annual: Adjective for something that happens every year. (in botany) A plant that lives only one year, so it usually has a showy flower and produces many seeds.
asteroid: A rocky object in orbit around the sun. Most asteroids orbit in a region that falls between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers refer to this region as the asteroid belt.
barium: An abundant, silvery-white metal that can be founds in air, water and soils across the planet. From there it often enters foods, such as fish, nuts and certain plants.
basin: (in geology) A low-lying area, often below sea level. It collects water, which then deposits fine silt and other sediment on its bottom. Because it collects these materials, it’s sometimes referred to as a catchment or a drainage basin.
chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O.
colleague: Someone who works with another; a co-worker or team member.
develop: To emerge or to make come into being, either naturally or through human intervention, such as by manufacturing. (in biology) To grow as an organism from conception through adulthood, often undergoing changes in chemistry, size, mental maturity or sometimes even shape.
development: (in biology) The growth of an organism from conception through adulthood, often undergoing changes in chemistry, size and sometimes even shape.
dinosaur: A term that means terrible lizard. These reptiles emerged around 243 million years ago. All descended from egg-laying reptiles known as archosaurs. Their descendants eventually split into two lines. For many decades, they have been distinguished by the shape of their hips. Many large dinosaurs died out around 66 million years ago. But some saurischians lived on. They are now the birds we see today.
diversity: A broad spectrum of similar items, ideas or people. In a social context, it may refer to a diversity of experiences and cultural backgrounds. (in biology) A range of different life forms.
enamel: The glossy, hard substance that covers a tooth.
evolution: (v. to evolve) A process by which species undergo changes over time, usually through genetic variation and natural selection. These changes usually result in a new type of organism better suited for its environment than the earlier type. The newer type is not necessarily more “advanced,” just better adapted to the particular conditions in which it developed. Or the term can refer to changes that occur as some natural progression within the non-living world (such as computer chips evolving to smaller devices which operate at an ever faster speed).
factor: Something that plays a role in a particular condition or event; a contributor.
fossil: Any preserved remains or traces of ancient life. There are many different types of fossils: The bones and other body parts of dinosaurs are called “body fossils.” Things like footprints are called “trace fossils.” Even specimens of dinosaur poop are fossils. The process of forming fossils is called fossilization.
generation: A group of individuals (in any species) born at about the same time or that are regarded as a single group. Your parents belong to one generation of your family, for example, and your grandparents to another. Similarly, you and everyone within a few years of your age across the planet are referred to as belonging to a particular generation of humans.
herbivore: A creature that either exclusively or primarily eats plants.
life cycle: The succession of stages that occur as an organism grows, develops, reproduces — and then eventually ages and dies. Or the sum of all processes involved in creating a product, starting with the extraction of raw materials and ending with the disposal of the product when it’s no longer useful. Indeed, engineers describe this as the cradle-to-grave life of a product.
litter: (in zoology) A group of young animals born at the same time to the same mother.
mammal: A warm-blooded animal distinguished by the possession of hair or fur, the secretion of milk by females for feeding their young, and (typically) the bearing of live young.
marsupial: A type of mammal that carries its young for a period after birth in external pouches. There the developing babies have access to their mother’s nipples — and milk. Most of these species evolved in Australian and have especially long hind-legs. Examples of marsupials include kangaroos, opossums and koalas.
paleobiologist: A scientist who studies organisms that lived in ancient times — especially geologically ancient periods, such as the dinosaur era.
paleontologist: A scientist who specializes in studying fossils, the remains of ancient organisms.
physical: (adj.) A term for things that exist in the real world, as opposed to in memories or the imagination. It can also refer to properties of materials that are due to their size and non-chemical interactions (such as when one block slams with force into another). (in biology and medicine) The term can refer to the body, as in a physical exam or physical activity.
placenta: A sac that connects the embryo to the uterus in most mammals. The placenta supplies oxygen and nutrients to the developing embryo. It also takes away waste.
platypus: Sometimes known as the duckbill, this shy Australian egg-laying mammal (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) has a streamlined body and flat bill. Its waterproof fur allows it to comfortably navigate in rivers and other waterways, where it feeds on invertebrate animals that live in the sediment. Males have a spur on the inner side of each ankle releases venom for use in their defense.
species: A group of similar organisms capable of producing offspring that can survive and reproduce.
stress: (in biology) A factor — such as unusual temperatures, movements, moisture or pollution — that affects the health of a species or ecosystem.
whale: A common, but fairly imprecise, term for a class of large mammals that lives in the ocean. This group includes dolphins and porpoises.
wildebeest: A type of antelope found in Africa. These animals are about 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall, travel in herds, eat grass and are commonly found in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, as well as on the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya and Liuwa Plain National Park in Zambia.
womb: Another name for the uterus, the organ in mammals in which a fetus grows and matures in preparation for birth.
zinc: A metallic element that in its pure form is ductile (easily deformed) and that is an essential micronutrient in plants and animals.