Glossary
- Aerocapture
- A technique used to reduce the speed of a space vehicle as it arrives at another planetary body (e.g. Mars). It uses the atmosphere of the planetary body like a brake to decelerate the space vehicle. The dense atmosphere creates friction, which is used to slow down a craft, transferring the energy associated with the vehicle's high speed into heat. Aerocapture is part of a unique family of "aeroassist" technologies being developed by NASA for science missions to any planetary body with an appreciable atmosphere. These destinations could include Mars, Venus and Saturn's moon Titan, along with the outer planets.
- Carbon dioxide
- A gas found in our atmosphere.
- Chlorophyll
- Green substance in plant leaves that lets the plant use the sun's energy, carbon dioxide and water to make food.
- Convection
- motion in a fluid in which the warmer portions rise and the colder portions sink.
- Cotyledon
- The first leaves on a seedling providing the new seedling with food until it can produce its own.
- Dehydration
- The removal of water.
- Fertilization
- When the pollen grain and ovule join to form a seed.
- Flower
- The part of the plant that makes seeds.
- Fruit
- The fleshy part of the plant that contains the seed.
- Germination
- A process by which a seed changes into a seedling with leaves, stem and roots.
- Kilojoule
- Measurement of energy (1000 joules).
- Macronutrient
- Nutrients such as carbohydrates that are broken down in the body to provide usable energy.
- Micronutrient
- Vitamins and minerals that play a supporting role in maintaining body functions.
- Mass
- The amount of matter in an object measured in grams or kilograms using a balance.
- Leaf
- The plant's food-making factory.
- Oxygen
- A gas in our atmosphere that living things need to keep their cells alive.
- Photosynthesis
- The way a plant makes its food using energy from sunlingt, carbon dioxide from air, water, and nutrients from the soil.
- Pistil
- the part of the flower that receives pollen to make seeds.
- Pollen
- Powder made by the stamen that is needed by the pistil to make seeds.
- Pollination
- When pollin is carried from the stigma to the stamen.
- Primary producer
- Living things which can convert the sun's energy into food (plants).
- Root
- The underground part of the plant that absorbs water and nutrients, stores food, and holds the plant in the ground.
- Seed
- The fertilized ovule of a flowering plant.
- Seedling
- A very young plant grown from seed.
- Stamen
- The part of the flower that makes the pollen.
- Stem
- The main part of a plant that holds the plant up and carries water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves and plant food from the leaves to the rest of the plant.
- Transpiration
- The process by which green plants give off water vapor through the stomata in their leaves
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