Glossary

A

Acid – A substance which turns blue litmus paper to red.
Amphibians – A group of vertebrates. They live part of their life on land and part in water. Examples are toads and frogs.
Amplified sound – Sound that is raised or turned louder.
Animation – Movement applied to a graphic.
Arrow keys – Cursor movement keys.
Asthma – An infection that affects the lungs.
Auto-correct – A feature that corrects commonly misspelled words automatically as they are typed.

B

Backbone – Row of bones that are connected at back of the body.
Base – A substance which turns red litmus paper blue.
Bilharzia – A waterborne disease.
Birds – Vertebrates that have beaks, they lay eggs, and have bodies covered with feathers.
Bleach – A substance which removes stains. It also removes colour on fabrics.
Block – Shapes that connect to each other and create codes.
Blue litmus paper – An indicator. It turns red when dipped into an acid. It remains blue when dipped in a base or a basic substance.
Bread moulds – Examples of fungi that grow on bread when poorly stored in a moist environment or kept over long time.
Breathing system – A group of parts of the body that are involved in breathing in and out.

C

Change of state – A process where on heating a solid becomes a liquid and a liquid changes to gas. On cooling, a gas changes to liquid and a liquid changes to solid.
Characteristics – Features that describe and group living things.
Chlorophyll – The green colouring matter in plants.
Cholera – A waterborne disease.
Classification – Grouping animals or plants with similar characteristics.
Cold – An infection of the breathing system.
Condensation – The process through which a gas changes to liquid state.
Convection – Movement of heat through liquids or gases.
Copy – Duplicating a section of a document.
Costume – An image or visual representation that affects the
appearance of a sprite.
Cough – A common illness. A sign that the breathing system is infected.

D

Decompose – Rot.
Diaphragm – A sheet of muscle that separates the abdomen and the chest cavity. It is involved in breathing.
Dispose of – Getting rid of waste. Note that it is ‘of ’ with a single ‘f ’.
Document – A file created by using a computer program.
Dysentery – A waterborne disease.

E

Earmuffs – Coverings worn to protect the ears.
Environment – The surrounding of an organism.
Evaporation – Also known as vapourisation. It is the process through which a liquid changes its state to gas when heated.
External body parasites – Harmful organisms that live on the body of other animals. They depend wholly on the animal for food.

F

First Quarter Moon – The half of the moon that is lit. Not everyone will see the same half of the moon lit up during this phase, because it depends on one’s location.
Fish – Vertebrates that live in water and breathe through gills.
Flowering plants – Plants that produce flowers as a way of reproduction.
Force of gravity – The force that attracts objects in space towards the centre of the Earth. Also known as the gravitational force or gravity.
Freezing – A process through which water changes to ice when cooled.
Full Moon – Phase of the moon that occurs when the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the Earth.
Fungi – Living things such as mushrooms, puffballs and toadstools.

G

Green plants – Plants that have chlorophyll (the green colouring matter).

H

Hearing loss – Partial or total inability to hear.
Hearing protection – Devices used to protect the ear.
Hookworm – Examples of internal body parasites.

I

Influenza – An infection of the breathing system; also called the flu.
Internal body parasites – Harmful organisms that live inside the body of other animals. They depend wholly on the animal for food.
Invertebrates – Animals without a backbone.
Irritability – State of being easily annoyed.

J

Jigger – A flea that lives in the soil and attacks the human body by penetrating through the skin.

L

Lack of concentration – Difficulty in focusing on an activity.
Limb bones – Bones of the arms and legs.
Litmus paper – A paper indicator which changes colour in the presence of an acid or a base.
Loud sound – Amplified sound that is unpleasant and harmful to the ears.
Lungs – Organs of the breathing system where gaseous exchange takes place.

M

Mammals – A group of vertebrates. Human beings are mammals.
Melting – A process through which a solid changes to a liquid when heated.
Menu – A list of options to choose from.
Mites – External parasites that attack the skin.
Muscles – Parts of the body that allow movement and keep parts of the body in position.
Mushrooms – Examples of fungi. Some are edible. Others are poisonous.

N

New Moon – Happens when the moon is located between the sun and the Earth.
Noise – Unwanted sound.
Non-flowering plants – Plants that do not produce flowers at all.
Non-rotting waste – Waste that does not decompose.
Nose – Part of the breathing system through which air gets into the body. It is warmed and cleaned
Nostrils – These are two holes in the nose that allow air into the nose.

O

Offline – Does not require Internet connection to use.
Online – Requires Internet connection to use.

P

Paste – Copying an object or text from one location to another.
Photosynthesis – The process by which green plants make their own food.
Pinworm – Small narrow worms that live in the small intestine.
Pitch – Degree of highness or lowness of a sound.
Pluck – Way of producing sound with one’s finger on a musical instrument such as a guitar.
Pneumonia – An infection of the lungs.
Project – A creation made in Scratch, for example, a graphic, a
story, an animation or a game.
Puffballs – Examples of fungi.

R

Radiation – Method of heat transfer which does not require matter.
Re-cycling – Turning waste products into other useful products.
Red litmus paper – An indicator. It turns blue when dipped into a base. It remains red when dipped into an acidic substance.
Redo – A function that restores a previous action.
Reducing – Producing less waste.
Reptiles – A group of vertebrates. Examples are snakes and lizards.
Retrieve – Searching, locating and accessing data or document.
Re-using – Using waste material for another purpose other than the
originally intended purpose.
Rib cage – Curved bones that surround and protect the chest area.
Rotting waste – Waste that decomposes.
Roundworm – Examples of internal body parasites.

S

Save – This is copying a document onto a storage device or the
memory of the computer.
Scratch – A free desktop and online programming language for
creating games, animations, music and stories that can
be shared around the world.
Script – A collection of connected blocks that perform a task.
Select – Highlighting text.
Signs – An indication that one has an illness. Signs can be seen, felt, and read by others, for example, high body temperature.
Skeleton – The structure formed by all bones in the human body.
Skull – The bone structure of the human head.
Soft sound – Sound that is pleasant to the ears.
Solar heater – Equipment that uses heat from the sun to heat water.
Solid waste – Solid materials that are unwanted.
Solidification – A process through which molten material changes back to solid state when cooled. For example, molten wax changes to solid wax on cooling
Sound – Type of energy made by vibrations.
Sound amplifier – Device that increases the loudness of sound.
Sound pollution – Harmful or annoying level of noise.
Soundproof – To block noise from entering or leaving a room.
Spine – The backbone.
Sprite – An object that can be instructed to perform actions.
Symptoms – An indication that one has an illness. Symptoms cannot be seen by others. They are felt by the patient, for example, pain.

T

Tapeworm – An internal body parasite.
Third Quarter Moon – The moon is half lit up in the sky. Also known as the Last Quarter Moon.
Toadstools – Poisonous fungi that have a round top.
Trachea – The windpipe.
Tuberculosis – A disease of the lungs; commonly called TB.
Typhoid – A waterborne disease that affects the intestine.

U

Undo – A function that reverses an earlier action.

V

Vapourisation – See evaporation.
Vertebrates – Animals with a backbone (spine).
Volume – The loudness or softness of sound.

W

Waning Crescent Moon – This is the final phase of the moon. This phase starts when the sun lights less than half of the moon and continues on until the New Moon.
Waning Gibbous Moon – Waning means decreasing. The shape of the moon is decreasing.
Waste disposal – Proper management of waste.
Waterborne diseases – Diseases that are spread by drinking contaminated water or using it to wash fruits and vegetables.
Waxing Crescent Moon – The phase of the moon we see as a tiny narrow part of the moon, after the new moon.
Waxing Gibbous Moon – Waxing means growing larger. The phase between the First Quarter phase and the Full Moon phase.
Windpipe – The trachea. An organ of the breathing system.

Y

Yeast – An example of fungi. It is used to raise the dough.