CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY SCIENCE 4 TEACHER’S RESOURCE

Glossary
absorb to take in a substance. For example, if you spill a liquid you can pat it with
a paper towel. The paper towel absorbs the liquid
anticlockwise the opposite of clockwise which is the direction the hands of the clock
move
apparent movement the movement does not really happen but it looks like it happens
ash burnt material. For example, the grey powdery material left when wood
has burnt
asteroid a rocky mass that orbits the sun. These are similar to planets but much
smaller
axis anything that spins or rotates has to turn around a central line. This line is
the axis
battery a source of energy made up of more
than one cell which pushes electricity around
a circuit
beak the part of a bird used to catch and hold food
bones hard, strong parts inside our body that give our body shape and keep us
upright
brightly (adverb) shines with a stronger light
brightness (noun) how strong the light shines
cable a rope of wires
carnivore an animal that eats other animals
change of state when materials and substances change from one form to another when
they are heated or cooled
chemical reaction when we mix together two substances and they both change to make a
new substance
closest the one that is nearest. For example, The closest shop from my home is
just down our road
coastal area a low lying area along the border between land and sea. The coastline is
the outline of the border between the land and the sea as you see it on a
map
comet a lump of ice and dirt which moves in a large orbit around the sun.
Halley’s comet (named after the astronomer Halley) takes 76 years to
make one orbit around the sun
compare to look at two or more things and say what is the same about them and
what is different about them
composite volcano a volcano that erupts lava and ash which builds up into a cone-shaped
mountain. ‘Composite’ means being made up of more than one type of
material
conclusion what you have found out from an investigation
conductor a material that allows electricity to pass through it
consumer a living thing that cannot make its own food and obtains energy by eating
other living things, usually an animal that eats plants or other animals

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contract when muscles get shorter and fatter. Muscles feel hard when they
contract
cord the plastic-coated wire that connects to a plug at one end and an
appliance at the other end
core the centre of the Earth. ‘Core’ is a commonly used word in English that
always means ‘at the centre of’. For example, the core of an apple is at
the centre of the apple, the core ideas are the ideas most central to the
topic
crack open break something open. For example, you can use nut crackers to crack the
shell off a nut
crater a large hole at the top of a volcano where material erupts
crust the outer layer of the Earth. Note that ‘crust’ is also used in English to
describe the hard outer layer of bread
destroy to make something not exist anymore, for example to destroy a letter by
burning it
dimly (adverb) shines with a weaker light
distilled water water that has been boiled and the steam has been allowed to cool down
to form liquid water again. Distilled water has no salts dissolved in it and
so it is pure water
earthquake a shaking of the Earth
electric appliances machines that use electrical energy to make them work, for example an
electric kettle
electric shock the effect of a sudden flow of electricity through a person’s body. A
person’s heart can be badly affected and the person can have a heart
attack and die
electrical energy the form of energy we get from electricity
energy anything that can cause movement or carry out an action
energy transfer when energy moves from one place to another place or from one object to
another object
epicentre the point on the surface of the Earth immediately above the focus. The
epicentre is where the most damage occurs
erupt a verb which means to shoot out suddenly. For example, if you boil milk in
a saucepan and do not watch it, the milk can erupt out of the pan and on
to the stove
exoskeleton the hard skins or shells on the outside of the bodies of some invertebrates
external structure materials that make up the surface of the Earth. ‘External’ means
‘outside’, so we are referring to materials on the surface of the Earth that
we can see
focus the point in the crust under the Earth’s surface where the earthquake
starts. We also use the word ‘focus’ in English to mean the central point.
For example, the focus of the lesson was earthquakes
food chain a drawing that shows the order in which animals eat plants and other
animals to get energy
frame something that gives support and shape from the inside
function the job or use of something, for example the function of a pen is to write
furthest the one that is the most far away

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germs very tiny living things that can cause diseases, for example we wash our
hands before we eat so we don’t get germs on our food
gills an organ that fish have to allow them to breathe
globe a model of the Earth. However, in everyday life you often hear people
talking about the globe meaning the whole world
herbivore an animal that eats plants
hip the bone that joins the leg to the upper part of the body
identification key a set of questions that allows us to name or group things
image a picture of the object that you see on a screen or in a mirror
infect when the germs get into your body and make you ill
infectious disease a disease that is caused by germs
instructions information that tells us how to do something, for example Ali has a set
of instructions to tell him how to build a model car
insulator a material that does not allow electricity to pass through it
internal structure materials that make up the inside of the Earth. ‘Internal’ means ‘inside’ so
we are referring to materials inside the Earth that we can’t see
invertebrate an animal that has a backbone or spine
jaw the skull bone that moves when we eat or talk
landslide a mass of rocks and soil that slides down a slope. The vibrations from the
earthquake cause these to happen
lava magma that reaches the surface of the Earth
length how long something is; for example, the length of a ruler is 30 cm
magma melted rocks
mains electricity high voltage electricity that is sent to homes, schools, factories and
offices to provide power for machines, lighting and appliances
mantle the layer of the Earth below the crust which consists of magma
materials kinds of matter that we use, such glass and metal
medicines substances that we use to help us get better when we are ill, for example
cough mixture helps us to stop coughing
melting when a solid changes state to become a liquid
mirror a very smooth, shiny surface that reflects light well
model an object or drawing that helps us understand how something works or
see what something looks like that we can’t see in real life
muscles parts of the body that are joined to bones and allow us to move
omnivore an animal that eats plants and other animals
orbit the movement of a body in space around a larger body in space. For
example, the Earth moves around the sun in an orbit. The moon moves
around the Earth in an orbit
organs parts inside the body that do different jobs
particles very tiny pieces of something
physical process when a substance changes form, e.g. melts, but does not become a new
substance
plateau a flat uplifted area of rock. For example, most of India and Africa consists
of a plateau

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plug a device for connecting an electric wire or cable to an electricity supply

pour to make a liquid or other substance flow out of or into a container
powder a solid with fine grains that have air spaces between them, such as baby
powder or flour
predator an animal that kills and eats other animals
predict to say what you think will happen based on what you already know or
have observed, for example we can predict that we will burn our hands if
we touch a hot stove
prevent to stop, for example a raincoat prevents us from getting wet when it rains
prey an animal that a predator kills and eats
producer a plant that makes its own food using energy from the Sun
proof scientific evidence that something is true
property what a substance or material is like, or the way it behaves
protect keep safe from harm, for example, a jacket will protect you from the cold
prove to find proof that something is true when doing a scientific investigation
pure water water with no salts dissolved in it
pylon the structure that carries cables from the power station where electricity
is made (or generated) to cities, towns and villages
ray a line that light travels in. We often talk about the Sun’s rays
ray diagram a diagram to show how light travels
react this is when a substance changes when it is mixed with another
substance
reflect the action of light bouncing off a surface
reflection when light bounces off a surface
relax when muscles get longer and thinner. Muscles feel soft when they relax
rib cage the bones of the chest
risk the possibility of something happening. For example, if you climb a tree,
there’s a risk you might fall
rust a reddish-brown powder that forms on some metals
secondary cone a small volcano that erupts on the side of the main volcano
skeleton the bones inside our body that are joined together to form a frame
skull the bones of the head
solar system the sun and the planets, moons, comets and asteroids which move
around it. ‘Solar’ means sun
solidifying when a liquid changes state to become a solid
source where something comes from
spacecraft a vehicle for travelling in space. For example, a space shuttle is a
spacecraft which takes scientists to and from the space centre
spin a verb that means to turn very fast. The best example of this is a spinning
top
spine the bones of the back
strain to separate solids from the liquid they are in. For example, you use a
strainer in the kitchen to separate solid foods from a liquid

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substance a particular type of solid, liquid or gas, for example water

support to hold up something so that it doesn’t fall down
surface the top layer that is next to the air
switch a device for closing or opening a circuit
tilted at an angle, not vertical
transfers changes into. For example, the energy of an earthquake transfers to
waves
tsunami a huge wave which happens when an earthquake starts under the sea
vaccinations injections or other medicines that stop us from getting a disease
vent a hole. For example, buildings have vents built into them to allow air in.
The vents are grids with holes in
vertebrate an animal that has a backbone or spine
volt a unit to measure the strength of electricity
voltage the measurement of the power of electricity. Mains electricity has a
voltage of 110V in some countries and 220V in other countries. Check
what it is in your country. This voltage is much higher than the voltage
you are using in class for science experiments. Then you are using 1.5V
cells
wall socket a hole in the wall connecting the plug on an appliance with the electric
cables in the wall
wave a way in which energy travels. For example earthquakes travel through
the Earth’s crust in waves

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