angle: The space (usually measured in degrees) between two intersecting lines or surfaces at or close to the point where they meet.
application: A particular use or function of something.
asthma: A disease affecting the body’s airways, which are the tubes through which animals breathe. Asthma obstructs these airways through swelling, the production of too much mucus or a tightening of the tubes. As a result, the body can expand to breathe in air, but loses the ability to exhale appropriately. The most common cause of asthma is an allergy. Asthma is a leading cause of hospitalization and the top chronic disease responsible for kids missing school.
balsa: Trees of the Ochroma genus that grow in the tropical Americas. Their wood is extremely lightweight, easy to cut and buoyant. That’s why it’s often used to make rafts, model airplanes and other projects that may require light weight and the ability for someone to sculpt parts easily.
carbon dioxide: (or CO2) A colorless, odorless gas produced by all animals when the oxygen they inhale reacts with the carbon-rich foods that they’ve eaten. Carbon dioxide also is released when organic matter burns (including fossil fuels like oil or gas). Carbon dioxide acts as a greenhouse gas, trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere. Plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen during photosynthesis, the process they use to make their own food.
climate: The weather conditions that typically exist in one area, in general, or over a long period.
component: Something that is part of something else (such as pieces that go on an electronic circuit board or ingredients that go into a cookie recipe).
conductive: Able to carry an electric current.
current: (in electricity) The flow of electricity or the amount of charge moving through some material over a particular period of time.
DNA: (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, double-stranded and spiral-shaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. It is built on a backbone of phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon atoms. In all living things, from plants and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.
electricity: A flow of charge, usually from the movement of negatively charged particles, called electrons.
electron: A negatively charged particle, usually found orbiting the outer regions of an atom; also, the carrier of electricity within solids.
electronics: Devices that are powered by electricity but whose properties are controlled by the semiconductors or other circuitry that channel or gate the movement of electric charges.
engineer: A person who uses science and math to solve problems. As a verb, to engineer means to design a device, material or process that will solve some problem or unmet need.
environmental footprint: A measure of the impacts someone’s activities (purchases, behaviors, or use of resources) has on the environment. One common example is the so-called carbon footprint of human activities. It’s a measure of how much those actions contribute to a release of carbon dioxide and methane, two climate-warming gases. But farming can release soil minerals, erode topsoil or put toxic pesticides into the environment. And taking down forests to build new roads and towns not only can reduce the habitat for wildlife but also limit the ability of soils to absorb moisture and build break down organic matter into useful nutrients.
exotic: An adjective to describe something that is highly unusual, strange or foreign (such as exotic plants).
focus: (in physics) The point at which rays (of light or heat for example) converge sometimes with the aid of a lens. (In vision, verb, “to focus”) The action a person’s eyes take to adapt to light and distance, enabling them to see objects clearly. (in behavior) To look or concentrate intently on some particular point or thing.
graduate student: Someone working toward an advanced degree by taking classes and performing research. This work is done after the student has already graduated from college (usually with a four-year degree).
green: (in chemistry and environmental science) An adjective to describe products and processes that will pose little or no harm to living things or the environment.
host: (v.) The act of providing a home, a base or an environment for something. A website, for instance, could host photos, news or other types of information.
humidity: A measure of the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. (Air with a lot of water vapor in it is known as humid.)
insulator: A substance or device that does not readily conduct electricity.
ion: (adj. ionized) An atom or molecule with an electric charge due to the loss or gain of one or more electrons. An ionized gas, or plasma, is where all of the electrons have been separated from their parent atoms.
lignin: A natural substance that helps strengthen the cell walls of plants. Although lignin is made from a large number of sugar molecules, which should provide energy, livestock can’t digest this material because of the way its sugars are chemically bonded together.
monitor: To test, sample or watch something, especially on a regular or ongoing basis.
nitrogen oxides: Pollutants made up of nitrogen and oxygen that form when fossil fuels are burned. The scientific symbol for these chemicals is NOx (pronounced “knocks”). The principal ones are nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N2O).
physicist: A scientist who studies the nature and properties of matter and energy.
porous: The description of a substance that contains tiny holes, called pores, through which a liquid or gas can pass. (in biology) The minute openings in the skin or in the outer layer of plants.
pressure: Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as force per unit of area.
right angle: A 90-degree angle, equivalent to any inside corner on a square.
risk: The chance or mathematical likelihood that some bad thing might happen. For instance, exposure to radiation poses a risk of cancer. Or the hazard — or peril — itself. (For instance: Among cancer risks that the people faced were radiation and drinking water tainted with arsenic.)
sensor: A device that picks up information on physical or chemical conditions — such as temperature, barometric pressure, salinity, humidity, pH, light intensity or radiation — and stores or broadcasts that information. Scientists and engineers often rely on sensors to inform them of conditions that may change over time or that exist far from where a researcher can measure them directly. (in biology) The structure that an organism uses to sense attributes of its environment, such as heat, winds, chemicals, moisture, trauma or an attack by predators.
silicon: A nonmetal, semiconducting element used in making electronic circuits. Pure silicon exists in a shiny, dark-gray crystalline form and as a shapeless powder.
survey: To view, examine, measure or evaluate something, often land or broad aspects of a landscape.
transistor: A device that can act like a switch for electrical signals.
voltage: A force associated with an electric current that is measured in units known as volts. Power companies use high-voltage to move electric power over long distances.
wood: A porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees, shrubs and other woody plants.