List of Words for Letter ‘S’
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salt A
compound formed by reactions between an acid and a base.
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scavenger A
meat-eating animal that feeds on the remains of dead animals that it did not hunt or kill.
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scientific name The name for every living thing that combines the genus and species.
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screw A
simple machine made of an inclined plane wrapped around a central bar that can multiply an effort force.
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sea breeze Wind
that blows from the sea toward the land.
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seafloor spreading The moving apart of plates on the ocean floor that is caused by magma flowing up between the plates and then hardening.
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secondary color A color that is produced when two primary colors blend together.
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sediment Small,
loose pieces of minerals, rock, and organic material, some of which are deposited when a river slows.
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sedimentary rock A rock that forms when small pieces of rocks, minerals, and shells are deposited, buried, and are squeezed and cemented together.
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seed A
structure that contains a young, developing plant and stored food.
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seismic wave A
vibration that travels through Earth and is produced by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
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seismograph An
instrument that detects, measures, and records the energy of earthquake vibrations at a given location.
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series circuit A circuit with only one path along which current electricity can flow.
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simple machine A device with few, if any, moving parts that makes it easier to do work.
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smog A mixture of smoke and fog, formed when smoke and fumes collect in moist, calm air.
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soil A mixture of weathered rock, air, water, living things, and humus that can support the growth of rooted plants.
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solar cell A
device that uses sunlight to produce electricity.
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solar eclipse A
blocking of the Sun’s light that happens when Earth passes through the Moon’s shadow.
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solar system A
star such as the Sun, as well as the planets and other bodies that travel around it.
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solid Matter
that has a definite shape and occupies a definite amount of space.
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solubility The
maximum amount of a substance that can be dissolved by another substance.
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solution A mixture of one substance dissolved in another.
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species A group of similar organisms that reproduce more of their own kind.
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specific heat The amount of heat energy, usually measured in joules, needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1°C.
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spectrum A
band of colors made when white light is broken up.
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speed How
fast an object’s position changes with time at any given moment.
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sperm A
vertical belt, about 15 degrees wide in longitude, in which all places have the same time.
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standard time zone A
vertical belt, about 15 degrees wide in longitude, in
which all places have the same time.
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star A
large, hot ball of gases, which is held together by gravity and gives off its own light.
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static electricity The buildup of an electric charge, either positive or negative, on a material’s surface.
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stem A
structure that holds a plant up and supports its leaves.
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sublimation The
process of changing directly from a solid to a gas, or from a gas to a solid, without first becoming a liquid.
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succession The
gradual replacement of one species by another.
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sunspot A
dark area that appears temporarily on the Sun’s surface.
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supernova A
mixture of small particles that separate upon standing.
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symbiosis A
relationship between two kinds of organisms that lasts over time.
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synthetic A
material made by people.