Absorb:
To take in or soak up
Acceleration:
A change in velocity (speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction)
Acronym:
A name or term made of the first letters of several words.
Active:
Participating in the process to influence the outcome. Taking action.
Adjacent:
Beside. Next to.
Aft:
Located at or toward the back
Altitude:
Distance from the surface of Earth
Anemia:
A lack of hemoglobin in the blood
Angle:
A measurement of the difference in direction of two lines. It is measured in degrees. A 90 degree angle is the angle found in the corner of a square.
Antibody:
cell in blood that attacks red blood cells with a specific antigen.
Antigen:
protein that coats red blood cells
Aquatic:
Living in water. Connected to water.
Ascend:
To move upward, away from the ground.
Asexual_Reproduction:
Reproduction in which the offspring are produced from one parent, making the offspring genetic copies of the parent.
Asymmetrical:
Characteristic of certain animals in which the body cannot be divided into matching halves
Attitude:
How aircraft or spacecraft is positioned. The direction it points. (Example -- Nose up.)
Attract:
Pull together
Audible:
Able to be heard
Axis:
A line that remains still while the object rotates around it.
Axle:
A supporting rod around which wheels or disks spin
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Bilateral_symmetry:
The two halves of the object are mirror images of each other. Many living things, including people, have bilateral symmetry.
Buoyancy:
The apparent loss of weight experienced by an object when placed in a fluid
Buoyant_Force:
The upward force of a fluid on an immersed object that is equal to the weight of the displaced fluid
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Capillary:
A thin tube
Carnivore:
An animal that eats other animals
Cartography:
The science of map making.
Collide:
One object hitting another
Combustible:
A material that can be burned.
Compaction:
A reduction of volume or thickness of a layer of sediment due to increasing weight or pressure from overlying layers.
Compatible:
Capable of performing well together
Compress:
To squeeze something.
Condense:
Phase change in which a gas changes to a liquid
Constant:
does not change
Consumable:
Anything that is used up, such as food and paper
Contingency:
Some thing that is done as an adjustment to circumstances.
Contract:
Shrink, get smaller, take up less space
Convection:
Method of heat transfer in which warmer parts of a fluid rise and cooler parts sink
Converge:
To come together. To move closer.
Coordinate:
A number in a set of numbers that describes the location of a point
Coordination:
Doing things so that they work together
Covalent_bond:
A chemical bond formed between atoms by the sharing of electrons
Cube:
A six-sided solid object. Each side is a square that is the same size as all other sides. All sides are perpendicular to the sides they touch.
Current:
The flow of electrons in a circuit.
Cylinder:
An object that is long and round with flat ends
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Decompression:
A decrease in air pressure
Deform:
To bend out of shape. An elastic material can return to its original shape after being deformed.
Dehydrate:
To remove water
Density:
A measure of how tightly the particles in a material are packed together.
Descend:
To move downward, toward the ground.
Designated:
Selected or set aside for a particular prurpose
Diameter:
The distance across a circle. A line through the center of a circle from one edge to the other.
Diffusion:
A process of movement from a place where a material is more concentrated to a place where it is less concentrated.
Disperse:
To scatter or separate
Displace:
Take the place of, push out of the way
Distort:
To change the appearance of something
Diverge:
To spread apart.
Diversity:
Differences among the members of a group
DOME:
Device for Orientation and Motion Environments
Dormant:
Not active. Like a long sleep.
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Ecosystem:
A place where animals and plants live and support each other's lives.
Efficient:
Not wasteful. Getting the most work done with the least use of energy.
Egg_cell:
A female reproductive cell
Egress:
Going out of the shuttle
Electricity:
The movement of electrons through a conductor
Elevation:
Altitude of the land compared to sea level.
Ellipse:
A shape the resembles a flattened circle or the outline of a football.
Emit:
To give off or release
EMU:
Extra-vehicular Mobility Unit - a spacesuit worn by astronauts when they go on a spacewalk (EVA).
Energy:
The ability to do work (move something)
Equilibrium:
A state of balance. All the changes that occur balance each other so that there is no overall change.
Equivalent:
equal, the same
Essential:
Must have. Cannot function without it.
Eukaryote:
Organisms with complex cells, which contain nuclei.
EVA:
Extra-Vehicular Activity - a spacewalk
Evaporate:
Phase change in which liquid on the surface slowly changes to a gas
Exhale:
To breathe out
Expand:
Swells up, "spreads out", takes up more space
Extinct:
There are no longer any living individuals of the species.
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Femur:
the largest bone in the human body, the thigh bone
Fission:
The process by which one object divides into two or more objects.
Flagella:
Long, whiplike tails of some cells that allows movement
Flow:
Moving as a unit without maintaining a definite shape
Fluid:
A material that flows - any liquid or gas
Force:
An effort applied to some resistance (A push or a pull)
Fore:
Located at or toward the front
Frequency:
The number of wavelengths that pass a point within a time interval (usually a second)
Friction:
A force that opposes motion. Friction occurs any time two surfaces rub against each other.
Fuse:
To combine two or more separate objects into one object
Fuselage:
Central body of an aircraft that holds the crew, equipment and payloads
Fusion:
The process by which two or more objects combine to make one object.
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Gimbal:
The direction an engine is tilted. Changing gimbal steers the rocket.
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Habitat:
The place where an organism lives and gets its needs met
Hemisphere:
half of the Earth. The equator divides the Earth into the northern and southern hemispheres.
Herbivore:
An animal that eats plants
Heterogeneous:
Not the same throughout. Unevenly mixed. A mixture that is not dissolved.
Homogeneous:
The same throughout. Evenly spaced
Horizon:
As far as you can see along the surface of Earth because it is curved. The line between the sky and the ground far away.
Horizontal:
The direction that is parallel to level ground (sideways)
Host:
The living thing that another organism lives in.
Hydroponics:
Growing plants in nutrient water solutions without the use of soil
Hygiene:
Cleanliness and prevention of disease
Hypoxia:
A lack of oxygen in the lungs resulting in a shortage of oxygen in body tissues
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Immiscible:
Property of two liquids that will not dissolve in each other when mixed. Oil and water are immiscible.
Impermeable:
Said of something that prevents a fluid from flowing through it.
Inclined_plane:
A flat surface that is higher on one end than the other
Inertia:
The tendancy of matter to resist a change in motion.
Ingress:
Coming into the shuttle
Inhabitant:
Individual who lives in a certain place.
Inhale:
To breathe in
Inorganic:
A material that does not contain carbon and is not of living origin.
Intensity:
The strength of something. (loudness of sound, brightness of light)
Interact:
Two or more things affecting each other in some way.
Interpret:
To get meaning from data
Invisible:
Not able to be seen
Involuntary:
An action that cannot be controlled. It happens automatically.
Ion:
An atom that has gained or lost electrons.
Ionic_bond:
A chemical bond formed by the attraaction of oppositely charged ions
ISS:
International Space Station -- A space station that will used jointly by space programs from several countries.
IVA:
Intra-Vehicular Activity - things astronauts do inside the space shuttle
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JSC:
Johnson Space Center - NASA center in Houston, TX where astronauts train and mission control is located
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Lithification:
The process in which sediments are forced together to form rocks.
Longitudinal_wave:
A wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate in the direction the wave is moving
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Mach:
A unit equal to the speed of sound. Mach 3 is 3 times the speed of sound.
Magnet:
A special piece of metal that has poles. These poles can exert a force on each other and on metals that are magnetic.
Magnitude:
The amount of something. How big or large it is. For stars, it is the brightness of the star.
Maneuver:
To change a flight path in a controlled manner
Manipulate:
To handle skillfully. To control something to get the desired results.
Mass:
The amount of matter in an object or the measure of the inertia of an object.
Matter:
Anything that has mass and volume (takes up space)
Mesozoic_Era:
A period of time that began about 248 million years ago and lasted approximately 183 million years.
Metabolism:
The speed at which your body uses energy.
Microgravity:
Condition in orbit in which the pull of gravity is not felt
Moderate:
Not extreme (in the middle)
Molten:
Melted to a liquid form
Motor_Neurons:
Nerve cells which carry impulses from the brain to muscles (causing them to move)
Multi-cellular:
Made of many cells
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NBL:
Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory - a large swimming pool used to simulate weightlessness
Noncombustible:
A material that can not be burned.
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Objective:
Task to be completed for a successful mission
Omnivore:
An animal that eats both plants and animals
Opaque:
An object or substance that blocks all light from passing through.
Orbiter:
The part of the shuttle where people and equipment are carried
Ore:
Rocks that contain minerals of monetary value.
Organic:
A material, containing carbon, that originates from living organisms.
Organism:
A living thing.
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Parallel:
In the same direction. Never cross each other, no matter how far they go.
Passive:
Does not take an active part. Present, but not doing anything. Only involvement is being used by others.
PAT:
Preflight Adaptation Training Facility
Payload:
Equipment carried onboard the shuttle during a space mission
Perception:
Understanding based on what you detect with your 5 senses
Permeable:
Said of something that allows fluids to pass through easily.
Perpendicular:
At a 90 degree angle. A wall is usually perpendicular to the floor.
Phylum:
The second-highest of the categories in the animal kingdom
Pi:
A number used to caluculate dimensions of figures and objects with rounded edges. Pi is approximately 3.14.
Preserve:
To prevent spoilage or decay
Pressure:
An amount of force exerted over a certain area.
Products:
The chemicals that are made during a chemical reaction. They are made from atoms in the reactants.
Proportion:
A relationship between two quantities that have an effect on each other. Changing one of these quantities will cause the other to change also.
Protocols:
Rules for doing an activity
PSI:
Pounds per square inch. It is a unit for measuring pressure in terms of the number of pounds of force on every square inch of surface.
Psychological:
Issues that deal with how people think and feel
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Quantity:
Amount
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Radial_Symmetry:
Object that can be cut into identical halves by cutting through the center from any direction.
Radiate:
To release electromagnetic waves from an object
Radiation:
Electromagnetic waves and high energy particles
Radioactivity:
Energy harmful to living cells that is released from certain unstable chemicals. Types of radioactivity include alpha particles, beta particles, and gamma rays.
Radius:
The distance from the center of a circle to the edge
RDA:
Recommended Daily Allowance -- The amount of a nutrient that an average, healthy adult should get each day.
Reactants:
The chemicals present before a chemical reaction. They react with each other to make the products.
Reflect:
Bouncing off of a barrier. Waves, light, and particles can all be reflected.
Refract:
Bending of a wave as it changes speed. Light waves bend when they move from air to water or glass because they change speed.
Rehydrate:
To add water
Relative:
Describing something by comparing it to something else. Example -- relative motion is how something is moving compared to another object called the reference point.
Reliability:
Can be repeated many times with the same results
Repel:
Push apart
Replicate:
To make a copy that is exactly like the original
Reproduce:
To make new individuals that are like or similar to the original.
Resistance:
The opposition to the flow of electrons. This is where work is done by the current.
Resolution:
The ability to recognize details in a picture.
Retrieve:
To bring back
Revolve:
To move around a larger object. To orbit.
Rigid:
Stiff. Does not bend or stretch
RMS:
Remote manipulator system - a robot arm in the cargo bay that is operated from inside the shuttle.
Rotate:
To spin.
Routine:
Procedures that are performed regularly and always done the same way
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Semi-permeable:
Able to let some materials pass through, whlie stopping other materials.
Sensory_Neurons:
Nerve cells which carry impulses from sensory organs to the brain.
Sessile:
An animal that stays attached to one place like a plant.
Sexual_Reproduction:
Reproduction that produces offspring from two parents, each contributing half of the chromosomes for the offspring.
Soluble:
Can be dissolved. Water-soluble can be dissolved by water. Oil-soluble can be dissolved by fats and oils.
Solute:
The material in a solution that is dissolved in the solvent
Solvent:
The material in a solution that dissolves the solute.
Sperm_cell:
A male reproductive cell
Spicules:
Chalky substance composed of small calcium carbonate spikes
Spiral:
A curved shape that loops around itself with one end stopping in the middle
Spongin:
Flexible protein fiber
Spore:
A reproductive cell that is capable of producing a new individual without fertilization.
Square_of:
The square of a number is the number times itself. (The square of 5 is 25.)
Stability:
Resistance to sudden change. Reliability and consistency.
Static:
Not moving. Not changing.
Stationary:
At rest, not moving
Stow:
To pack tightly and put away
STS:
Space Transportation System - the entire space shuttle including the Orbiter, SRBs, and External Tank.
Sublimation:
Phase change in which solid changes directly to a gas or vice versa
Substance:
A pure material. An element or a compound. Not a mixture.
Symmetrical:
Balanced. Two sides are mirror images of each other.
Symmetry:
Characteristic of objects in which opposite halves are mirror images of each other
Symptom:
An appearance or feeling that is caused by a change in the body
Synchronize:
To do more than one activity together, at the same time.
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Tether:
A rope or cord that holds two objects together
Thermodynamics:
The branch of physics that deals with the movement of heat.
Throttle:
To control the flow of fuel to an engine so that you control its speed.
Translucent:
A material that transmits light, but distorts it so that objects are not clearly visible through the material.
Transmit:
To send, relay or allow to pass through
Transparent:
Material that does not stop or distort light as it passes through the material.
Transverse_wave:
A wave in which the vibrating medium moves in a direction perpendicular to the direction the wave is moving
TTD:
Tilt Translation Device
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Vacuum:
An empty area
Velocity:
The speed of an object and the direction in which it is moving
Vertebrae:
A single link in the backbone
Vertical:
The direction that is perpendicular to level ground (up and down)
Virtual:
Not real. Seems to be real, is very similar to the real thing, but is not real.
Visible:
Able to be seen
Vision:
The ability to see
Voltage:
The amount of electrical power that is pushing the current
Volume:
The amount of space an object takes up
Voluntary:
An action that can be controlled. It is done on purpose.
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Weight:
The force of gravity on an object
Work:
Putting a force on an object and moving it
