GLOSSARY FOR THE WORLD OF THE TEACHER’S EDITIONS

(In case you’re too lazy to use a dictionary or encyclopedia--though, let’s be honest, those are much more reliable than this.)

 

 

Active Transport The way a cell takes in or gets rid of objects (food, waste, messages-in-the-bottles). So instead of opening a mouth to eat, the cell creates a special bubble (called a vesicle) around the food and lets that in. Sadly, this makes it quite difficult for cells to chew gum.

 

Atom The smallest part of matter. (Okay, that’s not true. It’s made of smaller parts—neutrons, protons, and electrons, some of which are made of even smaller parts—but the atom is the smallest you can divide matter without using an atom smasher or a nuclear explosion or something.)

 

Bioluminescence This is when a living thing has an inner glow- literally. It has a natural way of giving off its own light without needing batteries or an electrical outlet.

 

Capacitance Certain objects can conduct an electrical charge, and some of the conductors can store and release that charge. These capacitors are in electric circuits, among other places, and are exactly the wrong kind of thing to stick your tongue into.

 

Chromatophore Pigment-containing cells. Octopi and certain other animals can change their skin color and skin texture thanks to these nifty things. So octopi are one of the few types of animals that cannot only look blue but actual feel blue.

DNA (Stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, a word as hard to say as it is to spell.) Every cell of every living creature has a copy of its DNA- molecules filled with a code that defines what that creature will look like inside and out. (At least before it eats lunch or goes shopping.)

 

Double Helix DNA molecules look like this--two curled lines intertwining like a spiral staircase. Except this staircase has all the information of life on its steps . . . so you’d better hope nobody trips as they walk up or down.

 

Drag A special kind of friction between an object and a gas (such as air) or a liquid (such as water) around it. The more drag there is, the slower the object moves, which is quite a drag, if you’ll forgive the really lame pun.

 

Epinephrine Sometimes called adrenaline. This is the stuff that your body uses to get you prepared for danger so you can fight or, if you’re not feeling too tough, run away. (A good pair of sneakers helps, too.)

 

Exoskeleton Some animals--such as insects, arachnids, and crustaceans--have their skeletons on the outside (as opposed to on the inside, called endoskeleton, like humans do). Exoskeletons give these critters extra protection and strength; they also provide an extra crunch if they’re squished.

 

Friction Whenever two objects are touching, there’s friction between them. The more friction there is, the harder it is to move them. When the two objects are in motion, it’s called kinetic friction; when they’re not moving (like you with your butt on the chair while you read this), it’s called static friction.

 

Gene Not to be confused with jeans, these are found on DNA molecules; each gene has a code on it, and that code causes a specific trait or attribute. (For example, you might have a gene that makes you look good in jeans.)

 

Gravity/G There’s a really good reason you don’t just go flying off into space every time you take a step, and it’s not the grippy soles on your new shoes. It’s the force of gravitation, which is the attraction between two objects. The more mass something has, the more it pulls on other objects around it. So everything on Earth is pulled down toward the Earth’s core, where most of its mass is. (It’s believed that gravitation is linked to the space-time continuum--more massive objects curve space-time around them. Maybe if you eat a big enough lunch, you’ll be able to affect space-time.)

 

Ion When an atom gains or loses an electron, it gains an electric charge (not to be confused with a credit card charge). That atom is now either a positive or negative ion.

 

Mass The amount of matter (solid, liquid, or gas) in something. More mass doesn’t necessarily mean the thing must be big--a refrigerator box is bigger than the refrigerator that came in it, but trust me, the refrigerator is a lot harder to lift.

 

Megafauna This is the name for any type of really big animal, especially ones that went extinct. You may want to try to pet some of them, but beware: even if some megafauna won’t try to eat you, they might accidentally squash you.

 

Myopia Nearsightedness--you can see things up-close just fine, but the farther away they get, the more blurry they get. So if you’re myopic and you’ve just fallen off a cliff, you’ll get an increasingly better view of the ground as you come closer to splatting into it.

 

Norepinephrine This is related to epinephrine (as the name sort of gives away); it makes the mind more alert to match the body’s increased readiness for fighting, running away, or playing a particularly exciting game of chess.

 

Phase Change This is a shift between the different states of matter- solid, liquid, gas, or plasma, which is sort of the unofficial fourth state. The change occurs with heat: ice melts into water; water evaporates into gas—or cold: gas condenses into water; water freezes into ice. It’s an especially important process when you leave the ice cream out of the freezer.

 

Plasma Not to be confused with plasma in blood . . . this is the unofficial fourth state of matter. Extreme heat can strip away electrons from a gas, turning them into ions. The result, plasma, can be a pretty lightshow (like the aurora borealis) or an explosive, dangerous substance like that found in lightning or stars. (You know, like the sun, that big, hot thing way up in the daytime sky.)

 

Pseudopod Translates to “false foot” . . . and that’s what it is. Amoebas have ’em, forming them from their bloblike bodies as a way to move around. But they’re not real feet, so amoebas have no need for wearing sneakers on them when they want to play soccer.

 

Space-Time This is the combination of space and time--the where and the when of things--which are believed to be connected as a whole. The combo is known as the space-time continuum, and you’re in it right now. (Say hello to the nice continuum.)

 

Spore This is the way certain living things--such as fungi or plants that don’t have seeds--reproduce. So some of these spores, which would look like tiny dots to humans (if we can see them at all), are really bouncing baby mushrooms. They’d be cute if they weren’t so gross.

 

Terminal Velocity This is a fun rule of physics that only applies when in an atmosphere. It’s the speed at which something falling can’t accelerate any faster because of friction with the air. That may sound like a good thing but trust me: if you’re falling and reaching terminal velocity, your landing will still hurt. A lot.

 

Velocity This is the speed and direction of something. If you’re not moving, you have no speed or direction. If you’re falling out of an airplane, your speed is really fast and your direction, unfortunately for you, is down. (Hope you remembered a parachute or a really, really soft cushion.)

 

Vesicle This is a container—like a sac or a bubble--used to bring things into and out of cells during active transport. Think of it as a special type of gift-wrapping.