Lion
Science
Scientia non habet inimicum
nisp ignorantem |
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Northwest High School
Jefferson County,
MO |
Curriculum
Glossary, C Terms are linked to a related page in the curriculum.
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C3
plants - The most common type of plant, producing 3-carbon
organic acids as their first stable products. C4
plants - Plants that produce 4-carbon organic acids as
their first stable products, with photosynthetic energy conversion
efficiency as much as 50% higher than in C3 plants.
Calculator
- An electronic device used for manipulating numbers. Calorimeter
- An insulated container used for measuring temperature changes.
Calyx
- A term that refers to all the sepals of a flower together.
Calorie
- The amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram
of water by one Celsius degree; a measure of the energy available
in food. Cancer
- Uncontrolled division of cells. Candela
- The SI base unit for light intensity. Canines
- Pointed teeth for puncturing and tearing. Capillaries
- Small blood vessels that connect arteries and veins. Capillary
rise - The rise of a liquid in a tube of small diameter
due to adhesion forces. Capillary
water - Water found in the smaller pores of soil that is
most often available to plant roots. Capsule
- A thick, gel-like, protective coating on some bacteria cells; a
dry fruit with several carpels, splitting lengthwise when ripe.
Carapace
- The dorsal shell of turtle-like animals. Carbohydrate
- Organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
Carbon-Oxygen
Cycle - The movement of carbon and oxygen in the Earth's
biosphere. Carcinogen
- An agent that leads to the production of a cancer cell.
Carcinoma
- Cancer of the skin or nerve cells. Carnivores
- Consumers that eat only animals. Carrying
capacity - The maximum population density that an
environment can support for an extended time. Caryopsis
- Grain, a dry fruit with 1-seed, the fruit coat fused with seed
coat. Catalyst
- A substance that changes the rate of a chemical reaction without
being changed in the reaction. Cations
- Ions with a positive charge. Catkin
- A spike or raceme composed of unisexual flowers without petals.
Caudal
- Refers to the tail. Caulescent
- Ordinary plant structure with leafy stems and flowers growing at
their nodes. Cell
membrane - A complex barrier of lipid molecules separating
a cell from its external environment. Cell
theory - A theory relating to the importance of cells in
living things. Cellulose
- A complex polysaccharide forming the cell wall in plant cells.
Celsius
- The SI temperature scale used in most scientific measurements.
Cementum
- The material that binds the enamel to the dentine of a tooth.
Centi
- The SI prefix for 1/100. Central
nervous system - Includes the brain and spinal cord.
Centrifugal
force - An apparent force that appears only in rotating
frames of reference. Centripetal
acceleration - Acceleration toward the center of a
circular path. Cephalization
- The concentration of sensory and brain structures in the
anterior end of an animal. Cephalothorax
- The fused head and thorax region of some segmented animals.
Cerebellum
- The lower back of the brain, responsible for muscle coordination
and balance. Cerebrum
- The largest portion of the human brain, responsible for major
brain functions. Charles'
Law - The volume of a fixed amount of gas varies directly
with the temperature of the gas. Chelicerae
- Pincer-like mouthparts; arachnid fangs. Chemical
digestion - Breaking complex chemicals into simple ones.
Chemical Energy - Is energy stored in the bonds of atoms and molecules. It is the energy that holds these particles together.
Chemical equilibrium - A dynamic system in which chemical changes are taking place in such a way that there is no overall change in the composition of the system.
Chemical property - Any characteristic that describes how one
material interacts with another material.
Chemical reaction - A process in which substances change into other substances.
Chemical symbol - A one or two letter shorthand used to represent
elements.
Chemistry
- The study of the structure and properties of matter. Chemoautotrophs
- Bacteria that use energy from chemical reactions to make their
own food. Chemoreceptors
- Function as organs of smell and taste in earthworms and some
other organisms. Chemotherapy
- Using chemicals injected into the blood to kill cancer cells.
Chemotropism
- A plant growth response to chemicals. Chitin
- A tough calcium containing compound forming the exoskeleton of
arthropods; forms the cell wall of fungi cells. Chlorophyll
- The green, light-absorbing pigment that makes photosynthesis
possible in plants. Chloroplasts
- The sites of photosynthesis in plants. Chorion
- The amniote egg membrane that lines the shell. Chromatid
- One of two identical halves of a chromosome. Chromatophores
- Structures containing pigment to provide color patterns.
Chromosome
- A coiled, double rod-shaped form of condensed DNA that forms
during cell division. Chromosome
mutation - A mutation involving some piece of a
chromosome. Chrysalis
- The protective case in which a butterfly pupa becomes an adult.
Circuit
breaker - A switch that flips open when too much current
flows. Cladistics
- A system of phylogenetic classification that uses shared derived
characters to establish theoretical evolutionary relationships.
Cladogram
- A phylogenetic tree based on a cladistic analysis. Classification
- The grouping of organisms based on characteristics. Clevage
- A term representing the rapid division of zygote cells.
Climate
- The long-term average conditions of the atmosphere. Climax
community - The community that will remain stable in a
given area. Cloaca
- A cavity which collects deposits from intestine, urinary
bladder, and sex organs. Clone
- An artificial duplication of genes. Cocci
- A term used to indicate round bacterial cells. Cocoon
- The protective case in which a moth pupa becomes an adult.
Cochlea
- The coiled, fluid-filled cavity of the human inner ear.
Coefficients
- The large numbers in front of chemical formulas in a chemical
equation, representing the number of molecules. Coelacanth - A fish that has paddle-like fins with a
fleshy base. Coelom
- An animal body cavity. Coevolution
- Two or more species changing because of changes in a species
with which they are interacting. Collenchyma
- Elongated plant cells with uneven, flexible cell walls.
Colloid
- A homogeneous mixture with solute particles larger than a
solution, but smaller than a suspension. Colon
- Another name for the large intestine. Combined
Gas Law - A gas law used for calculations when both
temperature and pressure change. Combustion
reaction - A hydrocarbon reacts with oxygen, producing
carbon dioxide and water. Commensalism
- A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits from
another organism while that organism neither benefits nor is
harmed. Common
Ion Effect - The addition of a substance containing an ion
already at equilibrium in a saturated solution will shift the
equilibrium toward the undissolved substance. Community
- A group of interacting populations. Competition
- Organisms using resources and reducing the availability of those
resources to other organisms. Competitive
Exclusion Principle - The competition between populations
of two species for the same limiting resource eventually leads to
the elimination of one of the species populations. Complete
flower - A flower with sepals, petals, stamens, and
pistils. Compound
eye - An eye composed of many individual lenses. Compound
leaf - A leaf with more than one blade on a single
petiole.
Compound Machine - A compound machine consists of two or more simple machines put together.
Compounds - Pure substances made up of more than one element.
Computer
- An electronice device that processes information. Concentrated
- A solution with a large amount of solute. Concentration
- A comparison of the amount of solute dissolved in an amount of
solvent. Condensation
- The changing of a gas to a liquid. Conduction
- The movement of heat from one substance to another by direct
contact of molecules. Conductors
- Materials that easily allow the flow of an electric current;
nerve cells that transmit information from receptors to the
central nervous system. Cones
- Nerve cells in the eye that are sensitive to a particular
primary color. Conjoined
twins - Twins that share some body parts. Conjugate
acid - The particle formed when a Bronsted-Lowery base
accepts a proton. Conjugate
base - The particle that remains after a Bronsted-Lowery
acid gives up a proton. Conjugation
- The process by which two single cell organisms exchange a
portion of their DNA across a bridge formed between the cells.
Constant Acceleration - Velocity that is changing by a consistent amount each second.
Constellation - A group of stars forming a pattern as viewed from Earth.
Consumers
- Heterotrophic organisms that cannot make their own food.
Contraception
- Preventing live sperm and egg from coming together. Control
group - A group used for a comparison in an experiment.
Controlled
substance - A legal classification for drugs that have a
potential for abuse. Convection
- The movement of heat from one place to another in a liquid or
gas as molecules move in currents caused by density differences.
Convergent
evolution - Unrelated species becoming more and more
similar in appearance because of a shared environment. Conversion
factor - A fraction used to change one type of unit to
another. Coriolis
effect - Winds veer to the right in the northern
hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere because of
the Earth's rotation. Cork
- Closely packed cells protecting the stem in woody plants.
Corm
- Fleshy, upright, underground stems with papery modified leaves
or scales. Corolla
- Refers to all the petals of a flower together. Coronary
- Refers to the heart. Corrosive
material - A substance capable of causing visable and
irreversible damage to human skin tissue at the site of contact.
Cortex
- The tissue outside the central vascular bundles of herbaceous
stems and roots. Corymb
- A flat-topped inflorenscence with the pedicels of different
length. Cosmology
- The study of the universe as a whole. Coulomb
- The quantity of electricity produced by a current of one ampere
flowing for one second. Covalent
bond - Electrons are shared between atoms to form a
compound. CPU
- The central processing unit controlling a computer. Cranial
nerves - Connect major sense organs directly to the brain.
Critical
length - The length of daylight above or below which a
species of plant will flower. Critical
temperature - The temperature above which no amount of
pressure will liquify a vapor. Critical
thinking - The disciplined process of actively
conceptualizing, analyzing, and applying information as a guide to
action. Crop
- An expandable organ in the digestive system of some animals that
stores food for processing. Cross-pollination
- The transfer of pollen from one plant to another of the same
species. Crystal
- A true rigid solid whose particles are arranged in a regular,
repeating pattern. Cultivars
- Plants that are grown specifically for food. Cumulus
- Towering clouds formed by rising hot winds. Cuticle
- The outermost layer of the epidermis Cyanobacteria
- Bacteria that are photosynthetic, carrying on the same chemical
processes as green plants. Cyclotrons
- Large, circular machines used to shoot high energy particles
into an atomic nucleus. Cytokinesis
- Division of the cytoplasm of a parent cell during the cell
cycle. Cytokinins
- A group of plant hormones that promote cell division. Cytoplasm
- A thick, aqueous solution of salts surrounding the organelles of
a cell. Cytoplasmic
streaming - The constant motion of cytoplasm in a cell.
Cytosine
- One of two single carbon ring nitrogen bases in DNA.

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