advocate: (n.) Someone who performs work to support some cause, idea or program. For instance, they might campaign for some change, speak up on behalf of someone or something in court (or other public forum), or write commentaries (opinion pieces) on a topic for some news outlet. (v.) The term for the act of doing such work. For instance, Sarah advocated for turning over the group's bake sale proceeds to buy a new park bench. 

atmosphere: The envelope of gases surrounding Earth, another planet or a moon. 

attention: The phenomenon of focusing mental resources on a specific object or event. 

autonomous: Acting independently. Autonomous vehicles, for instance, pilot themselves based on instructions that have been programmed into their computer guidance system. 

biology: The study of living things. The scientists who study them are known as biologists. 

chemistry: The field of science that deals with the composition, structure and properties of substances and how they interact. Scientists use this knowledge to study unfamiliar substances, to reproduce large quantities of useful substances or to design and create new and useful substances. (about compounds) Chemistry also is used as a term to refer to the recipe of a compound, the way it’s produced or some of its properties. People who work in this field are known as chemists. (in social science) A term for the ability of people to cooperate, get along and enjoy each other’s company. 

climate: The weather conditions that typically exist in one area, in general, or over a long period. 

climate change: Long-term, significant change in the climate of Earth. It can happen naturally or in response to human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests. 

current: A fluid — such as of water or air — that moves in a recognizable direction. (in electricity) The flow of electricity or the amount of charge moving through some material over a particular period of time. 

data: Facts and/or statistics collected together for analysis but not necessarily organized in a way that gives them meaning. For digital information (the type stored by computers), those data typically are numbers stored in a binary code, portrayed as strings of zeros and ones. 

discrimination: (in social science) An attitude of prejudice again people or things based on a bias about one or more of their attributes (such as race, sex, religion or age). It is not based on the actions of an individual but instead based on yet-unfounded expectations that are being applied broadly to a whole group. 

environment: The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or the process and the condition those things create. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature and humidity (or even the placement of things in the vicinity of an item of interest). 

field: An area of study, as in: Her field of research is biology. Also a term to describe a real-world environment in which some research is conducted, such as at sea, in a forest, on a mountaintop or on a city street. It is the opposite of an artificial setting, such as a research laboratory. (in physics) A region in space where certain physical effects operate, such as magnetism (created by a magnetic field), gravity (by a gravitational field), mass (by a Higgs field) or electricity (by an electrical field). 

glider: A vehicle (such as a plane in air or uninhabited submarine) that takes advantage of currents to travel long distances using little or no fuel. It also tends to move smoothly, creating few disruptions in the fluid or airstream through which it moves. 

graduate school: A university program that offers advanced degrees, such as a Master’s or PhD degree. It’s called graduate school because it is started only after someone has already graduated from college (usually with a four-year degree).  

mammal: An animal distinguished by possessing hair or fur, the secretion of milk by females for the feeding of their young, and (typically) the bearing of live young. They also are warm-blooded (or endothermic). 

marine mammal: Any of many types of mammals that spend most of its life in the ocean environment. These include whales and dolphins, walruses and sea lions, seals and sea otters, manatees and dugongs — even polar bears. 

oceanography: (adj. oceanographic) The branch of science that deals with the physical and biological properties and phenomena of the oceans. People who work in this field are known as oceanographers. 

physics: The scientific study of the nature and properties of matter and energy. Classical physics is an explanation of the nature and properties of matter and energy that relies on descriptions such as Newton’s laws of motion. Quantum physics, a field of study that emerged later, is a more accurate way of explaining the tiny motions and behavior of matter about the size of electrons. A scientist who works in such areas is known as a physicist. 

pressure: Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as force per unit of area. 

queer: A word that used to be an insult to describe people as strange or different. Some LGBTQ people now commonly use it as an inclusive and positive word to describe anyone who isn’t straight, who is transgender or who doesn’t identify as only male or female. 

robot: A machine that can sense its environment, process information and respond with specific actions. Some robots can act without any human input, while others are guided by a human. 

scenario: A possible (or likely) sequence of events and how they might play out. 

sea: An ocean (or region that is part of an ocean). Unlike lakes and streams, seawater — or ocean water — is salty. 

stigma: A disgrace, source of shame or a stain on one’s reputation — often not justifiably — due to something that one did, experienced or represents to others. 

system: A network of parts that together work to achieve some function. For instance, the blood, vessels and heart are primary components of the human body's circulatory system. Similarly, trains, platforms, tracks, roadway signals and overpasses are among the potential components of a nation's railway system. System can even be applied to the processes or ideas that are part of some method or ordered set of procedures for getting a task done. 

technology: The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, or the devices, processes and systems that result from those efforts. 

transition: The boundary where one thing (paragraphs, ecosystems, life stage, state of matter) changes or converts into another. Some transitions are sharp or abrupt. Others slowly or gradually morph from one condition or environment to another. (in gender studies) A term used to describe the process of changing one’s outward gender in terms of name, behavior and/or expression to match one’s inner sense of their gender. 

wood: A porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees, shrubs and other woody plants.