Glossary - A

 

Acid	ass-id	A substance that turns litmus red. Has a pH of less than 7.
Acid rain		Rain containing sulphuric acid and nitric acid.
Acne	ack-nee	Spots on the skin.
Adapted		When something is changed to help it do a particular thing. When the shape of a cell helps it do its job it is said to be 'adapted' to its job.
Adolescence	add-ol-less-sence	Time when both physical and emotional changes occur in humans.
Afterbirth		When the placenta is pushed out through the vagina.
Air resistance		A force that tires to slow things down that are moving through air. It is a type of friction.
Alkali	alk-al-lie	Substance that turns litmus blue. Has a pH of more than 7
Aluminium		A metal used for carrying electricity because it is light and a good electrical conductor.
Amnion	am-nee-on	Bag containing the amniotic fluid
Amniotic fluid	am-nee-ot-tick	Liquid surrounding the growing embryo and protecting it.
Amphibian	am-fib-ee-an	Vertebrate with moist skin (e.g. frog)
Annelid	ann-el-lid	Invertebrate with a round, worm-like body in segments (e.g. earthworm)
Antacid	ant-ass-id	A medicine containing an alkali used to cancel out some of the acid in the stomach to treat heartburn.
Antenna		Singular of 'antennae'
Antennae	ann-ten-ee	Feelers on the heads of insects. Singular = antenna
Anther		Part of the stamen. It produces pollen grains.
Arachnid	ar-ack-nid	Anthropod with four pairs of legs (e.g. spider).
Arthropod	arth-row-pod	Invertebrate that has jointed legs (e.g. fly, spider).
Ascorbic acid		Chemical name for vitamin C
Asexual reproduction		Producing new organisms from one parent only.
Asteroid	ass-ter-oyd	A small lump of rock orbiting around the Sun.
Atomic energy		Another word for nuclear energy
Axis	acks-iss	Imaginary vertical line that goes from one pole of the Earth to the other. The Earth turns around on this line.