Acids are substances that produce hydrogen ions [H+] when dissolved in water. They are sour-tasting, good conductors of electricity, turn blue litmus paper red and react with bases to form salts and water. 

An acid-base indicator is a substance that changes colour at specific pH levels. 

Albedo is a measure of the ability of a surface to reflect light. 

Anthropogenic means to be caused or influenced by humans. 

  Average speed (or velocity) refers to a calculation of change in distance (or position) over a time interval for a moving object. 

Bases are substances that produced hydroxide ions [OH-] when dissolved in water. They are bitter tasting, good conductors of electricity, feel slippery, turn red litmus paper blue and react with acids to form salts and water. 

  Bioaccumulation is the increase in concentration of a pollutant from the environment to the first organism in a food chain. 

Biodiversity is a measure of the number and variety of species in an ecosystem. 

A biogeochemical cycle, or nutrient cycle, is the path of a nutrient through an ecosystem. 

Biomagnification is the tendency of pollutants to become concentrated in successive trophic levels.

  Biomes are the world's major communities, classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment. 

A catalyst is a substance that changes the rate of a chemical reaction but is not changed in the reaction. 

A chemical reaction is a process that involves the formation of new substances with new properties.

Climate is the weather conditions of an area averaged over many years. 

Climate change is a change in the "average weather" that a given region experiences. This includes all features associated with the weather such as temperature, wind patterns and precipitation. 

The Coriolis Effect is the apparent change in direction of a moving object in a rotating system. In weather systems, this refers to the curvature of the prevailing wind systems (westerlies and trade winds) due to Earth's rotation. 

Cultural perspectives is the learning context that reflects a humanistic perspective which views teaching and learning as cultural transmission and acquisition.

An ecosystem includes the living and non-living components of a biological community and their interrelationships through nutrient cycles and the flow of energy. 

An endothermic reaction absorbs energy from the surroundings. 

An exothermic reaction releases energy to the surroundings. 

A frame of reference is an arbitrary coordinate system from which quantities are measured. 

Feedback mechanisms either change a system to a new state or return it to its original state. 

The Greenhouse effect is a natural process by which a planet's atmosphere traps thermal energy from the sun, causing the temperature of the atmosphere to increase. 

Greenhouse gases such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxides and chlorofluorocarbons absorb and re-emit infrared radiation in the atmosphere. 

An inhibitor is a substance that prevents or decreases the rate of a chemical reaction. 

Instantaneous speed (or velocity) refers to the actual speed (or velocity) of an object at a particular instant in time. 

Insolation is the total amount of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area during a given time. 

An ionic compound is a neutral compound that consists of positive and negative ions held together by an ionic bond. 

The jet stream refers to high-speed winds in the upper troposphere. 

A molecular compound is a neutral compound composed of two or more non-metallic elements held together by covalent bonds. 

Neutralization is the reaction between an acid and a base that produces a salt and water. 

Nomenclature is a system of names or terms; in chemistry this is the system for naming chemical compounds. 

An organic compound is a molecular compound that contains carbon, excluding carbides, carbonates, cyanides and oxides. 

Random sampling is a sampling technique in which each member of the total population has an equal chance of being selected. 

Rate of change is a measure of how fast a quantity changes per unit time. 

A scalar quantity is fully described by a magnitude.

Scientific inquiry is the learning context that reflects an emphasis on understanding the natural and constructed world using systematic empirical processes that lead to the formation of theories that explain observed events and that facilitate prediction. 

Scientific literacy is an evolving combination of the knowledge of nature, skills, processes and attitudes students need to develop inquiry, problem-solving and decision-making abilities to become lifelong learners and to maintain a sense of wonder about and responsibility towards the natural and constructed world. 

Stratified sampling is a sampling technique which is used when the parent population is made up of sub-sets of a known size. 

STSE decision making is the learning context that reflects the need to engage citizens in thinking about human and world issues through a scientific lens in order to inform and empower decision making by individuals, communities and society. 

STSE, which stands for science, technology, society and the environment, is the foundation of scientific literacy that is concerned with understanding the scope and character of science, its connections to technology and the social context in which it is developed. 

Sustainability refers to the ability to meet our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations. 

A system is an assemblage of parts, working together, forming a functioning whole. 

Systematic sampling is a sampling technique in which samples are chose in a regular way, such as equal distances or times. 

A vector quantity is fully described by both a magnitude and a direction. 

Technological problem solving is the learning context that reflects an emphasis on designing and building to solve practical human problems. 

Thermohaline circulation is the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients driven by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. 

Uniform motion is motion at a constant speed in a straight line. 

Weather is the day-to-day environmental conditions in a location.