Back to: Science e-catalog Grade 5 e-Glossary P

List of Words for Letter ‘P’

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parasitism A relationship in which one organism lives in or on another organism and benefits from that relationship while the host organism is harmed by it.
pedigree A chart used to trace the history of traits in a family.
phase The appearance of the shape of the Moon at a particular time.
phloem The tissue through which food from the leaves moves throughout the rest of a plant.
photon A tiny bundle of energy through which light travels.
photosynthesis The food-making process in green plants that uses sunlight.
physical change A change of matter in size, shape, or state that does not change the type of matter.
pioneer community first community living in a lifeless area.
pioneer species The first species living in an otherwise lifeless area.
pitch How high or low a sound is.
placental mammal A mammal whose young develops within the mother.
planet A large object that orbits a star and does not produce its own light.
plankton Organisms that float on the water in aquatic ecosystems and are unable to swim.
plate tectonics A scientific theory that Earth’s crust is made of moving plates.
pollen Powdery grains in a flower that contain its male sex cells.
pollination The transfer of a pollen grain to the egg-producing part of a plant.
pollution The addition of harmful substances to the environment.
population All the members of one species in an area.
position The location of an object.
potential energy Energy stored in the position or structure of an object.
precipitate A solid formed by the chemical reaction of two solutions.
precipitation Any form of water that falls from the atmosphere and reaches the ground.
predator An animal that hunts other animals for food.
prey A living thing that is hunted for food.
primary succession The beginning of a community where few, if any, living things exist, or where earlier communities were wiped out.
prism with two opposite sides in the shape of a triangle or other geometric shape.
product A substance at the end of a chemical reaction.
protective coloration A type of camouflage in which the color of an animal blends in with its background, protecting the animal against predators.
protective resemblance A solid formed by the chemical reaction of two solutions.
proton A particle in the nucleus of an atom that carries one unit of positive electric charge. A non-feeding stage in complete metamorphosis in which a hard, caselike cocoon surrounds the organism.
pupa A non-feeding stage in complete metamorphosis in which a hard, caselike cocoon surrounds the organism.