[organization - atoms & subatomic particles, chemical reactions, energy] One of seventeen national laboratories overseen by the US Department of Energy. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and was established in 1943 to produce weapons-grade uranium for use in atomic weapons. Research at ORNL on nuclear reactor development ended in 1947, however, and today research efforts are focused on clean energy, environmental science, and national security.

• Appears in modules:

• Scientific Institutions and Societies
• The How and Why of Scientific Meetings

[noun - data, research methods] 1. The act of noticing something. 2. A record of that which has been noticed.

• Appears in modules:

• Acids and Bases I
• Animal Behavior
• Atomic Theory I
• Atomic Theory II
• Atomic Theory III
• Barbara McClintock
• Biodiversity I
• Cell Division I
• Charles Darwin III
• Chemical Equations
• Comparison in Scientific Research
• Confidence Intervals
• Creativity in Science
• Data Analysis and Interpretation
• Description in Scientific Research
• Diffusion I
• Discovery and Structure of Cells
• DNA III
• Early Ideas about Matter
• Earth Structure
• Energy
• Energy Metabolism I
• Experimentation in Scientific Research
• Fabiola León-Velarde
• Factors that Control Earth's Temperature
• Factors that Control Regional Climate
• France Anne-Dominic Córdova
• Future of Human Evolution
• Gene Expression
• Gravity
• History of Earth's Atmosphere I
• History of Earth's Atmosphere II
• Introduction to Inferential Statistics
• Kevin Arrigo
• Light and Electromagnetism
• Light I
• Luis Walter Alvarez
• Mario Molina
• Mendel and Independent Assortment
• Mendel and Inheritance
• Meselson and Stahl
• Modeling in Scientific Research
• Origins of Life I
• Plates, Plate Boundaries, and Driving Forces
• Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Camillo Golgi
• Scientific Controversy
• Scientific Institutions and Societies
• Scientists and the Scientific Community
• Sergio Avila
• Solutions, Solubility, and Colligative Properties
• States of Matter
• The How and Why of Scientific Meetings
• The Mole and Atomic Mass
• The Nature of Scientific Knowledge
• The Periodic Table of Elements
• The Practice of Science
• The Process of Science
• The Rock Cycle
• The Scientific Method
• Theories, Hypotheses, and Laws
• Thermodynamics I
• Uncertainty, Error, and Confidence
• Water

[noun - landforms & geologic formations, oceanography, rock cycle] The uppermost layer of the earth beneath the ocean basins. Oceanic crust is constantly forming at mid-ocean ridges and is constantly being destroyed at subduction zones, thus the oldest oceanic crust on the earth is about 160 million years old. Oceanic crust is composed of basalt and is 5-7 km thick.

• Appears in modules:

• Earth Structure
• Plates, Plate Boundaries, and Driving Forces
• The Silicate Minerals

[noun - oceanography] a scientist who studies the ocean, including marine life, ecosystems, ocean circulation, and the chemical and physical properties of the water

[noun - laws & theories, scientific concepts] A principle that states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory. Attributed to the 14^th-century English logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham.

[person - energy, electromagnetism] Danish physicist and chemist born in Langeland (1777-1851). He experimentally demonstrated the relationship between electricity and magnetism.

• Appears in modules:

• Light and Electromagnetism

[noun - genetics & inheritance] A short stretch of DNA synthesized through the "discontinuous replication" on the lagging strand of the DNA replication fork.

• Appears in modules:

• DNA III

[person - science communication, scientific concepts] German natural philosopher and diplomat, born in Bremen (1619-1677). Oldenburg was an original fellow of the Royal Society, served as its first secretary, and was the founding editor of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

• Appears in modules:

• Discovery and Structure of Cells
• Understanding Scientific Journals and Articles

[adjective - hydrology & fresh water, oceanography, biodiversity & ecological relationships, bioregions, biomes & ecosystems, nutrient cycles] A water body that is very low in available nutrients, but very high in dissolved oxygen. When nutrient content is very low, plants are not able to grow and survive. Since plants are a critical part of the food chain, this means all other forms of life are also limited. See also: limiting nutrient.

[adjective] Related to the science of light.

• Appears in modules:

• Ellen Ochoa
• Experimentation in Scientific Research
• Properties of Solids

[noun - equations] A description of relative size given by the number of powers of 10 that there are in a specified quantity written in scientific notation. For example, 3.492 x 10⁷ has an order of magnitude of 7.

• Appears in modules:

• Scientific Notation and Order of Magnitude

[noun - anatomy & physiology, cells, organisms] Structure or compartment within a cell that performs a specialized function such as respiration or photosynthesis. An organelle is analogous to an organ in your body: It has a specific form and function within a cell.

• Appears in modules:

• Cellular Organelles I
• Discovery and Structure of Cells
• Membranes I
• Y-Chromsome and Mitochondrial DNA Haplotypes

[adjective - organic & biochemistry] Originating from a living organism; a compound that contains hydrocarbons.

• Appears in modules:

• Bernardo Houssay
• Carbon Chemistry
• Cellular Organelles I
• Craig Lee
• Defining Minerals
• Diffusion I
• Discovery and Structure of Cells
• Lipids
• Luis E. Miramontes
• Origins of Life I
• Origins of Life II
• Percy Lavon Julian
• Photosynthesis I
• Properties of Liquids
• Ruth Benerito
• The Carbon Cycle
• The Nitrogen Cycle
• The Phosphorus Cycle
• The Piltdown Hoax
• The Rock Cycle
• Theories, Hypotheses, and Laws

[noun] The branch of chemistry that deals with carbon compounds, which are produced by all living organisms.

• Appears in modules:

• Carbon Chemistry

[noun - compounds, organic & biochemistry, physical & chemical properties] Organic molecules are molecules that contain carbon bonded to hydrogen. Organic molecules may contain other elements as well, especially O, N, Cl, and others. Use of the term 'organic' dates to the 19th century, when it was believed that organic molecules could only be derived from living organisms.

• Appears in modules:

• Carbon Chemistry

[noun - organisms] Any connected living system, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium. Organisms may be composed of a single cell or a complex network of cells working together to carry out life processes.

• Appears in modules:

• Absorption, Distribution, and Storage of Chemicals
• Adaptation
• Animal Behavior
• Biodiversity I
• Carbohydrates
• Carbon Chemistry
• Cell Division I
• Cell Division II
• Cellular Organelles I
• César Milstein
• Charles Darwin I
• Charles Darwin II
• Charles Darwin III
• Composition of Earth's Atmosphere
• Creativity in Science
• Description in Scientific Research
• Discovery and Structure of Cells
• DNA I
• DNA II
• DNA III
• Energy Metabolism I
• Experimentation in Scientific Research
• Exponential Equations in Science II
• Gene Expression
• History of Earth's Atmosphere II
• Kevin Arrigo
• Light and Electromagnetism
• Linear Equations in Science
• Mendel and Independent Assortment
• Mendel and Inheritance
• Origins of Plate Tectonic Theory
• Photosynthesis I
• Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Camillo Golgi
• Scientists and the Scientific Community
• Taxonomy I
• Taxonomy II
• The Carbon Cycle
• The Nitrogen Cycle
• The Phosphorus Cycle
• The Rock Cycle
• Theories, Hypotheses, and Laws
• Uncertainty, Error, and Confidence

[acronym - atoms & subatomic particles, chemical reactions, energy] Oak Ridge National Laboratory

[person - landforms & geologic formations, rock cycle] American geologist and paleontologist, born in Fairfield, Connecticut (1857-1935). In 1900, Osborne joined the US Geological Survey, and became the senior paleontologist in 1925. He participated in fossil-hunting expeditions to the American Southwest, and described and named several species, including Tyrannosaurus Rex in 1905 and Velociraptor in 1924. In 1918, he founded the Save the Redwoods League.

• Appears in modules:

• Taxonomy II

[adjective - anatomy & physiology, organisms] Relating to bones.

[noun] A sudden eruption or rise in the occurrence of a particular disease within a population or geographic area.

• Appears in modules:

• Carlos J. Finlay
• DNA III

[noun - research methods] Result.

• Appears in modules:

• Animal Behavior
• Biodiversity I
• Blood Biology I
• Comparison in Scientific Research
• Creativity in Science
• Experimentation in Scientific Research
• Introduction to Inferential Statistics
• Luis Walter Alvarez
• Mendel and Independent Assortment
• Mendel and Inheritance
• Scientific Controversy
• Scientists and the Scientific Community
• Statistics in Science
• Stoichiometry
• Theories, Hypotheses, and Laws
• Water

[noun - statistics] In a given dataset, an outlier is an extreme value that is very different from all of the other values in the dataset. For example, in the set of values [2, 2, 4, 20, 3, 5, 1, 4, 2], the value 20 is an outlier.

• Appears in modules:

• Introduction to Descriptive Statistics

[noun - anatomy & physiology] Gamete of a flowering plant, similar to egg cells in mammalian organisms.

• Appears in modules:

• Mendel and Inheritance

[noun - organic & biochemistry, physical & chemical properties, chemical reactions] The effective charge of an atom or element that indicates the extent or possibility of its oxidation.

• Appears in modules:

• History of Earth's Atmosphere II
• The Nitrogen Cycle

[noun] A form of oxygen, O₃, produced by the reaction of sunlight with O₂.

• Appears in modules:

• Composition of Earth's Atmosphere
• Ellen Ochoa
• History of Earth's Atmosphere II
• Kevin Arrigo
• Mario Molina
• Origins of Life I
• The Nitrogen Cycle
• The Practice of Science

[noun - atmospheric science, weather & climate, weather & climate] A layer of higher than average concentrations of ozone within the stratosphere. Within the ozone layer, concentration are still in the range of 8-12 parts per million (ppm); concentrations outside of the ozone layer are around 0.02 ppm.

• Appears in modules:

• Composition of Earth's Atmosphere
• Ellen Ochoa
• Mario Molina