Space Word Sheets
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| axis | acks-iss | Imaginary vertical line that goes from one pole of the Earth to the other. The Earth spins around its axis. |
| day | 24 hours, the time it takes the Earth to spin once on its axis. | |
| Earth | The planet we live on. | |
| leap year | A year with 366 days in it. We have a leap year every 4 years. | |
| lunar month | 28 days – the time it takes the Moon to orbit around the Earth once. | |
| Moon | A moon is a large lump of rock orbiting around a planet. The Moon is the moon that orbits the Earth. | |
| orbit | The path that a planet takes around the Sun, or the path that a moon or satellite takes around a planet. | |
| satellite | Anything that orbits a planet. | |
| sphere | sfear | A shape like a ball. |
| Sun | The star that the Earth orbits around. | |
| year | The length of time it takes a planet to go around the Sun. One year on Earth is 365.25 days. |
Moonshine
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| full moon | The phase of the Moon when it looks like a bright, full circle. | |
| luminous | Gives out light. | |
| lunar eclipse | When the Moon moves into the shadow of the Earth. | |
| new moon | The phase of the Moon when we cannot see the lit-up side. | |
| partial eclipse | A solar eclipse when the Moon only covers part of the Sun. | |
| phases of the Moon | The different shapes the Moon seems to have at different times. | |
| solar eclipse | When the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth, and casts a shadow on part of the Earth. | |
| total eclipse | A solar eclipse when the Moon completely blocks out light from the Sun. |
A plan for all seasons
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| Equator | ee-kwate-er | An imaginary line around the middle of the Earth. |
| hemispheres | hem-ee-sfears | The two halves of a sphere – the shape you would get if you cut a solid ball in half. |
| northern hemisphere | The half of the Earth with the North Pole in it. The UK is in the northern hemisphere. |
The Solar System
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| asteroid | ass-ter-oyd | A small lump of rock orbiting around the Sun |
| inner planets | Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The inner planets are all rocky planets. | |
| outer planets | Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. All the outer planets except Pluto are made of gas. | |
| solar system | A star with planets and other objects orbiting it. |
Starry, starry nights
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| constellation | con-stell-ay-shun | A pattern of stars. |
| galaxy | Millions of stars grouped together. | |
| light year | The distance that light travels in one year. | |
| Milky Way | The galaxy that our Solar System is in. | |
| star | A huge ball of gas that gives out heat and light energy. | |
| Universe | All the galaxies and the space between them make up the Universe. |
Rocks Word Sheets
Rock on
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| crystals | kris-tals | Pieces of a mineral with sharp edges. |
| grain | Tiny, rounded piece of rock. | |
| interlocking | When crystals fit together with no gaps between them. | |
| minerals | The chemicals that rocks are made from. | |
| mixture | Two or more different kinds of mineral that are not chemically joined to each other. | |
| porous | poor-us | Porous rocks can soak up water. |
| texture | The scientific word used to describe the shapes and sizes of the crystals or grains in a rock. |
Settling Down
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| cementation | sem-men-tay-shun | A process in which water is squeezed out of the spaces between pieces of rock leaving mineral salts behind which stick (cement) the rock pieces together. |
| cemented | sem-men-ted | Something that has been stuck together. |
| chalk | Soft white or grey rock formed from the shells of small sea animals. | |
| compaction | com-pack-shun | When layers of sediment or rock are squashed by the weight of sediment above them. |
| deposits | When moving water drops rock fragments or grains. | |
| fossil | The remains of a dead animal or plant that became trapped in layers of sediment and turned into rock. | |
| grain | Tiny, rounded piece of rock. | |
| limestone | A sedimentary rock made from the shells of dead sea creatures consisting mainly of calcium carbonate. | |
| minerals | The chemicals that rocks are made from. | |
| porous | poor-us | Porous rocks can soak up water. |
| sandstone | A sedimentary rock made from rounded grains of sand. | |
| sediment | Rock grains and fragments dropped on the bottom of a river, lake or sea. | |
| sedimentary rock | Rock formed from layers of sediment. | |
| shale | A sedimentary rock. |
All change!
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| magma | Molten rock beneath the surface of the Earth. | |
| marble | A metamorphic rock formed from limestone. | |
| metamorphic | met-a-mor-fik | A word meaning ‘changed’. |
| metamorphic rocks | met-a-mor-fik | Rocks that have been formed by changing igneous or sedimentary rocks. |
| mudstone | A sedimentary rock made from mud. | |
| quartzite | kwartz-ite | A metamorphic rock formed from sandstone. |
| sandstone | A sedimentary rock made from rounded grains of sand. | |
| slate | A metamorphic rock with tiny crystals, formed from mudstone. |
A river of rock
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| basalt | ba-salt | An igneous rock with very tiny crystals. |
| bonds | Forces holding particles together. | |
| crust | The solid rocks at the surface of the Earth. | |
| crystal | kris-tal | Piece of mineral with sharp edges. |
| granite | gran-it | An igneous rock with large crystals. |
| igneous rock | igg-nee-us | A rock formed when magma or lava cooled down and solidified. |
| lava | lar-va | Molten rock that runs out of volcanoes. |
| magma | Molten rock beneath the surface of the Earth. | |
| mantle | man-tel | The part of the Earth below the crust. |
| particles | The tiny pieces that everything is made out of. | |
| volcano | A place where lava flows out of the Earth. |
Hot and cold
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| biological weathering | When rocks are worn away or broken up due to the activities of living things. For example, growing plant roots can split rocks apart. | |
| contract | Get smaller. | |
| erosion | eh-rO-shun | The movement of loose and weathered rock. |
| expand | Get bigger. | |
| freeze–thaw action | A type of physical weathering that happens when water gets into a crack in a rock and freezes. The freezing water expands and makes the crack bigger. | |
| physical change | fizz-ick-al | A change that does not involve new chemicals. Melting and freezing are examples of physical changes. |
| physical weathering | When rocks are worn away or broken up by physical processes such as changes in temperature. |
Go with the flow
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| abrasion | When rock fragments bump into each other and wear away. | |
| deposits | When moving water drops rock fragments or grains. | |
| sediment | Rock grains and fragments dropped on the bottom of a river, lake or sea. | |
| transport | The movement of rock grains and fragments by wind or water. | |
| erosion | e-row-shun | The movement of pieces of rock by the wind, water, etc |
Settling down
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| coal | A fossil fuel made from the remains of plants. | |
| fossils | Any sign of past life that has been preserved in a rock. | |
| natural gas | Fossil fuel formed from the remains of dead plants and animals that lived in the sea. | |
| oil | Fossil fuel formed from the remains of dead plants and animals that lived in the sea. | |
| salts | Chemicals from rocks that have dissolved in water. |
Acid rain/The effects of acid rain/A cure for acid rain?
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
| acid rain | Rain that is more acidic than usual (pH less then 5.6) due to high amounts of dissolved acidic gases. | |
| catalytic converter | A device fitted to a car’s exhaust to change harmful gases into harmless gases. | |
| carbon dioxide (CO2) | A slightly acidic gas formed when carbon reacts with oxygen (and during respiration). | |
| combustion | The scientific word for burning. | |
| corrosive | A substance that is corrosive reacts with certain substances and wears them away. | |
| nitrogen oxides | Acidic gases formed when nitrogen reacts with oxygen. Includes nitrogen dioxide (NO2). | |
| photosynthesis | foto-sinth-e-sis | Process in plants which takes in carbon dioxide and water and, using the Sun’s energy, makes glucose and oxygen. |
| respiration | res-per-ay-shun | Process which occurs in all living cells that releases energy from food. Carbon dioxide is one of the products. |
| sulphur dioxide (SO2) | An acidic gas formed when sulphur reacts with oxygen. | |
| sulphur precipitator | pre-sip-it-ate-or | A device used in power stations to remove sulphur dioxide gas from the gases coming out of the chimney. |