terrestrial: land
aquatic: water
ecosystem: A community and its physical environment together
producer: an organism that makes its own food
consumer: an organism in a community that must eat to get the energy it needs
decomposer: Consumer that breaks down the tissues of dead organisms
biotic factors: the living organisms in an ecosystem
abiotic factors: the non-living organisms in an ecosystem
food chain: The ways in which the organisms in an ecosystem interact with one another according to what they eat
food web: Shows interactions among many different food chains in a single ecosystem
gravity: the force that attracts two bodies toward each other.
friction: force that resists motion between two touching surfaces.
inertia: the tendency of an object to resist change in motion or to keep doing what it is doing.
velocity: speed with direction
momentum: force or speed of movement; mass in motion.
mass: how much matter an object contains
force: any push or pull on an object
acceleration: rate of increase of speed
distance: how far an object travels
motion: an object changing position over time
Laws of motion: three rules, formulated by Isaac Newton, that describe how objects move in relation to the forces acting on them
Newton's First Law (inertia):
an object at rest tends to stay at rest while an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same direction and speed
Newton's Second Law (acceleration):
It takes more force to accelerate a more massive object
Newton's Third Law (action and reaction):
forces are found in pairs: for every action (force), there is an opposite and equal reaction (force).
precipitation: form of water (rain, snow, ice, sleet, hail) that falls from the clouds to Earth; can be measured by a rain gauge.
weather: state of the atmosphere at a given time and place; it is described by wind, temperature, cloud cover, moisture in the form of humidity and/or precipitation, and air pressure; weather changes daily, hourly, and seasonally
meteorologist: a scientist who studies weather
temperature: measurement in degrees warm or cold; influenced by cloud cover (i.e., generally cooler on cloudy days); measured by a thermometer in degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius
wind speed: changes as air pressure changes; how fast the wind is blowing; measured by an anemometer
wind direction: reported by the direction from which the wind originates; indicated by a wind vane
precipitation: form of water (rain, snow, ice, sleet, hail) that falls from the clouds to Earth; can be measured by a rain gauge
air pressure: also known as barometric pressure, it is the weight of the air above the surface of the Earth; it is measured by a barometer
cloud cover: fraction of the sky covered by cloudy
hemisphere: half of a sphere; the Earth is divided into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres by the equator
condensation: changing from water vapor to a liquid
evaporation: changing from liquid to a water vapor
precipitation: form of water that falls from clouds to Earth
run-off: excess water from falling precipitation or melting precipitating that the soil cannot absorb
transpiration: water evaporating from the leaves of plants
water cycle: continuous process of water moving from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back to Earth
water vapor: water in a gas state
cloud: a large collection of tiny water droplets or ice crystals in the atmosphere
cirrus: high level clouds that look thin and wispy, like feathers; means “curl of hair”; indicate fair to pleasant weather
cumulus: middle level clouds that look puffy like cotton; means “heap” or “pile”; indicate fair weather
stratus: low level clouds that look like layers or a gray blanket that covers the sky; means to “spread out”; indicates overcast weather and sometimes produce precipitation; fog is a stratus cloud
Gulf stream: a warm water surface current in the Atlantic Ocean that moves from the southern tip of Florida up the East Coast then across the Atlantic
latitude: the distance north or south of the equator; for example, Raleigh, NC is located at approximately 36°N, which indicates it location North of the equator
convection: transfer of thermal energy by liquids or gases; land and water heat the air above through convection currents
conduction: transfer of thermal energy between objects that are touching
radiation: transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves through places without matter; the Sun’s radiation warms Earth’s air, land, and water:
wind: air moving horizontally; caused by uneven heating and cooling of the Earth’s surface
local wind: moves across small distances close to Earth’s surface; examples include sea breezes and land breezes
global wind: moves across great distances above the Earth; these wind patterns are stable and predictable; examples include Polar Easterlies, Prevailing Westerlies, and Trade Winds
Trade Winds: winds that blow East to West toward the equator between 30° N latitude and 30° S latitude; can impact North Carolina weather by moving a hurricane toward the Southeastern United States
Prevailing Westerlies: winds that blow West to East toward the poles in both hemispheres between 30° and 60° latitudes; impacts North Carolina weather by moving weather systems from the West toward North Carolina
land breeze: a convection current where air flows from land to sea during the night (a result of land heating and cooling at a faster rate than water)
sea breeze: a convection current where air flows from sea to land during the day (a result of land heating and cooling at a faster rate than water)
jet stream: a current in the atmosphere located over North America that moves West to East; it changes position North or South seasonally; impacts North Carolina weather by moving weather systems from the West toward North Carolina; additionally its fluctuations to the North can bring warmer temperatures to North Carolina while its fluctuation to the South can bring cooler temperatures to North Carolina
air mass: a large region of the atmosphere where the air has similar properties throughout such as temperature, humidity, and air pressure
High pressure system: a whirling mass of cool, dry air; because cool air is more dense than warm air, it sinks. High pressure brings fair weather, sunny skies and light winds. High pressure systems rotate clockwise.
Low pressure system: a whirling mass of warm, moist air; because warm air is less dense than cool air, it rises and cooler (more dense) air flows underneath. Low pressure brings storms, strong winds, and changing weather. Low pressure systems rotate counter-clockwise (like hurricanes in the Atlantic).
front: a boundary between warm and cold air masses
cold front: a boundary between two air masses (one warm, one cold) moving so that the colder air replaces the warmer air
warm front: a boundary between two air masses (one warm, one cold) moving so that the warmer air replaces the colder air
stationary front: a boundary between two air masses (one warm, one cold) that more or less doesn’t move; a stationary front can wobble back and forth for several hundred miles a day
El Niño: a natural oscillation (shift) of the warmest surface water near the equator in the Pacific Ocean eastward toward South America; this impacts weather around the world.
La Niña: the surface water near the equator in the Pacific Ocean gets cooler; this impacts weather around the world.