3Rd 9 Weeks Science Vocabulary Terms

Front 1

wave length

Back 1

The distance between one wave crest and the next wave crest.

Front 2

biome

Back 2

A region of Earth that has a particular climate and certain types of plants.

Front 3

trough

Back 3

The low point of a wave.

Front 4

water table

Back 4

The highest part in the ground that is saturated, or completely filled with water.

Front 5

fresh water

Back 5

Water that is not salty and has little or no taste, color, or smell.

Front 6

grassland

Back 6

An area, such as a prairie or steppe, of grass or grass-like vegetation.

Front 7

impermeable

Back 7

Resistant to the passage of water.

Front 8

aquifer

Back 8

An underground layer of permeable rock that contains water.

Front 9

wave

Back 9

An up & down motion along the surface of a body of water.

Front 10

respiration

Back 10

The physical and chemical processes by which a living thing exchanges gases with the environment.

Front 11

salt water

Back 11

Water that contains dissolved salts and other minerals.

Front 12

atmosphere

Back 12

The outer layer of gases of a large body in space, such as a planet or star; one of the four parts of the Earth system.

Front 13

permeable

Back 13

Allowing the passage of water.

Front 14

spring

Back 14

A flow of water from the ground at a place where the surface land dips below the water table.

Front 15

wave height

Back 15

The vertical distance between the top of the crest and the bottom of the trough.

Front 16

precipitation

Back 16

Any type of liquid or solid water that falls to Earth’s surface, such as rain, snow, or hail.

Front 17

surface zone

Back 17

The top 200 meters of open ocean that sunlight reaches.

Front 18

crest

Back 18

The high point of a wave.

Front 19

condensation

Back 19

The process by which a gas becomes a liquid.

Front 20

divide

Back 20

A continuous high line of land or ridge from which water drains to one side or the other.

Front 21

eutrophication

Back 21

An increase in nutrients in a lake or pond.

Front 22

taiga

Back 22

A forest located in the Earth’s far northern regions, consisting of mainly coniferous trees.

Front 23

temperate forest

Back 23

An area that consists mainly of trees which are bare of leaves in the winter season.

Front 24

water cycle

Back 24

The continuous movement of water through Earth, its atmosphere, and the living things on Earth.

Front 25

iceberg

Back 25

A mass of floating ice that broke away from a glacier.

Front 26

hydrosphere

Back 26

All water on Earth, in the atmosphere and in the oceans, lakes, glaciers, rivers, streams, and underground reservoirs.

Front 27

drainage basin

Back 27

An area of land in which water drains into a stream system.

Front 28

groundwater

Back 28

Water that collects and is stored underground.

Front 29

geosphere

Back 29

All the features on Earth’s surface and everything below the surface; one of the four parts of the Earth system.

Front 30

desert

Back 30

A dry, barren region, usually having sandy or rocky soil and little to no vegetation.

Front 31

evaporation

Back 31

A process by which a substance changes from its liquid state to its gas state by random particle movement.

Front 32

deciduous

Back 32

A term used to describe trees and shrubs that drop their leaves when winter comes.

Front 33

tropical forest

Back 33

An area that is near the equator and is the wettest biome on Earth.

Front 34

estuary

Back 34

The lower end of a river that feeds into the ocean, where fresh water and salt water mix.

Front 35

energy

Back 35

The ability to do work or cause change.

Front 36

marine biome

Back 36

An area that consists of salt water and includes coastal, open ocean and deep ocean.

Front 37

run off

Back 37

The process in which water from precipitation sinks into soil or flows into streams and rivers.

Front 38

tundra

Back 38

A cold, treeless, usually lowland area of far northern regions with subsoil that is permanently frozen.

Front 39

coniferous

Back 39

A term used to describe cone-bearing trees and shrubs that usually keep their leaves or needles during all the seasons of the year.

Front 40

prairie

Back 40

An extensive area of flat or rolling grassland, especially the large plains of central North America.

Front 41

transpiration

Back 41

The process in which plants release water vapor.

Front 42

turnover

Back 42

The yearly sinking and rising of cold and warm water layers in a lake.