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A |
B | C | D | E |
F | G | H | I |
L | M | N | O |
P | R | S | W |
X
A
Alive:
a thing that has these characteristics:
the ability to have babies
the ability to grow
the ability to take food from the place where it lives
the ability to change and react to the place where it lives
a body with many parts
Alligator: a large
reptile predator common in the swamps and wetlands of the Coastal Plain of South
Carolina
Animal: a large living thing that receives all of its food by eating other
living things (plants, animals, fungi).
Aquarium: a building where people can see plants and animals that live
in water
B
Biodegradable:
able to be easily broken down by natural decomposers
Biodiversity: the variety of life at genetic, species and community levels
Blackwater Swamp: a habitat found in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina
where trees are partially covered in water that looks reddish-black in color
C
Carbohydrate: basic sugars that are produced by plants in photosynthesis
as food energy
Carnivore: an animal that consumes other animals for food
Chlorophyll: a green pigment in plants that absorbs energy from sunlight
for photosynthesis
Chloroplast: the structure in a plant that contains chlorophyll and
is where photosynthesis occurs
Coast: the land region of South Carolina that is right next to the ocean
and is affected by the waves and tides
Coastal Plain: the land region of South Carolina that is between the
Coast and the Sandhills that is very flat and contains many swamps and wetlands
Cohesion: the property of water that makes water molecules adhere to each
other; caused by the attraction of opposite electrical charges on either side
of a water molecule
D
Deep Ocean: A saltwater habitat found in offshore ocean waters.
Development: The changes that occur in an organism as it grows that allow
it to perform its life functions
Dolphin: a large mammal that lives in saltwater, breathes air and eats
squid and fish; common in the coastal areas of South Carolina
E
Ecoregion: a distinct area of land in which the wildlife communities and
physical features are consistent throughout the area
Environment: All the living and non-living things found in an area
Exhibit: A display at a museum or aquarium that teaches people about
a subject using live animals, artifacts or representations
F
Food chain: a series of organisms linked together according to who eats
whom, illustrating the movement of energy from one organism to another
Freshwater: water found in inland rivers, streams, wetlands and most lakes
that has very little dissolved salt in it.
G
Glucose: a simple sugar, the most common type of carbohydrate, that is produced
by plants
Groundwater: the water beneath the Earth's surface that collects in the
spaces between soils and rocks
Growth: the changes an organism goes through as it increases in size
H
Habitat: the place where an organism lives and is able to attain the things
it needs to survive
Herbivore: an animal that consumes only plants
Hydrogen bonds: the weak bond that forms between a hydrogen atom with
a partial positive charge and another atom, such as oxygen, with a partial negative
charge; the opposite charges attract and hold each other
I
Impermeable
surface: a surface that does not allow liquid to flow through it
Intertidal zone: the area of land on the shore between the high tide line
of the ocean and the low tide line
L
Living: a thing that has these characteristics:
the ability to have babies
the ability to grow
the ability to take food from the place where it lives
the ability to move around and change the place where it lives
a body with many parts
M
Mountains: the land region in South Carolina that is part of the Blue Ridge
Mountains and is characterized by cooler climates and major changes in elevation
Mountain Stream: a habitat found in the Mountain region of South Carolina;
mountain streams tend to be fast-moving, shallow and cool in temperature
N
Niche: a description of the roles and interactions an organism has with
the other things in its environment
O
Ocean: the region in South Carolina that is part of the Atlantic Ocean
Omnivore: an animal that eats both plant and animal matter
Organism: a living object, such as a plant or animal
Osmosis: the movement of water across a permeable surface from areas
of high concentration to areas of low concentration
P
Piedmont: the land region in South Carolina that is adjacent to the Mountains
and is characterized by rolling hills and clay soils
Piedmont river: a habitat found in the Piedmont region of South Carolina;
Piedmont rivers tend to be large in size, and can have areas both where water
moves rapidly and where water collects in slow-moving pools; because of erosion,
these rivers also carry large amounts of sediment and tend to be yellowish-red
in coloration
Photosynthesis: the process by which plants use sunlight to make food
(starch) and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water
Plant: A living thing that makes its own food from sunlight, water air and
nutrients in the soil
Polarity: the electrical charge of a molecule caused by having too many
electrons (a negative charge) or too few electrons (a positive charge)
Polar molecule: a molecule with a negative or positive charge
Precipitation: water and ice particles that fall from the sky to the ground
such as rain, snow, sleet, etc
Producer: any organism that produces its own food through the process
of photosynthesis or chemical reactions
R
Respiration: the process by which animals bring oxygen into their bodies
for use in chemical reactions that will release energy from the compounds in
their body for use by the animal for its life processes
River otter: a mammal related to the weasel that lives near freshwater habitats
and feeds primarily on fish
S
Salamander: An amphibian with a long body that lives in water or in moist
soils
Saltmarsh: a habitat found in the Coast region of South Carolina that is
flooded twice daily by the ocean tides; the habitat is dominated by the salt
tolerant plant, spartina grass
Saltwater: water with a high concentration of dissolved salt; the ocean
averages about 35 parts of salt per 1000 parts of water
Sandhills: the land region in South Carolina that is the remnants
of ancient sand dunes of the former coastline that mark the boundary between
the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont
Shelter: Something used by an animal to protect it from the elements (temperature,
bad weather, etc.) and predators
Stimulus: something that causes a reaction in a living organism
Stomata: tiny openings in the leaves of plants that allow carbon dioxide
to enter the plant and water vapor and carbon dioxide to leave the plant
Surface tension: the property of water in which the surface will sometimes
have the properties of a solid because of the cohesion of water molecules
W
Water: a chemical compound that can be found in liquid, gas and solid states
on earth (water, water vapor and ice); water is necessary for all living things
and covers the majority of the earth's surface
Water cycle: the process by which water is constantly recycled as it turns
from liquid to a gas through evaporation and then returns again to a liquid
through condensation
Watershed: a delineated area of land in which all of the rain that falls
in the area will eventually drain into the same body of water
Water vapor: water molecules in their gaseous form in the atmosphere
X
Xylem: tubes in plants that transport water from the roots to the leaves