Scientists Say
A weekly word defined, in a sentence and in context.
- Math
Scientists Say: X-axis
The bars on a graph tell you nothing unless you know what they mean. The lines on the sides can let you know.
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Scientists Say: Replication
A scientist can run an experiment and get a result. But that result won’t be truly trustworthy until other scientists rerun the tests and replicate the findings.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Potential energy
This is the energy an object has because of its position or condition.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Zika
Zika virus has burst into the news because it is linked with microcephaly — a condition where babies are born with small heads.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Precipitation
Chemicals can dissolve into a solution, but when they come out, they precipitate.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Amusia
When you can’t carry a tune, you might have amusia, a brain disorder where people can’t tell one note from another.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Solution
In math, this is just the answer to your problem. In chemistry, this word means something else entirely.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Base
Bases are chemicals that contain negatively charged chemical groups made from oxygen and hydrogen. They lend coffee its bitter flavor and have pH rankings higher than 7.0.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Acid
When a chemical tastes sour, ranks below 7.0 on the pH scale and has many hydrogen ions in its solution, it gets a special name.
- Genetics
Scientists Say: Mutation
Information in an organism is stored in a code. Here’s the word scientists use to describe a change in that code.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Keratin
Keratin is a fibrous protein that gives our nails and hair their strength.
