Scientists Say

A weekly word defined, in a sentence and in context.

  1. Earth

    Scientists Say: Fault

    A fault is a crack in Earth’s crust where pieces of rock scrape past each other.

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  2. Humans

    Scientists Say: Denisovan

    The Denisovans were a recently discovered population of ancient hominids.

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  3. Physics

    Scientists Say: Inertia

    Inertia is the tendency of objects to resist changes in their motion.

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  4. Materials Science

    Scientists Say: Silicone

    Silicone is a generic term for a whole slew of humanmade polymers with many different forms and applications.

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  5. Animals

    Scientists Say: Primate

    Primates are mammals that tend to have big brains, forward-facing vision, fingernails and flexible hands and feet.

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  6. Brain

    Scientists Say: Stereoscopy

    Stereoscopy allows the brain to perceive the two 2-D images seen by the eyes as a 3-D scene.

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  7. Math

    Scientists Say: Variable

    A variable is something that can be changed — such as a value in math, or a factor in an experiment.

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  8. Earth

    Scientists Say: Atmosphere

    An atmosphere is an envelope of gas around a planet, dwarf planet or moon.

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  9. Space

    Scientists Say: Constellation

    Constellations are clusters of related things, especially the stars that form patterns in the night sky — some of which date back to ancient times.

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  10. Animals

    Scientists Say: Migration

    Migration involves the movement of animals or people from one place to another.

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  11. Chemistry

    Scientists Say: Inorganic

    Inorganic molecules include salts, minerals and other compounds that lack organics’ carbon-hydrogen bonds.

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  12. Physics

    Scientists Say: Doppler effect

    The Doppler effect is a perceived change in the frequency of light or sound waves due to the wave source moving relative to an observer.

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