Scientists Say
A weekly word defined, in a sentence and in context. Click here to find the alphabetized list.
- Climate
Scientists Say: Solar
What do solar energy, the solar year and solar flares have in common? They’re all related to the sun.
- Archaeology
Scientists Say: Archaeology
People leave things where they’ve been — old buildings, trash heaps and human skeletons. Archaeology is the study of those left-behind things.
- Climate
Scientists Say: Deforestation
Trees slurp up carbon dioxide and help keep our planet cool. But deforestation cuts those trees down in large numbers.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Microgravity
Gravity is a force that brings objects together. But when those objects get far away, the force feels small. It feels like microgravity.
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- Agriculture
Scientists Say: Prairie
Prairies are flat, fertile grasslands in North America. They are their own unique ecosystem.
- Space
Scientists Say: GPS
A GPS system relies on satellites orbiting the planet, constantly sending signals back to receivers on Earth.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Polymer
Polymers can be natural or man-made, but they are all big molecules made up of smaller units linked together.
- Life
Scientists Say: Excretion
Every living thing produces waste. Excretion is how organisms take out the trash.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Tsunami
This is a series of ocean waves triggered by an underwater earthquake or volcano. The event starts as small waves, but those waves can grow as they approach land.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Spaghettification
Black holes cram a lot of mass into a small area. When another object gets close, the black hole’s gravity can stretch it into a noodle-like strand.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Protein
Proteins are molecules made up of building blocks called amino acids. They play many key roles in the body’s cells and are essential for life.
