Junior Cert Science

Nutrition

The way an organism gets its food

Respiration

The release of energy from food

Excretion

The removal of waste matter from the body

Growth

The organism gets bigger

Reproduction

The formation of new organisms

Movement

The organism moves

Response

Reacting to changes in the surroundings

Invertebrate

Animals that don't have backbone

Vertebrate

Animals that do have back bone

Tissue

A group of cells which carry out the same function

An Organ

A structure that contains 2 or more tissues working together

A system

A number of organs working together

Digestion

The breakdown of food

Enzyme

Protein that speeds up a reaction without being used up

Product

The substance produced as a result of the action of an enzyme

Substrate

The substances that an enzyme acts on

Joint

Where bones meet

Tendon

Join muscles to bone

Ligament

Join bone to bone

Antagonistic Pair

Two muscles which carry out opposite effects

Cartilage

Protects the ends of bones

Neuron

A nerve cell

Menstrual cycle

A series of changes that take place in the female body every 28 days

Ovulation

The release of an egg from the ovary

Fertilisation

The joining of the male and female gamete to form a zygote

Implantation

The attachment of the embryo to the lining of the uterus

Pregnancy

The carrying of an embryo in the uterus

Contraception

The prevention of fertilisation or pregnancy

Genetics

The study of how traits or characteristics are inherited

Chromosomes

Thread like structures made from DNA and protein found In the nucleus of the cell

Transpiration

The loss of water vapour from a plantt

Xylem

tissue that transports water

Phloem

tissue that transports food

Photosynthesis

The way in which green plants make food

Tropism

The change in growth of a plant in response to a stimulus

Geotropism

The change in growth of a plant in response to gravity

Asexual Reproduction

New individuals are formed from only one parent

Runners

A method of asexual production in plants

Pollination

The transfer of pollen from stamen to a carpel

Dispersal

The carrying of a seed as far as possible from the parent plant

Germination

The growth of a seed to form a new plant

Ecology

The study of the relationship between plants and animals in area interacting with each other and their environment

Ecosystem

All the plants and animals in an area interacting with each other and their environment

Habitat

The area where a plant or animal lives

Producers

Plants that make their own food

Consumers

Animals that get their own food by eating plants and other animals

Herbivore

An animal that eats plants only

Carnivore

An animal that eats other animals only

Omnivore

An animal that eats both plants and animals

Decomposer

Organisms that feed on dead plants and animals

Competition

Takes place when 2 or more organisms require something that is in short supply

Food Web

Two or more interconnected food chains

Interdependence

Living things depend on each other for survival

Conservation

The protection and wise management of natural resources to prevent living things becoming extinct

Pollution

The addition of unwanted material to the environment

Microbiology

The study of small living things

Matter

Anything that occupies space and has mass

Solute

The substance being dissolved

Solvent

The liquid the solute is being dissolved in

Saturated solution

A solution that contains as much dissolved solute as possible at that temperature

Crystallisation

The forming of crystals by cooling a saturated solution

Mixture

Consists of 2 or more substances mingled together, but not chemically combined

An element

A substance made up of only one type of atom

A molecule

Composed of 2 or more elements chemically combined

Compounds

Consists of 2 or more elements chemically combined

An Atom

The smallest part of an element which still has the properties of that elements

Atomic Number

The number of protons in an atom of that element

Mass number

The amount of protons and neutrons in an atom of that element

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element which have a different number of neutrons

Ionic bond

The force of attraction between oppositely charged ions

An ion

A charged atom or group of atoms

A covalent bond

Atoms sharing pairs of electrons in order to get a full outer shell

Alloy

A mixture of metals e.g bronze

Rusting

Corrosion of iron

Malleable

metal that can be hammered into shape

Ductile

Metal that can be stretched

Fuel

A substance that burns in oxygen to produce heat

Fossil Fuel

Formed from remains of organisms that lived millions of years ago

Hydrocarbon

Compounds made up of hydrogen and carbon

The Ph Scale

Indicates the acidity or basicity of a solution

Catalyst

A substance that speeds up a reaction without getting used up

Screening

Water passes through a wire mesh and large particles are removed

Settling

Water is left in large tanks and alum is added to clump smaller particles together and they sink to the bottom

Filtration

Water is passed through beds of sand to remove insoluble

Chlorination

Chlorine is added to kill bacteria

Fluoridation

Fluorine is added to prevent tooth decay

Electrolysis

The splitting of a compound by passing electricity through it

Meniscus

The curved surface of a liquid in a vessel

Hard Water

Water that doesn't produce a lather easily

Soft Water

Water that produces a lather easily

Polymerisation

Small repeating units called monomers join together to form a large molecule called a polymer

Length

The distance between 2 points

Mass

The amount of matter an object contains

Volume

How much space an object takes up

Speed

The distance travelled by an object in one unit of time

Velocity

The speed of an object in any given direction

Acceleration

The change in speed divided by the time taken

Force

Causes a stationery object to move

Friction

A force of that opposes the sliding motion of an object when in contact with another object

Lubrication

Used to reduce friction between two surfaces in contact