Science Glossary - Part 1

SCIENCE GLOSSARY - PART 1

1.    Absorption : The disappearance of a wave into a medium. When a wave is absorbed, the energy transferred by the wave is converted into another form of energy, usually thermal energy.

2.    Acceleration:    It is the rate of change of the velocity of a moving body.

3.    Acid: A substance that can donate a proton to another substance and has a ph below 7.

4.    Acoustics: It is the experimental and theoretical science of sound and its transmission.

5.    Air resistance: The fluid friction due to air

6.    Alloy:    A solid mixture composed of a metal and one or more other substances.

7.    Alternative energy:    It is the energy from sources that are renewable and ecological safe, as opposed to sources that are non-renewable with toxic by-product, such as coal, oil or gas and uranium.

8.    Altimeter: It is an instrument used in aircraft that measures altitude, or height above sea level.

9.    Ammeter: It is a device used to measure current.

10.    Amplification: The strengthening of an electrical signal, often used to increase the intensity of a sound wave

11.    Amplitude: The maximum distance that a disturbance causes a medium to move from its rest position; the distance between a crest or trough of a wave and line through the center of a wave

12.    Analog: Represented by a continuous but varying quantity, such as a wave. In electronics, analog information is  represented by a continuous but varying electrical signal

13.    Archimedes principle:    It is the law stating that an object that is totally or partly submerged in a fluid displaces a volume of fluid that weighs the same as the apparent loss in weight of the object.

14.    Armature:    It is a part of some electric machines.

15.    Astrophysics:    It is the study of the structure of the universe and how the objects in it behave.

16.    Atmosphere:    It is the mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth; it is prevented from escaping by the pull of the Earth’s gravity.

17.    Atom:    It is the smallest unit of matter that can take part in a chemical reaction and which cannot be broken down chemically into anything simpler.

18.    Atomic mass: The average mass of the atoms of an element.

19.    Atomic mass number: The total number of protons and neutrons in an atom’s nucleus.

20.    Atomic number: The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.

21.    Ballistics: It is the science of the movement and behaviour of missiles. Projectiles from guns, refuels and slings, bombs, rockets and so forth.

22.    Barometer:    It is the instrument that measures atmospheric pressure as indication weather.

23.    Base:    A substance that can accept a proton from another substance and has a ph above 7.

24.    Bernoulli’s principle:  statement that describes the effects of movement on fluid pressure. According to this principle, an in crease in the speed of the motion of a fluid decreas- es the pressure within the fluid.

25.    Binary code:    A coding system in which information is represented by two figures, such as 1 and 0

26.    Bioluminescence: The production of light by living organisms.

27.    Boiling:    A process by which a substance changes from its liquid state to its gas state. The liquid is heated to a specific temperature at which bubbles of vapor form within the liquid.

28.    Boiling point:    The temperature at which a substance changes from its liquid state to its gas state through boiling.

29.    Bond energy:    The amount of energy in a chemical bond between atoms.

30.    Buoyancy:    It is the effect of the upward force (upthrust) on an objective in a fluid.

31.    Calibrate:    It describes how a measuring scale is marked.

32.    Calliper:    It is a kind of measuring instrument.

33.    Calorie:    It is a unit of energy content of food.

34.    Calorimeter:    It is an apparatus for measuring heat.

35.    Cantilever:    It is a beam securely fixed at one end and hanging fee at the other hand.

36.    Capacitor:    It is a device which can store electricity.

37.    Capillarity:    It is an effect of surface tension.

38.    Carat:    It is a unit of weight for gems and precious metals. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams.

 
39.    Carbohydrate:    A type of carbon-based molecule in living things. Carbohydrates include sugars and starches used for energy or as structural materials, Carbohydrate mol- ecules contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.

40.    Catalyst:    A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction but is not consumed in the reaction

41.    Cathode:    It is a negative electrode in a cell.

42.    Celsius:    The temperature scale in which one division or degree is taken as one hundredth part of the interval between the freezing point (00C) and the boiling point (1000 C) of water at standard atmospheric pressure.

43.    Centrifugal:    It is a force away from the centre that may appear to be observed during motion in a curve.

44.    Centripetal:    It is the force that is necessary to keep an object moving in a circular path and that is directed inwards towards the centre of rotation.

45.    Chain reaction:    It is a situation where one event cause a second, this leads to a third, and so on.

46.    Chemical change:    A change of one substance into another substance

47.    Chemical formula:    An expression that shows the number and types of atoms joined in a compound.

48.    Chemical property:    A characteristic of a substance that describes how it can form a new substance

49.    Chemical reaction:    The process by which chemical changes occur. In a chemical reaction, atoms are rearranged, and chemical bonds are broken and formed

50.    Circuit:    A closed path through which charge can flow