[0001 [0105 [0000 Ec[000000]LBf[16]antennae B Long, segmented feelers on the heads of insects and certain other arthropods (animals having jointed external skeletons), such as centipedes and lobsters. Insects have one pair of antennae; crustaceans (aquatic arthropods) have two pairs. Most Ec[000000]f[16]LFantennae function primarily as organs of touch, but some are sensitive to odors and other stimuli. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLaxis B An imaginary line through the poles and center of a celestial body around which that body rotates. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLbees B In the same insect family as ants and wasps, bees commonly are social insects, characterized by their enlarged hind feet equipped with pollen baskets of stiff hairs. They usually have a dense coat of feathery hairs on the head and thorax. In many of the 20,000 species, the lip forms Ec[000000]f[16]LFa long tube for sucking nectar. Bees feed on pollen and nectar; the nectar is converted to honey in the bee's digestive tract. Honeybees build nests, or combs, of wax, which is secreted by glands in the abdomen. They store honey for future use in the hexagonal cells of the comb. A developing bee goes through the larva and pupa stages in the cell and emerges as an Ec[000000]f[16]LFadult. Bees are of inestimable value as agents of cross-pollination, and many plants are entirely dependent on particular kinds of bees for their reproduction. Bee venom has been found to have medicinal properties. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLboarderB Someone or something that is given shelter or lodging and regular meals, with or without some kind of payment. Ec[000000]f[16]LBbullfrog B The largest North American frogs, bullfrogs may have legs up to ten inches long, with fully webbed toes. Males have a loud, booming call. The bullfrog is the only frog whose legs are marketed in quantity for food in the United States. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLbutterfly B Like moths, butterflies have coiled, sucking mouthparts and two pair of wings that function as a single pair; the wings are covered with scales that come off as dust when the insect is handled. Butterflies can be distinguished from moths in several ways: the antennae of Ec[000000]f[16]LFbutterflies are knobbed at the tips; the body is more slender and smoother; butterflies are active by day, while most moths are nocturnal; and when at rest most butterflies hold their wings vertically, while moths flatten theirs. Butterflies are known for the beautiful colors and patterns of their wings. Many conspicuously colored species are distasteful to birds, Ec[000000]f[16]LFwhich learn to avoid them, and others are protected by their resemblance (mimicry) to the distasteful species. Most adult moths and butterflies feed on nectar sucked from flowers, and many plants depend on them for pollination. The butterfly's complete metamorphosis has four stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLcamera B A device used to collect and focus light onto photographic film or videotape in order to record an image. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLcaterpillar B The common name for the larvae of moths or butterflies, the wormlike, vegetarian caterpillars exude silk strands continuously as they move and can hang by the strand when dropping from a height. Many caterpillars use the thread to build a cocoon in which to pupate, that is, reach Ec[000000]f[16]LFthe preliminary stage in their metamorphoses into butterflies or moths. Although caterpillars are equipped with many protective devices, such as irritating bristles and secretions, caterpillars form a major part of the diet of many birds and other animals. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLcentimeters B Metric system units of linear measure equivalent to one hundredth of a meter. The inch is equivalent to 2.54 centimeters. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLchemistryB The science of substances and their compositions, structures, and properties, as well as their various transformations. Ec[000000]f[16]LBchlorophyllB The green photosynthetic material that is found in chloroplasts and that is the coloring agent in plants. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLcocoonB An envelope made of silk, such as that produced by spiders, that is wrapped around a creature for protection or storage. The spider will often paralyze an insect that has flown into her web and then wrap it with her silk threads to save for a later meal. Ec[000000]f[16]LBcolorB Sunlight is a blend of all the colors of the rainbow, or spectrum. Objects are seen by the light they reflect, appearing certain colors because they absorb some parts of the spectrum--some colors--and reflect others. The human eye's back inside surface--the retina--has three kinds of Ec[000000]f[16]LFcolor receptors, sensitive to red, green, and blue. Human color perception is produced through the stimulation of various combinations of these three kinds of cells. The eyes of insects, such as bees, are different than that of humans, but they, too, can perceive and distinguish different colors. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLconclusionsB The reasonable judgments or opinions made about the result of an experiment or investigation based on observation and facts. Ec[000000]f[16]LBconfidentB Self-assured; certain of oneself. Ec[000000]f[16]LBcrane flyB Any of a large number of long-legged, slender, two-winged flies that look like large mosquitoes but do not bite. Ec[000000]f[16]LBcrescent B A celestial body, such as the moon, that has less than half of its disk illuminated, appearing more or less as a sliver of light. Also, something similarly shaped, such as the crescents on the national flags of Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Singapore. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLdiameterB Refers to the length of a straight line that might be drawn through the center of an object. Ec[000000]f[16]LBegg B In the general biological sense, the specialized plant or animal female sex cell, or gamete. More commonly, the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird, such as the chicken. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLelaborate B Complex and detailed. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLembryoB An early growth stage of a plant or animal, where differentiation occurs, as well as tissue and/or organ development. Ec[000000]f[16]LBenergy B In the biological sense, energy--that is, food energy--is the source from which living things draw the power they need to perform the processes associated with life. Plants convert the sun's light energy into food energy in the process called photosynthesis. Animals obtain their food Ec[000000]f[16]LFenergy by eating plants, or by eating other animals that eat plants. Ultimately, then, all food energy comes from sunlight. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLFahrenheitB The temperature measurement scale that sets the boiling point of water at 212 degrees and the freezing point at 32 degrees. Used in North America, the scale was devised by Daniel Fahrenheit (1686-1736), a German physicist for whom it is named. Much of the world now Ec[000000]f[16]LFuses the Celsius, or centigrade, scale, which sets water’s boiling point at 100 degrees and its freezing point at zero. To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 from the Fahrenheit temperature and multiply by five-ninths. For instance, 41 degrees Fahrenheit (less 32 equals 9, times five-ninths) equals 5 degrees Celsius. Ec[000000]f[16]LBfangsB Long, sharp teeth or prongs with which an animal can seize its prey. Spiders use their fangs to bite their victims and then inject venom that paralyzes or kills. Ec[000000]f[16]LBfertilize B Inseminate or pollinate for the purpose of reproduction. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLfertilizedB Refers to something that has been inseminated or pollinated in order to reproduce or bear young. Ec[000000]f[16]LBfertilizes B Inseminates or pollinates for the purpose of reproduction. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLfetusB An unborn or unhatched vertebrate. An embryo becomes a fetus when it has all the parts of a complete animal of its species. Ec[000000]f[16]LBfish B Cold-blooded vertebrates that live in freshwater or salt water and breathe through gills. Most fish are covered with scales and use fanlike fins for swimming. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLflies B Name commonly used for houseflies, gnats, and mosquitoes. All have sucking mouthparts and most have only one pair of wings. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLgameteB A mature germ cell capable of making a new individual when joined with another gamete. Ec[000000]f[16]LBgenerationB Any group of a particular species that make up one step in the line of descent from an ancestor. For instance, children are the first generation of their parents. Later, the children of those children would be the second generation of the first set of parents, who would then be grandparents. Ec[000000]f[16]LFGreat-grandchildren would be the third generation, and so on. Ec[000000]f[16]LBgeologyB The science of the history of the earth and its life, particularly that which is recorded in rocks. Ec[000000]f[16]LBgills B The external respiratory organs of most aquatic animals. In fishes, gills are located in gill chambers at the rear of the mouth. Water is taken in through the mouth, is forced through openings called gill slits, and then passes through the gill clefts, spaces between the ranks of the Ec[000000]f[16]LFdelicate gills, bathing them continuously. Each gill is composed of numerous threadlike gill filaments containing capillaries enclosed in a thin membrane; oxygen is absorbed from the passing water and carbon dioxide is discharged. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLGrand Canyon B A great gorge of the Colorado River and one of the natural wonders of the world. Located in northern Arizona, the mile-deep canyon is from 4 to 18 miles wide and 217 miles long. Hundreds of ancient pueblos--Indian villages--dot the lower canyon walls and rim. The first European to see the Ec[000000]f[16]LFcanyon was Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, a member of Coronado’s expedition, in 1540. Set aside by the U.S. government in 1908 as a national monument, the Grand Canyon was expanded and designated a national park in 1919. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLincubateB To make conditions warm enough for eggs to hatch. Birds incubate their eggs by sitting on them. Ec[000000]f[16]LBincubatorB A device used to keep eggs warm enough to hatch without the need of their natural mothers. Ec[000000]f[16]LBlife sciencesB Science branches that deal with living organisms and their life processes. These include biology, medicine, anthropology, and sociology, among others. Ec[000000]f[16]LBlungsB The organs that air-breathing vertebrates use for respiration. Like most amphibians, frogs begin as aquatic creatures, using gills to draw oxygen from the water, but then become land animals when they develop lungs and begin breathing air. Ec[000000]f[16]LBmatures B Reaches adulthood; completes natural growth and development. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLmicroscopicB Refers to anything that is invisible or difficult to perceive without the use of a microscope. Ec[000000]f[16]LBMinnesota B A north-central state of the United States, Minnesota is bounded on the south by Iowa, on the west by South Dakota and North Dakota, on the north by Canada, and on the east by Wisconsin and Lake Superior. Admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state in 1858, Minnesota Ec[000000]f[16]LFcovers an area of about 84,000 square miles and has a population of about 4.5 million. Its capital is Saint Paul, and its largest city is Minneapolis. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLminnowsB Any of a number of small fish that are not considered game fish. Often, minnows are used as bait to catch larger fish. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLminuteB Refers to something that is very small or of small importance. Ec[000000]f[16]LBmonitoringB Watching or observing something for a particular purpose. Ec[000000]f[16]LBmushrooms B Types of plants belonging to the group known as fungi--a class of parasitic plants lacking chlorophyll and which also includes molds, mildews, and yeasts. Mushrooms are characterized by spore-bearing gills on the underside of their cone-shaped caps. Some mushrooms are edible and some Ec[000000]f[16]LFare poisonous. Although mushrooms contain some minerals and protein, they are largely composed of water, and hence are of limited nutritional value. Because mushrooms are fungi, which have no chlorophyll, they cannot manufacture their own food. The roots of mushrooms produce enzymes, which break down decaying matter in forest litter into Ec[000000]f[16]LFchemicals that can be absorbed by the fungi and used as food. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLnutrientsB Substances that furnish nourishment to living organisms. Ec[000000]f[16]LBorb-shapedB Spherical in shape. Ec[000000]f[16]LBobservations B In the scientific sense, observations are the noting, measuring, and recording of facts and occurrences. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLpatterningB Imitating the traits or actions of another, particularly of a parent. Ec[000000]f[16]LBperiodicallyB Occurring at regular intervals, or periods of time. Ec[000000]f[16]LBpetals B The usually brightly colored leaves of a flower. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLphasesB Particular stages in a regularly repeating cycle of changes. Ec[000000]f[16]LBpipped B Broke through the shell of an egg during the hatching process. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLpistilB The organ of a seed plant that holds the egg cells necessary for reproduction. Ec[000000]f[16]LBpodB The seed vessels or fruit that are found in such plants as bean plants. Ec[000000]f[16]LBpollen B Minute, usually yellow grains produced by the flowers of a plant for the purpose of reproduction. Pollen grains are always produced in much greater quantities than are actually used, particularly by those plants that rely on the wind for pollination. Often, clouds of dustlike pollen can be Ec[000000]f[16]LFseen floating from wind-pollinated trees. Plants pollinated by insects and birds usually have sticky pollen and conspicuous flowers with colorful petals that often secrete perfume or nectar to attract these agents. Although pollen grains are microscopic in size and are thus visible to the human eye only in quantity, they are so diversified in Ec[000000]f[16]LFappearance that plants are often identifiable by their pollen alone. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLpond B A body of water usually smaller than a lake. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLporousB Refers to something that has a lot of pores and is permeable, or open, to liquids. Ec[000000]f[16]LBprey B An animal that is hunted and eaten by a predator. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLresearch B An inquiry, examination, or investigation, often accompanied by experimentation, conducted in order to discover and interpret facts or to form or revise a theory. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLscientific investigationB An examination or study of something, particularly of or relating to science, by use of observation and systematic questioning. Ec[000000]f[16]LBscientific processB Also known as scientific method; includes principles and procedures for a careful investigation into a problem or question relating or pertaining to science. The scientific process includes asking a question, predicting an answer, making a plan, observing, recording information, and drawing conclusions. Ec[000000]f[16]LBscorpionB A member of the order of arachnids that have a long body and a narrow segmented tail with a poisonous sting at the tip. Ec[000000]f[16]LBseed B A fertilized plant embryo within a protective coat from which a plant like the one that produced it can grow. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLseedlingB A plant newly grown from a seed. Ec[000000]f[16]LBshoot B The part of the plant that grows above the ground. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLsilk B Silk, a shiny threadlike substance used to make cloth, is the strongest of all natural fibers. Spiders spin silk threads, but their silk cannot economically be made into cloth. The fabric known as silk that is used to make luxurious garments is made of the fine, translucent, yellowish fibers Ec[000000]f[16]LFproduced by the silkworm in making its cocoon. The collection and weaving of silk into valuable fabrics was a jealously guarded secret of the Chinese for hundreds of years. By the Middle Ages, however, the art of making silk had spread to Europe, but the finest silks were still thought to come from China.B Ec[000000]f[16]BLspider B Spiders have eight legs, eight eyes, and two main body parts: the cephalothorax (head and body together) and the abdomen. They are abundant worldwide, except in Antarctica, and some thirty thousand species have been identified. All are terrestrial and range in body length Ec[000000]f[16]LFfrom less than a twentieth of an inch to more than three and a half inches. They are predatory, feeding mostly on insects, many of whom are captured in spider webs spun from the silk produced by the spiders' spinnerets located at the tip of their abdomens. Other species, such as the wolf spider and the jumping spider, pounce upon their prey. The crab spider awaits its Ec[000000]f[16]LFprey in flowers. Although all spiders have venom glands, the venom of only a few, such as the black widow and the brown recluse, is harmful to people. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLspokesB The small bars that are inserted around the hub of a wheel and support the rim. Ec[000000]f[16]LBstamenB The organ of a flower that produces the male gamete, necessary for reproduction to take place. Ec[000000]f[16]LBstomataB The minute openings in the epidermis of a leaf or other plant part through which air or other gases can flow. Ec[000000]f[16]LBsugar B In biology, sugar is the substance that is produced by green plants as food in the process of photosynthesis, and is also a normal component of animal blood. This simple sugar--glucose--is also used in the manufacture of candy, jellies, syrups, and other foods. Glucose tastes about three-fourths as sweet as table sugar (sucrose). Ec[000000]f[16]LBsunlight B The sun’s radiation in the visible light through ultraviolet range, used by green plants to photosynthesize carbohydrates--food--from carbon dioxide, water, and the plants' chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is uniquely capable of converting light energy into food energy, which can be stored and Ec[000000]f[16]LFused when needed. Chlorophyll absorbs all colors of the light spectrum except green, which is reflected, giving green plants their color. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLtadpole B The larval, aquatic stage of any of the amphibian animals. After hatching from the egg, the tadpole, sometimes called a polliwog, is gill-breathing, legless, and propels itself by means of a tail. During its metamorphosis (change) into an adult, it develops lungs, legs, and other adult Ec[000000]f[16]LForgans and, in the case of the frog, loses the tail. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLtemperature B The degree of hotness or coldness measured by a thermometer that is marked off according to a definite scale, such as the Fahrenheit scale. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLtriangular B Having the shape of a triangle, that is, having three sides or corners. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLuniverseB The cosmos. The world of human experience; the whole body of things that are observed or speculated about. Ec[000000]f[16]LBvascularB Anything related to the channels or tubes in plants and animals that provide for the movement of body fluids, such as blood or water. Ec[000000]f[16]LBvegetable B A plant grown for use as food. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLveins B In animals, the blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart. In plants, the small tubes that carry water and nutrients. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLworms B Any of various slender slithering animals having soft bodies; often used as bait in fishing. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLxylemB A tissue in the vascular system of higher plants that is made up of vessels and other structures that help to transport, as well as provide some support and storage. B Ec[000000]f[16]BLyolk B The yellowish central part of an egg of a bird or reptile containing food for the developing young.