[person - evolution & adaptation] English naturalist, geographer, and anthropologist, born in Monmouthshire (1823-1913). Wallace's most important work was in the Malay Archipelago (now the Indonesian Archipelago), where he spent 8 years collecting specimens and making observations. During this time he published the essays "On the Law Which Has Regulated the Introduction of New Species" and "On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely From the Original Type," in which he introduced the idea of evolution through natural selection.

• Appears in modules:

• Theories, Hypotheses, and Laws

[adjective - compounds] Unable to be dissolved in water.

• Appears in modules:

• Membranes I

[person - genetics & inheritance] American molecular biologist born in Chicago, Illinois (1928-). His early work focused on bacterial viruses, but he is best known for his contributions to determining the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953 (at the young age of 25). For this work, Watson shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962 with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins.

• Appears in modules:

• Creativity in Science
• DNA II
• DNA III

[noun - oceanography] motion of the ocean due to wind transferring its energy to the water

[noun - atoms & subatomic particles, equations, atoms & subatomic particles] A function that satisfies a wave equation and describes the properties of a wave. In quantum physics, a mathematical function (Ψ), described by the Schrödinger equation, that is used to describe all possible states of a fundamental particle. While the wave function cannot be measured directly, its square is a real number that can be measured, and which corresponds to the probability of finding a particle at a particular location.

• Appears in modules:

• Atomic Theory III
• Atomic Theory IV
• Wave Mathematics

[noun] The time, measured in seconds, required for a given point on a wave to complete one full cycle of its motion, such as from crest to crest. Represented by the symbol T.

[noun - atoms & subatomic particles, atoms & subatomic particles] The concept that predicts that every elementary particle will exhibit the characteristics and properties of both a wave and a particle.

• Appears in modules:

• Atomic Theory III

[noun - electromagnetism, light & optics] The distance between corresponding points on two successive waves, generally measured from crest to crest.

• Appears in modules:

• Atomic Theory III
• Factors that Control Earth's Temperature
• Factors that Control Regional Climate
• History of Earth's Atmosphere I
• Light and Electromagnetism
• Light I
• Photosynthesis I
• Wave Mathematics
• Waves and Wave Motion

[noun] The motion of rising and falling in curves; undulation.

• Appears in modules:

• Atomic Theory I
• Atomic Theory II
• Atomic Theory III
• Earth Structure
• Energy
• Experimentation in Scientific Research
• Light and Electromagnetism
• Light I
• Measurement
• Modeling in Scientific Research
• Peer Review in Scientific Publishing
• Plates, Plate Boundaries, and Driving Forces
• The Nature of Scientific Knowledge
• Wave Mathematics
• Waves and Wave Motion

[acids, bases & pH] An acid that partially dissociates into its constituent ions in water.

• Appears in modules:

• Acids and Bases II

[acids, bases & pH] A base that partially dissociates into its constituent ions in water.

• Appears in modules:

• Acids and Bases II

[verb] To accustom a young animal to food other than its mother's milk. In farming, young animals are intentionally weaned early so that the mother's milk may be harvested for human consumption. Human children are generally fully weaned at around 2 years of age.

[noun - rock cycle] The destructive processes that change the physical and chemical characteristics of rocks at the earth's surface. Physical breakdown of large rocks into smaller rocks is called mechanical weathering; changes in a rock's composition due to exposure to the atmosphere and water is called chemical weathering.

• Appears in modules:

• Defining Minerals
• Mario Molina
• The Carbon Cycle
• The Phosphorus Cycle
• The Rock Cycle
• The Silicate Minerals

[person - landforms & geologic formations, seismology & plate tectonics] German astronomer, meteorologist, and geophysicist born in Berlin (1880-1930). Wegener pioneered the use of balloons to track air circulation and wrote a meteorology textbook that became the standard in Germany. His most famous work is the theory of continental drift, which he developed based on how the coastlines of Africa and South America fit together. In 1915, Wegener published his theory in The Origins of Continents and Oceans. Despite additional evidence for this theory (including the continuity of geologic formations and fossil distributions in now widely-separated continents), it did not gain acceptance in the scientific community until the 1960s, long after his death.

[noun - forces] A measure of the force exerted on an object by a gravitational field. The weight of an object equals its mass times the force of gravity: w=m*g.

• Appears in modules:

• Absorption, Distribution, and Storage of Chemicals
• Charles Darwin III
• Composition of Earth's Atmosphere
• Density
• Diffusion I
• Early Ideas about Matter
• Energy
• Exponential Equations in Science I
• Gravity
• Kinetic-Molecular Theory
• Linear Equations in Science
• Measurement
• Nuclear Chemistry
• Photosynthesis I
• Properties of Gases
• Properties of Liquids
• Scientific Notation and Order of Magnitude
• The Metric System
• The Mole and Atomic Mass
• The Periodic Table of Elements
• The Phosphorus Cycle
• The Practice of Science
• The Rock Cycle
• Thermodynamics I
• Unit Conversion
• Utilizing the Scientific Literature

[person - genetics & inheritance] British physicist born in Pongaroa, New Zealand (1916-2004). Wilkins early work on phosphorescence led to his participation in the Manhattan Project and the development of better radar systems during World War II. After the war, Wilkins shifted his attention to biophysics and the X-ray diffraction patterns caused by DNA and other biological materials. Wilkins shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Medicine with James Watson and Francis Crick for their work on the structure of DNA.

[person - seismology & plate tectonics] Canadian geophysicst, born in Ottawa, Ontario (1908-1993). Wilson is best known for proposing the hotspot hypothesis to explain island chains such as Hawaii. This hypothesis bolstered the theory of plate tectonics by resolving the issue of how active volcanoes could exist far from plate boundaries. He also proposed the existence of transform plate boundaries, where plates meet in transform faults such as the San Andreas.

• Appears in modules:

• Plates, Plate Boundaries, and Driving Forces
• Scientific Controversy

[acronym - weather & climate, weather & climate] World Meteorological Organization

• Appears in modules:

• Scientific Controversy

[noun - forces, mechanics] A process that occurs when a force acts over a distance, as when an object is moved. Work equals the multiple of the applied force by distance: W = F*d. Work can be thought of as a process in which one form of energy is transformed into another and is commonly expressed in units of joules.

• Appears in modules:

• Animal Behavior
• Atomic Theory I
• Atomic Theory II
• Barbara McClintock
• Biodiversity I
• Cell Division I
• Cell Division II
• Cellular Organelles I
• César Milstein
• Charles Darwin I
• Charles Darwin III
• Chemical Bonding
• Chemical Equations
• Chemical Reactions
• Confidence Intervals
• Data Analysis and Interpretation
• Diffusion I
• Discovery and Structure of Cells
• DNA I
• DNA II
• Early Ideas about Matter
• Ellen Ochoa
• Energy
• Exponential Equations in Science I
• Fabiola León-Velarde
• Factors that Control Earth's Temperature
• Factors that Control Regional Climate
• Fats and Proteins
• Franklin Chang Díaz
• Gravity
• History of Earth's Atmosphere I
• History of Earth's Atmosphere II
• Introduction to Descriptive Statistics
• Introduction to Inferential Statistics
• Kinetic-Molecular Theory
• Light and Electromagnetism
• Linear Equations in Science
• Mario Molina
• Membranes I
• Membranes II
• Mendel and Independent Assortment
• Mendel and Inheritance
• Nuclear Chemistry
• Origins of Plate Tectonic Theory
• Peer Review in Scientific Publishing
• Properties of Gases
• Ruth Benerito
• Scientific Ethics
• Scientific Notation and Order of Magnitude
• Sergio Avila
• Taxonomy I
• The Case of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
• The Mole and Atomic Mass
• The Nature of Scientific Knowledge
• The Phosphorus Cycle
• The Practice of Science
• The Process of Science
• The Silicate Minerals
• Theories, Hypotheses, and Laws
• Thermodynamics I
• Uncertainty, Error, and Confidence
• Understanding Scientific Journals and Articles
• Using Graphs and Visual Data in Science

[organization - weather & climate, weather & climate] A specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as an authoritative voice on the Earth's atmosphere. More information about the WMO can be found at their website: http://www.wmo.int/

• Appears in modules:

• Scientific Controversy

[person] An English scientist (1632-1723) appointed as the Gresham Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge at the young age of 25. Wren was instrumental in the establishment of the Royal Society of London as one of the first scientific institutions and also made his name as an architect, particularly in the renovation of historic buildings in London after the Great Fire of 1666.

• Appears in modules:

• Scientific Institutions and Societies