3rd grade Science vocabulary answers
Check yourself on the meanings of these words. Click on "3rd grade science vocabulary answers" or "Chapters" to go back to Science home page

Unit 1
Lesson 1
system: a set of parts that interact with one another
Lesson 3
deciduous: loses leaves in fall and grows new ones in spring
pollinate: move pollen from the part of a flower that makes pollen to the part of the flower that makes seeds
coniferous; a tree that produces seeds in cones
Lesson 4
seed leaf; part of a seed that has stored food
germinate; begins to grow
seedling: a new, small plant that grows from a seed
Lesson 5
fossil: remains or mark of a living thing from long ago
extinct; no longer lives on Earth
Lesson 1
trait; a feature passed on to a living thing from its parents
vertebrate: animal with a backbone
Lesson 2
larva: stage in an insect's life after it hatches from the egg
pupa: stage in an insect's life between larva and adult
Lesson 3
adaptation: trait that helps a living thing survive in its environment
inherited; passed on from parent to offspring
migrate: to move to another place to find better climate, food, or a mate
hibernate: to spend winter resting; body systems slow down in order to save energy
Lesson 1
environment: everything that surrounds a living thing
ecosystem: all the living and nonliving things that interact with each other in a given area
population: all the living things of the same king that live in the same place a the same time
community: populations that live together in the same place
Lesson 2
grassland: land ecosystem that has many grasses and few trees
dessert: an ecosystem that gets less than 25 cm of rainfall a year
tundra: land ecosystem that is cold and dry
Lesson 4
wetland: low land ecosystem that is covered by water at least part of the time during the year; marshes and swamps are wetlands
Lesson 2
producer: living things that make their own food
consumer: living things that eat food
herbivore: living things that eat only plants
carnivore: a living thing that hunts other animals for food
omnivore: living things that eat plants and other animals for food
prey: any animal that is hunted by others for food
predator: a consumer that hunts other animals for food
Lesson 3
competition: struggle that happens when two or more living things needs the same resource
Lesson 4
decomposer: a living thing that breaks down waste and things that have died
decay: to break down, or rot
Lesson 6
germs: small living things that include bacteria and viruses, many of which can cause illness
disease: the name we give an illness

Unit B
Lesson 1
water vapor: water in the form of an invisible gas in the air
groundwater: water that has slowly made its way through soil and then collects in spaces between underground rock; it is brought to the surface by digging wells
wetland: low land ecosystem that is covered by water at least part of the time during the year; marshes and swamps are wetlands
Lesson 2
evaporation: the changing of a liquid to a gas
condensation: changing of a gas into a liquid
water cycle: the movement of water from Earth's surface into the air and back again
precipitation: water that falls to Earth as rain, hail, sleet, or snow
Lesson 1
weather: what it is like outside including temperature, wind, clouds, and precipitation
atmosphere: the blanket of air and gases that surround the Earth
Lesson 2
hurricane: a huge, strong storm that forms over the ocean
tornado: a rotating column of air that touches the ground and causes damage with its high winds
blizzard: a winter storm with very low temperatures, strong winds, heavy snowfall, and blowing snow.
Lesson 1
rock: natural, solid, nonliving material made of more or more minerals
mineral: natural material that forms from nonliving matter
igneous rock: rock that forms when melted earth materials cool and harden
sedimentary rock: rock that forms when small pieces of earth materials collect and become bound
metamorphic rock: rock that forms when existing rock is changed by heat and pressure
Lesson 3
soil; the part of Earth's surface consisting of humus and weathered rock in which plants grow
decay: to break down or rot
nutrient: thing plants need in order to grow
loam: soil that contains a mixture of sand, silt, and clay
Lesson 1
crust: the outermost layer of Earth
mantle: the middle layer of Earth
core: the innermost layer of Earth
landform: a natural feature on the surface of Earth's crust
Lesson 2
magma: hot, molten rock that forms deep underground
lava: hot, molten rock on Earth's surface
Lesson 3
weathering; any process that changes rocks by breaking them into smaller pieces
erosion: the movement of weathered material;
Lesson 1
natural resource: natural materials, such as soil, wood, water, air, oil, or minerals, that living things need
renewable resource: resource that is endless like sunlight, or that is naturally replaced in a fairly short time, such as trees
nonrenewable resource: resource that cannot be replace once it is used up
Lesson 2
conservation: wise use of natural resources
Lesson 3
recycle: treat or process something so it can be used again

Unit C
Lesson 1
matter: anything that takes up space and has mass
property: something about matter that you can observe with one of more of your senses
element: matter that has only one kind of atom
atom: one of the tiny particles that make up all of matter
periodic table: an arrangement of elements based on their properties
Lesson 2
mass: amount of matter
volume: amount of space matter takes up
density: measure of the amount of matter in a certain amount of space
buoyancy: force exerted on an object that is immersed in a gas or liquid that tends to make it float
Lesson 1
physical change; a change that makes matter look different without becoming a new substance
states of matter: the forms of matter---solid, liquid, and gas
Lesson 2
mixture: two or more kinds of matter that are placed together but can be easily separated
solution: a mixture in which one or more substances dissolves in another
Lesson 3
chemical change: a change that causes one kind of matter to become a different kind of matter
Lesson 1
position: the location of an object
motion: a change in position of an object
relative position: a change in an object's position compared to another object
speed: the rate at which an object changes position
Lesson 2
force: a push or a pull
friction: a contact force that opposes the motion of an object
gravity: a non-contact force that pulls objects toward each other
magnetism: a non-contact force that pulls objects containing iron
Lesson 3
work: what happens when a force moves an object over a distance
Lesson 1
potential energy: the energy something has because of it position
kinetic energy: energy of motion
Lesson 3
thermal energy: the total kinetic energy of all the particles that make up matter
Lesson 4
reflects: to bounce off of
refract: to bend
absorbs: to take in
Lesson 5
electric charge: tiny amount of energy in the particles of matter
electric current: the movement of an electric charge from one place to another
electric circuit: the path that a controlled electric current flows through
Lesson 1
vibration: a very quick back-and-forth movement
pitch; how high or low a sound is
Lesson 2
compression waves: wave that has spaces where particles are squeezed together and spaces where particles are spread apart

Unit D
Lesson 1
star; a massive ball of hot gases that produces its own light
axis: an imaginary line around which Earth spins
rotation: one complete spin on an axis
Lesson 2
revolution: one complete trip around the Sun
Lesson 3
phase: each different way the moon looks
Lesson 4
telescope: a tool that gathers lots of light and magnifies objects that are far away an makes faint stars easier to see
constellation: a group of stars that make a pattern
Lesson 1
planet: a large, ball-shaped body of matter that revolves, or travels, around any star
solar system: the Sun, eight planets and their moons, dwarf planets, and other objects that revolve around the Sun
orbit: the path of any object in space that revolves around another object in space
asteroid: a small chunk of rock that orbits around the Sun
Lesson 1
tool: an object used to do work
technology: the use of science knowledge to invent tools and new ways of doing things
invention: something that has been made for the first time
Lesson 2
computer: tool which stores, processes, and gets electronic information
