Agriculture: The growth of plants, animals, and fungi to meet human needs, such as food, fuel, chemicals, and medicines.
atmosphere: An envelope of gas surrounding the Earth, another planet, or the Moon.
basalt: A type of black volcanic rock that tends to be very dense (unless a volcanic eruption creates lots of air pockets).
bird: A winged warm-blooded animal that first appeared during the dinosaur era. Birds are covered in feathers and give birth to their young from eggs laid in some kind of nest. Most birds fly, but throughout history there have been occasional flightless species.
carbon: A chemical element that is the physical basis of all life on Earth. Carbon exists freely as graphite and diamond. It is an important part of coal, limestone, and petroleum, and can chemically self-combine to form a vast number of chemically, biologically, and commercially important molecules. The term carbon (in climate research) is used interchangeably with carbon dioxide to imply the potential impact that an action, product, policy, or process may have on long-term atmospheric warming.
carbon capture: (in climate science) A term used to describe the process of removing carbon dioxide gas directly from air or water by some chemical means so that it can be stored and disposed of or reused as a raw material.
carbon dioxide: (or CO2) A colorless, odorless gas produced by all animals when the oxygen they breathe reacts with the carbon-rich food they eat. Carbon dioxide is also released when organic materials (including fossil fuels such as oil and gas) are burned. Carbon dioxide acts as a greenhouse gas, trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. Plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen during photosynthesis. This process is used to make their own food.
carbonate: A group of minerals containing carbon and oxygen, including the minerals that make up limestone.
caterpillar: Larval stage of moths and butterflies. Caterpillars, which are somewhat worm-like crawlers, tend to feed on leaves and other plant debris. However, some eat other insects.
chemicals: A substance formed when two or more atoms combine (combine) in a certain ratio and structure. For example, water is a chemical produced when two hydrogen atoms combine with one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O. Chemistry can also be used as an adjective to describe the properties of materials that result from various reactions between different compounds.
compost: The end products of the decomposition or decomposition of leaves, plants, vegetables, fertilizers, and other once living materials. Compost is used to enrich garden soil, and earthworms can help with this process.
data: Facts and/or statistics collected together for analysis. They are not necessarily organized in a way that gives them meaning. For digital information (the type stored by computers), these data are typically numbers stored in binary code and represented as strings of 0’s and 1’s.
equilibrium: A state in which things are in balance. That’s because opposing forces equalize (or cancel) each other.
geology: The study of the Earth’s physical structure and materials, its history and the processes that act on it. People who work in this field are known as geologists. Planetary geology is the science of studying the same about other planets.
green: (in chemistry and environmental science) an adjective that describes a product or process that causes little or no harm to living organisms or the environment.
greenhouse: A light-filled structure in which windows function as walls and ceilings, and plants can be grown within them. It provides a controlled environment where set amounts of water, humidity and nutrients can be applied to prevent pest infestation.
high school: Designation of grades 9 through 12 in the U.S. compulsory public education system. High school graduates can apply to university for further advanced education.
insect: A type of arthropod that, as an adult, has six legs and three body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. It is home to hundreds of thousands of insects, including bees, beetles, flies, and moths.
integrated pest management: (abbreviation IPM) A process that uses primarily non-chemical means to reduce pest problems. IPM allows the use of chemical pesticides, but only as a last resort.
larva: An immature insect whose appearance (body shape) is clearly different from that of an adult. For example, caterpillars are the larvae of butterflies, and maggots are the larvae of flies. (The term is also sometimes used to describe such stages in the development of fish, frogs, and other animals.)
mineral: Crystal-forming substances that make up rocks, such as quartz, apatite, and various carbonates. Most rocks contain a mixture of several different minerals. Minerals are usually solid and stable at room temperature and have a specific formula or recipe (the atoms are present in a specific proportion) and a specific crystal structure (meaning the atoms are organized in a regular three-dimensional pattern).
nutrients: vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, or proteins that plants, animals, and other living things need as part of their food to survive.
Insecticide: A mixture of chemicals or compounds used to kill insects, rodents, and other organisms that are harmful to cultivated plants, pets, and livestock, or unwanted microorganisms that invade homes, offices, farm buildings, and other protected structures.
solid: The shape is solid and stable. It’s neither a liquid nor a gas.
stress: (in biology) factors that affect the health of a species or ecosystem, such as extreme temperatures, movement, moisture, or pollution. (in psychology) a mental, physical, emotional, or behavioral response to an event or situation (stressor) that disrupts a person’s or animal’s normal state or places additional demands on the person or animal. Psychological stress can be both positive and negative.
taste: One of the fundamental characteristics that the body uses to sense the environment, especially food, using receptors (taste buds) on the tongue (and other organs).
urban: of or relating to cities, especially densely populated areas or areas with heavy traffic or industrial activity. The development or accumulation of urban areas is a phenomenon known as urbanization.
variety: (in agriculture) A term given by plant scientists to different varieties (subspecies) of plants that have desirable traits. When plants are intentionally bred, they are called cultivars or cultivars.
Source: www.snexplores.org
