California science vocabulary card(1 6) (4)

Photograph by Frank Lane Picture Agency/Corbis

Grade 4

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ISBN 13: 978-0-02-286134-6
ISBN 10: 0-02-286134-3


Vocabulary Cards
Vocabulary Cards help build word knowledge and
understanding of Science Glossary terms by:

• providing an opportunity for vocabulary preview,
review, and reinforcement

• fostering language development skills
• supporting the acquisition of academic language for
English learners
Vocabulary Cards can be placed in your classroom
Science Center.


abiotic factor
(āªbī otºik

fakºtәr)

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Grade 4

Photograph by © Purestock/Superstock

Photograph by © AGE Fotostock/Superstock

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Grade 4

(ә brāºzhәn)

abrasion


Vocabulary Routine
Define: A nonliving part of the ecosystem.
Example: Hot temperatures and rainfall are abiotic

factors in the desert ecosystem.
Ask: How does a change in the abiotic factors in

an environment affect the animals that live
there?

Ask: What does wind carry that casuses abrasion
to form shapes in rocks?
Example: Wind abrasion is a form of physical
weathering that wears down rock.
Define: The peeling or scraping away of an outer
layer.

Vocabulary Routine


accommodation
(ә käªmә dāºshәn)
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Grade 4

Photograph by © Raymond Gehman/CORBIS

Photograph by © Steve Weston

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

(akºtiv vol cāºnō)

active
volcano

Grade 4

Vocabulary Routine
Define: An individual organism’s response to a

change in the ecosystem.
Example: One type of accommodation is a change in

the type of food an organism eats.
Ask: What happens when animals cannot use

accommodation to survive when their food
source suddenly disappears?

Ask: How could a volcano that is not erupting
right now still be considered an active
volcano?
Example: Mt. Saint Helens is an active volcano.
Define: A volcano that still erupts from time to time.

Vocabulary Routine


adaptation
(aªdapªtāºshәn)
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Grade 4

Photograph by © Ron Sanford/CORBIS

Photograph by © Greg Harris

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Grade 4

(alºjē)

algae


Vocabulary Routine
Define: A special trait that helps an organism sur-

vive in its environment.
Example: A fish’s gills are an example of adaptation.
Ask: How is a hummingbird’s beak an example of

an adaptation that helps it get food?

Ask: How do algae act like green plants?
Example: Algae usually float on the surface of ponds
and lakes.
Define: A plant-like producer in a water
environment.

Vocabulary Routine


alternating
current

(ôlºtәr nā ting kûrºәnt)

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Photograph by © Ken Cavanagh/Macmillan-McGraw Hill

Grade 4

Photograph by © M.I. Walker/NHPA

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Grade 4

(әmēº bә)

amoeba


Vocabulary Routine
Define: Electrical current that flows through a

circuit, first in one direction, then in the
opposite direction.
Example: Most generators that make electrical energy

produce an alternating current, or AC.
Ask: Where would you find alternating current in

a source you often use?

Ask: How does an amoeba change its shape to
surround food?
Example: An amoeba can change its shape to catch
food.
Define: A type of protist that acts like an animal in
some ways.

Vocabulary Routine


anthracite
(anºthrә sīt)

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Photograph by © Andrew J. Martinez/Photo Researchers

Grade 4

Photograph by © Macmillan-McGraw Hill

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Grade 4

(ә trakt)

attract


Vocabulary Routine

Define: To pull or draw towards.
Example: An object with positive electrical charge will
attract an object with negative electrical
charge.
Ask: Why would a balloon attract your hair after
being rubbed with wool?

helps to make it a harder coal?
Ask: Where is anthracite found inside Earth that

soft coal.
Example: Anthracite burns cleaner and longer than
Define: A hard, natural type of coal.

Vocabulary Routine


bacteria
(bak tîrºē ә)
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Grade 4

Photograph by © Michael Abbey/Photo Researchers

Photograph by © Macmillan-McGraw Hill

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Grade 4

(akºsis)

axis


Vocabulary Routine
Define: A real or imaginary line through the center

of a rotating object.
Example: The geographic North and South poles of

Earth are located at the ends of the planet’s
axis.
Ask: How are the ends of Earth’s axis like the

ends of a giant bar magnet?

Ask: Why do bacteria break down the parts of a
dead tree?
Example: Bacteria can be both helpful and harmful to
humans.
Define: Microorganisms that have cell membranes
but no nuclei.

Vocabulary Routine


barrier island
(baºrēªәr

īºlәnd)

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Grade 4

Photograph by © Joseph R. Melanson/Aero Photo Inc.

Photograph by © Stuart Westmorland/CORBIS

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Grade 4

(bīºō masª)

biomass


Vocabulary Routine
Define: A long, narrow strip of land formed along

the ocean shore by deposition.
Example: Ocean waves constantly reshape

barrier islands.
Ask: Why does a barrier island re-form after

being destroyed in a huge storm?

Ask: How is the biomass in an environment the
main source of energy and matter?
Example: Plants make up most of the biomass in
many environments.
Define: A measure of the amount of living things in
an environment.

Vocabulary Routine


camouflage
(kamºә fläzhª)

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Grade 4

Photograph by © Daniel J. Cox/The Image Bank/Getty Images, Inc.

Photograph by © Digital Vision/Getty Images, Inc.

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Grade 4

(bī otºik

fakºtәr)

biotic factor


Vocabulary Routine
Define: An adaptation that allows an animal to
blend into its surroundings.
Example: Camouflage allows some animals to hide
from predators.
Ask: How would its camouflage leave an
animal at risk if it went outside its normal
surroundings?

Ask: What animals are biotic factors in a pond?
Example: Fish are biotic factors in the ocean.
Define: A living part of the ecosystem.

Vocabulary Routine


canyon
(kanºyәn)
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Grade 4

Photograph by © Galen Rowell/CORBIS

Photograph by © Sandra Williams

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Grade 4

(kaºnә pēª)

canopy


Vocabulary Routine
Define: The part of a forest just below the upper-

most branches of the tallest trees.
Example: Most rainforest animals live in the canopy

because of the sunlight and food found
there.
Ask: How do the body parts of monkeys help

them live in the forest canopy?

Ask: Why are canyons often curved?
Example: Canyons are the results of river erosion.
Define: A deep, narrow valley with steep sides.

Vocabulary Routine


carnivore
(kärºnә vôrª)
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Grade 4

Photograph by © Frank Lane Picture Agency/CORBIS

Photograph by © Roland Birke/Peter Arnold, Inc.

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Grade 4

(sel)

cell


Vocabulary Routine
Define: An animal that eats other animals.
Example: Hawks that eat mice are carnivores.
Ask: What happens to an animal population

when the carnivore that preys upon it
becomes extinct?

Ask: What are some organisms that are made up
of only one cell?
Example: Your body is made up of trillions of cells.
Define: The smallest unit of life.

Vocabulary Routine

chemical
weathering
(kemºi kәl

wethºәr ing)

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Grade 4

Photograph by (Chain): © Tony Arruza/CORBIS;
(Rock): © Wally Eberhart/Visuals Unlimited

Photograph by © Royalty-Free/CORBIS

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Grade 4

(shaªpә ralº)

chaparral


Vocabulary Routine
Define: The process in which rocks break down due
to chemical changes to the minerals.
Example: When oxygen reacts with iron and forms

rust, chemical weathering occurs.
Ask: How are limestone caves formed by
chemical weathering?

strikes nearby?
Ask: Why is a chaparral likely to burn if lightning

and warm.
Example: A chaparral environment is usually very dry

and trees.
Define: An area with dense thickets of small shrubs

Vocabulary Routine


chlorophyll
(klôrºә filª)
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Grade 4

Photograph by © Blue Line Pictures/Iconica/Getty Images, Inc.

Photograph by © Kevin Schafer/CORBIS

© Macmillan/McGraw-Hill

Grade 4

(sinºdәr kōn vol cāºnō)

cinder-cone volcano