
A movement within the Earth's
crust or mantle, caused by the
sudden rupture or
repositioning of underground
rocks as they release stress.
Endo/exothermic
Energy resources
Genetic
engineering
Genotype and
phenotype
Genus and
species
Endothermic: Accompanied by
the absorption of heat
Exothermic: describes a
process or reaction that
releases energy in the form of
heat.
Coal, oil, gas, gas hydrates,
geothermal, oil shale, uranium
Genetic engineering, genetic
modification (GM) and gene
splicing are terms for the
process of manipulating
genes, generally if the process
is outside the organism's
natural reproductive process.
The genotype is the specific
genetic genome of an
individual, in the form of DNA
Phenotype: The phenotype of
an individual organism is
either its total physical
appearance and constitution
or a specific manifestation of a
trait, such as size, eye color,
or behavior that varies
between individuals.
Biology. A taxonomic category
ranking below a family and
above a species and generally
consisting of a group of
Gravitation
(universal law)
Igneous and
metamorphic
rocks
inertia
species exhibiting similar
characteristics. In taxonomic
nomenclature the genus name
is used, either alone or
followed by a Latin adjective
or epithet, to form the name of
a species.
Species: Biology.
A fundamental category of
taxonomic classification,
ranking below a genus or
subgenus and consisting of
related organisms capable of
interbreeding.
The mutual attraction between
two masses.
Igneous rocks: Rock formed
by the solidification of molten
material that originated within
the earth.
Metamorphic rocks:
The reluctance of a body to
change its state of rest or of
uniform velocity in a straight
line. Inertia is measured by
mass when linear velocities
and accelerations are
considered and by moment of
Law of
conservation of
mass
minerals
inertia for angular motions
(that is, rotations about an
axis)
A principle in classical physics
stating that the total mass of an
isolated system is unchanged by
interaction of its parts.
Naturally occurring solid
element or compound,
exclusive of biologically
formed carbon components.
Has definite composition or
range of composition and
orderly internal atomic
arrangement (crystalline
structure), which gives unique
physical and chemical
properties, including tendency
to assume certain geometrical
forms known as crystals.
momentum
Mass times velocity
Monohybrid cross
A monohybrid cross, in
genetics, is the mating
between two heterozygous
individuals. Generally,
dominant characteristics are
represented with a capital
letter, A, and recessive
characteristics are
represented by a lower case
letter, a.
mutation
The act or process of being
altered or changed.
An alteration or change, as in
nature, form, or quality.
Genetics.
A change of the DNA
sequence within a gene or
chromosome of an organism
resulting in the creation of a
new character or trait not
found in the parental type.
The process by which such a
change occurs in a
chromosome, either through
an alteration in the nucleotide
sequence of the DNA coding
for a gene or through a
change in the physical
arrangement of a
chromosome.
A mutant.
Newton’s 3 laws
of motion
The three laws proposed by Sir
Isaac Newton to define the
concept of a force and describe
motion, used as the basis of
classical mechanics.
pH
The negative logarithm (base
10) of the hydrogen-ion
activity. It denotes the degree
of acidity or of basicity of a
solution. At 25 degrees C, 7 is
the neutral value. Acidity
increases with decreasing
values below 7, and basicity
increases with increasing
values above 7. ASM, 1
Punnett square
The Punnett square is a
diagram designed by Reginald
Punnett and used by
biologists to determine the
probability of an offspring
having a particular genotype.
A sequence of events
involving the formation,
alteration, destruction, and
reformation of rocks as a
result of such processes as
magmatism, erosion,
transportation, deposition,
lithification, and
metamorphism. A possible
sequence involves the
crystallization of magma to
Rock cycle
form igneous rocks that are
then broken down to sediment
as a result of weathering, the
sediments later being lithified
to form sedimentary rocks,
which in turn are altered to
metamorphic rocks.
speed
Physics. The rate or a
measure of the rate of motion,
especially:
Distance traveled divided by
the time of travel.
The limit of this quotient as the
time of travel becomes
vanishingly small; the first
derivative of distance with
respect to time.
The magnitude of a velocity.
velocity
Rapidity or speed of motion;
swiftness.
Physics. A vector quantity
whose magnitude is a body's
speed and whose direction is
the body's direction of motion.
The rate of speed of action or
occurrence.
The rate at which money
changes hands in an
volcano
economy.
Landform developed by
accumulation of magmatic
products near central vent.