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Glossary
A glossary of science-related words.
Glossary terms A–Z definitions
- vascular
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Containing vessels that carry or circulate fluids, such as blood, or sap, through the body of an animal or plant.
- vascular plant
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A plant that has tissues for moving water and nutrients internally. Most plants are vascular; mosses and similar plants are not.
- veins
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Blood vessels carrying blood towards the heart.
- velocity
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Speed in a particular direction.
- ventral
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The lower surface (the belly) of an animal.
- vertebra
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One of the bones or segments making up the spinal column in animals with backbones.
- vertebrate
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An animal with a backbone, like mammals and birds.
- viral load
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The number of virus particles of a particular virus in a sample.
- virology
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The study of viruses.
- virus
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An extremely small infectious particle that is capable of taking over the cell to produce copies of itself.
- viscoelastic
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A substance that has both viscous and elastic properties. Viscous means having a relatively high resistance to flow and/or the sticky properties of an adhesive. Elastic means an object that easily resumes its original shape after being stretched or expanded.
- viscosity
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When we say a substance is viscous we are normally describing a thick, slow-flowing substance such as bitumen. However, strictly speaking, viscosity is the measure of the resistance of a fluid to flow.
- visible light spectrum
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Electromagnetic waves in the range visible to the human eye. These waves have a wavelength from about 400 nanometres in the violet to about 770 nanometres in the red. Light behaves both as a particle and a wave. A particle of light is known as a photon.
- vitamin
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An organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism.
- volatile
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Evaporating readily at normal temperatures and pressures and can be readily vaporised.
- voluntary muscles
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Skeletal muscles that can be consciously controlled.
- Voyager 1
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A space probe launched in 1977 to explore the outer Solar System. In February 2009, it was over 16 billion kilometres from the Sun.
- vulcanologists
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People who study volcanoes, (also known as volcanologists).
