Science Vocabulary

Front 1

a special trait that helps an organism survive

Back 1

adaptation

Front 2

the smallest living unit of matter

Back 2

cell

Front 3

an adaptation by which an animal can hide by blending in with its surroundings

Back 3

camoflauge

Front 4

a consumer that eats only animals

Back 4

carnivore

Front 5

a green substance in plant cells that helps plants make food by trapping the sun's energy

Back 5

chlorophyll

Front 6

to place things that share properties together in groups

Back 6

classify

Front 7

the living part of an ecosystem

Back 7

community

Front 8

any organism that eats the food producers make

Back 8

consumer

Front 9

an organism that breaks down wastes and the remains of others organisms

Back 9

decomposer

Front 10

the living and nonliving things in an environment and all their interactions

Back 10

ecosystem

Front 11

in danger of extinction

Back 11

endangered

Front 12

all the surroundings things, conditions, and influences affecting the growth of living things

Back 12

environment

Front 13

said of an organism no longer alive on earth

Back 13

extinct

Front 14

the joining of a female cell and male cell to produce a fertilized egg

Back 14

fertilization

Front 15

the set of steps in which organisms get the food they need to survive

Back 15

food chain

Front 16

the work or job that a body or plant part does

Back 16

function

Front 17

the sprouting of a seed into a new plant

Back 17

germination

Front 18

the gradual increase in earth's temperatures due to the trapping of greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere

Back 18

global warming

Front 19

the home of an organism

Back 19

habitat

Front 20

a consumer that eats only plants

Back 20

herbivore

Front 21

the process by which traits are passed from parents to offspring

Back 21

heredity

Front 22

a instinctive behavior where an animal's body activities slow down

Back 22

hibernation

Front 23

a behavior that is inborn, not learned

Back 23

inherited behavior

Front 24

a pattern of behavior that requires no thinking because it is programmed into an animal's brain

Back 24

instinct

Front 25

a group of animals without a backbone

Back 25

invertebrate

Front 26

a behavior that an organism doesn't begin life with

Back 26

learned behavior

Front 27

the food making part of the plant, responsible for performing photosynthesis

Back 27

leaves

Front 28

the stages of growth and change of an organism's life

Back 28

life cycle

Front 29

a process of changes in form during an animal's development

Back 29

metamorphosis

Front 30

an instinctive behavior where the animals move from one region to another for food, shelter, or to reproduce

Back 30

migration

Front 31

when one organism imitates the traits of another

Back 31

mimicry

Front 32

plants without tubes, such as moss

Back 32

non-vascular plants

Front 33

a consumer that eats both plants and animals

Back 33

omnivore

Front 34

a living thing that carries out five basic life functions on its own

Back 34

organism

Front 35

a depletion of resources that occurs when too many of at least one kind of living thing inhibits an ecosystem

Back 35

overpopulation

Front 36

a part of the air that is needed by most plants and animals to live

Back 36

oxygen

Front 37

a process in plants that uses energy from sunlight to make food from water and carbon dioxide

Back 37

photosynthesis

Front 38

the transfer of a flower's pollen from another to pistil

Back 38

pollination

Front 39

the adding of harmful substances to the water, air or land

Back 39

pollution

Front 40

one type of organism living in an area

Back 40

population

Front 41

a consumer that eats prey

Back 41

predator

Front 42

consumers that are eaten by predators

Back 42

prey

Front 43

an organism, such as a plant, that makes food

Back 43

producer

Front 44

the making of offspring

Back 44

reproduction

Front 45

the using and releasing of energy in a cell

Back 45

respiration

Front 46

the part of the plant that absorbs water and nutrients from the soil, also anchors the plant in place

Back 46

roots

Front 47

the part of the plant that acts as a highway, transporting water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves, also supports the flower

Back 47

stem

Front 48

parts of an organism that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.

Back 48

structure

Front 49

a plant's release of excess water vapor through the stomata on the underside of its leaves

Back 49

transpiration

Front 50

plants that have tubes, such as flowering and conifer plants

Back 50

vascular plants

Front 51

a group of animals with a backdonw

Back 51

vertebrate