Glossary

Claim:

A conclusion that answers a question about scientific phenomena or offers a solution to a problem.

Domain-specific vocabulary:

Specific terms and language related to a topic or field of study.

Evidence:

Information that supports a claim.

Explanatory Text:

Writing that informs the reader by clearly explaining complex ideas, scientific procedures, experiments or technical processes.

Formal style:

A set of writing conventions that are appropriate for a specific type of writing, often characterized by standard English, complex sentence structures, infrequent use of personal pronouns, and lack of jargon or slang.

Objective:

Factual rather than opinionated.

Paraphrase:

Reword; use different words to express the same ideas.

Reasoning:

Explanation of why evidence supports a claim.

Sound:

Well thought-out, logical.

Unbiased:

Fair, neutral, without prejudice.

Fossil fuels:

buried combustible geologic deposits of organic materials, formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years.

Greenhouse gases:

any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is capable of absorbing infrared radiation, thereby trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere.

Polar vortex:

a large pocket of very cold air, typically the coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere, which sits over the polar region during the winter season.