| Glossary Word | Definition |
| accident |
something that happens suddenly and often causes people to get hurt
|
| accuracy |
made without mistakes
|
| acid |
- a chemical compound that dissolves in water, tastes sour, and makes blue litmus paper turn red. Strong acids can burn your skin.
|
| acid rain |
rain that has acid in it because of air pollution
|
| action |
a thing done
|
| adapt |
to change in order to fit new conditions
|
| adaptation |
a change that a living thing goes through so it fits better with its environment
|
| aerodynamic |
-
designed with rounded edges so as to reduce wind drag and increase fuel efficiency
-
made to move through the air very easily and quickly
|
| aerodynamics |
the science of the motion of gases (especially air) and their effects on objects
|
| aeroelastic |
a new design of a wing that is able to bend and stretch
|
| aeronautics |
the art or science of flight
|
| aerospace |
the science and technology of jet flight or space travel
|
| Africa |
the second largest continent, south of Europe between the Atlantic and Indian oceans
|
| aileron |
movable flaps on the wings of an airplane that are used to control the plane's rolling and banking movements
|
| air pollution |
things that hurt or make air dirty
|
| air pressure |
-
how much air presses or pushes on anything
-
the push of air
|
| air traffic controller |
someone who is allowed to give instructions to aircraft
|
| aircraft |
- any machine used for flying
- a vehicle that flies through the air
|
| airline |
a company that owns airplanes
|
| airlock |
a room in which air pressure may be changed
|
| airport terminal |
a place where aircraft load and unload passengers in an airport
|
| alert |
a warning of danger
|
| allergy |
a condition in which coughing, sneezing, or a rash develops when a person comes in contact with certain things
|
| altitude |
the height of something above the ground
|
| aluminum |
a light, silver colored metal
|
| analog |
using moving parts to show changing information
|
| anchor |
anything that keeps something steady or in place
|
| anemic |
not having enough iron in the blood
|
| angle |
the shape made by two straight lines that meet at one point
|
| Antarctica |
a continent around the South Pole
|
| antenna |
a wire that receives radio and television signals
|
| antibiotics |
a drug that kills bacteria and is used to cure infections and disease
|
| approved |
to agree and say that something is okay
|
| area |
the amount or size of a surface
|
| artificial |
made by a human being, not by nature; not natural
|
| assembly line |
a process in which the job of making a product is divided into many smaller jobs. Each worker assembles the same part on every item made. The workers stay in the same place while the items pass by on a moving belt or track.
|
| asteroid |
-
a rocky space object that can be a few feet wide to several hundred miles wide. Most asteroids in our solar system orbit in a belt between Mars and Jupiter.
-
one of the many small planets that move in orbits around the Sun. The asteroids orbit in an area between Mars and Jupiter.
|
| asteroids |
rocks that fly through space
|
| astronaut |
- a person who rides in a space vehicle
- a person trained to make spaceflights
- a person trained to travel and work in space
|
| astronomer |
someone who studies the stars, planets, and space
|
| astronomy |
the study of stars, planets, and space
|
| atmosphere |
- all the air around the Earth
- the gases around any planet
- the layer of gases that surrounds the Earth
|
| atom |
one of the tiny particles of which all things are made
|
| atrophy |
decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue
|
| automatic |
moving or working by itself
|
| autopilot |
a system that flies a plane using a program instead of people
|
| avalanche |
a large mass of snow, ice, or earth that suddenly moves down the side of a mountain
|
| aviation |
the science, skill, or work of flying airplanes
|