Year 9 LAC Science (higher) September
 

1.                key - A set of rules to identify an organism.
 

2.                genus - The family name for an animal or plant.
 

3.                species - A group of animals or plants that normally breed together.
 

4.                adaptations - The features which help an animal or plant survive.
 

5.                competition - A struggle to survive.

Year 9 LAC Science (higher) October
 

1.                predator - An animal that kills other animals for food.
 

2.                prey - An animal that may be killed and eaten by another animal.
 

3.                survive - To live long enough to breed.
 

4.                population - A group of the same animals or plants living in the same habitat.
 

5.                limiting factor - A factor that stops a population from growing any larger.

Year 9 LAC Science (higher) November

1.                force - A push or a pull that can change the speed, direction or shape of an object.
 

2.                resultant force - The overall effect of more than one force.
 

3.                balanced forces - This is when forces are equal and opposite, so they cancel each other out.
 

4.                weight - A force which is the pull of gravity on an object.
 

5.                upthrust - A force exerted by water pushing up on an object.
 

Year 9 LAC Science (higher) December
 

1.                protein - Food needed to for the growth and repair of cells.
 

2.                carbohydrate - Foods like sugar and starch that are used for energy.
 

3.                fat - Food used to store energy and to insulate our bodies so that we lose less heat.
 

4.                minerals - Elements needed in small amounts to keep us healthy, e.g. iron and calcium.
 

5.                vitamins - Complex chemicals needed in small amounts to keep us healthy.
 

Year 9 LAC Science (higher) January
 

1.                digestion -  The breaking down of food so it is small enough to pass into the bloodstream.
 

2.                digestive juices - The fluid that breaks down food in the gut.
 

3.                enzymes - Biological catalysts that speed up digestion.
 

4.                gut - A tube starting at the mouth and ending at the anus, in which digestion takes place.
 

5.                fibre - Food that cannot be digested but gives the gut muscles something to push against.
 

Year 9 LAC Science (higher) February
 

1.                year - The time taken for earth to orbit the sun once.
 

2.                day - The time taken for the earth to spin on its axis.
 

3.                night - When our side of the earth is turned away from the sun.
 

4.                sun - The star at the centre of our solar system that provides almost all our energy.
 

5.                planet - A large object, like the earth, that orbits a sun.
 

6.                star - Large objects in space that produce heat and light, like the sun.
 

7.                solar system - The sun and all the planets that go round it.
 

Year 9 LAC Science (higher) March
 

1.                lungs - The organs that collect oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide.
 

2.                diaphragm - A sheet of muscle at the base of the chest that moves to fill and empty the lungs.
 

3.                capillaries - The smallest kind of blood vessels, connecting arteries to veins.
 

4.                arteries - The blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.
 

5.                veins - The blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart.
 

Year 9 LAC Science (higher) April
 

1.                chemical reaction - A change which makes a new substance.
 

2.                product - A new substance made by a reaction.
 

3.                combustion - The reaction which occurs when a substance is burnt in oxygen. 
 

4.                oxide - A substance made when an element combines with oxygen, for example magnesium combines with oxygen to make magnesium oxide.
 

5.                exothermic - A reaction that gives out energy, usually heat.
 

Year 9 LAC Science (higher) May
 

1.                reaction rate - The speed at which chemicals react.
 

2.                catalyst - A substance that changes the rate of a reaction without being used up.
 

3.                enzyme - A biological catalyst.
 

4.                decompose - To break down or rot away.
 

5.                digested - To be broken down by enzymes, e.g. stains can be digested by enzymes in washing powder.