MiddleSchoolPortal/ENCdl Science Subject List

From NSDLWiki

In 2002, the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse began the development of a K-12 science education subject thesaurus based on the concepts and terms used in the National Science Education Standards (NSES) (National Research Council, 1996). The goal of the NSF-funded project was to create a standard metadata classification system for digital library collections that would apply to K-12 science education learning objects. The NSES and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy (Rutherford, 1994) were chosen as foundational documents because the language within them would have meaning and relevance for teachers across the country. The ENCdl Science Subject List is a working vocabulary that is scientifically correct, reflects the NSES, and will serve the resource discovery needs of K-12 science educators.

References

National Research Council. (1996). National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC: National Science Foundation.

Rutherford, F.J. (1994). Benchmarks for Science Literacy. Cary, NC: Oxford University Press.

Subject Terms, Level 0	Subject Terms, Level 1	Subject Terms, Level 2	Scope Notes	Equivalent and/or Related Terms
Earth and space science			Use this subject strand for material with hard science content. Use History and Nature of Science strand for scientific breakthroughs. Use Personal and Social Issues strand for resources about humans and the environment (e.g., resources about pollution).
	Climate		Weather is short term. Climate refers to weather trends over a long period of time for a given region or place.
		Global climate change	Can be natural or human-induced and includes past, present, and future change. Includes but is broader than global warming: there has been and can be cooling. Climate change can involve more than temperature change.	Climatic change, Global warming
	Cycles
		Biogeochemical cycles	Examples include the nitrogen cycle, carbon cycle, phosphorus cycle, and the sulfur cycle. Use Water cycle for resources specific to that cycle.	Geochemical cycles, Nitrogen cycle, Carbon cycle, Phosphorus cycle, Sulfur cycle
		Rock cycle
		Water cycle		Hydrologic cycle
	Earth in the solar system
		Earth's revolution	Includes the relationship between one revolution of the Earth and one year.
		Earth's rotation	Includes how the rotation of the Earth relates to day and night.
		Moon	For resources about Earth's moon.
		Seasons	Includes why seasons occur, i.e., the tilt of the Earth's rotational axis and the Earth's orbit around the sun.
		Sun	For resources about Earth's sun.
		Tides	For materials about why tides occur, what the different types of tides are, and the effects they have.
	Earth materials		Includes uses of Earth materials.
		Air	Includes gases of the atmosphere. The context here is air as an Earth material with properties that make it useful. Use Atmosphere under Earth System Structure when resources refer to the entire layer (envelope) of gases that surround Earth.
		Minerals	Includes the physical and chemical properties of minerals and the usefulness of minerals.
		Rocks	Includes the physical and chemical properties of rocks and the usefulness of rocks.
		Soil	Includes the physical and chemical properties of soil and soil's usefulness.
		Water	Includes the physical and chemical properties of water, water chemistry, and water's uses. Use Earth system structure/Hydrosphere if a resource is primarily about water on a global scale. Use Earth's water for resources about particular bodies of water.
Earth processes
		Crustal deformation	Alterations of the shape and/or volume of rock that result when a body of rock is subjected to stress. Examples include the folding and faulting of rocks. Remember that there is oceanic crust.	Folding, Folds, Faulting, Faults, Rock deformation
		Earthquakes		Seismology (ERIC uses this term)
		Erosion
		Landslides
		Mountain building
		Plate tectonics	Branch of geophysics and seismology concerned with continental movements, based on the theory that the earth's surface is composed of vast crustal blocks that float across the mantle, with seismic activity and volcanism occurring primarily along the periphery of these blocks. (ERIC)	Lithospheric plate movements, Tectonic plates
		Sediment deposition		Sedimentation
		Volcanoes		Physical geography (ERIC uses this term)
	Weathering
	Earth system structure
		Asthenosphere
		Atmosphere	If resources are about the envelope of gases that surround Earth, use this term. If resources are about air in general or about specific gases that living creatures use in particular ways, assign Earth materials/Air.
		Biosphere
		Core
		Crust
		Geosphere
		Hydrosphere	Use for resources about water on a global scale. See Scope Note for Earth's water for instructions on cataloging other flavors of water.
		Lithosphere
		Mantle
		Ozone layer	Does not refer to low level/ground level ozone.
	Earth's water		Is about types of water and specific bodies of water. Also see Earth materials/Water (water as a useful resource and water's properties); Earth system structure/Hydrosphere (global water system); Cycles/Water cycle; and Earth in the solar system/Tides.
		Freshwater	Use for rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, creeks, groundwater, etc.
		Oceans		Saltwater
	Energy
		Energy sources	Includes external and internal energy sources in the Earth system. The sun is an example of an external source, while radioactive decay is an internal source.
		Energy transfer	Conduction, convection, and radiation. Examples include the transfer of the sun's energy to Earth and convection in the mantle, in the oceans, and in the atmosphere.	Conduction, Convection, Radiation
		Fuels	Energy resources used by humans including fossil fuels.	Fossil fuels
	Evolution		Includes fossils as evidence of evolution.
		Biological evolution	Use for resources about biological evolution as it pertains to Earth or space or for resources about what scientists can learn from fossils, geologic evidence, etc. about how life evolved. Life Science/Evolution is for life science resources.
		Earth system evolution
		Geologic time
		Solar system origin
		Stellar evolution		Star evolution, Life cycle of stars
		Universe origin		Cosmology
	Solar system			Astronomy (ERIC uses this term)
		Asteroids
		Comets
		Gravity
		Meteoroids	Use for meteoroid, the rocky object in space; meteor, the light from a falling meteoroid; and meteorite, remains of a meteoroid found on Earth.	Meteor, Meteorite
		Moons	Use for moons of planets other than Earth. The Earth's moon is listed under Earth in the solar system.
		Planets
		Stars
		Suns	Use for the suns of planets other than Earth. Earth's sun is listed under Earth in the solar system.
	Solar system changes		Do not use for Earth changes. See Earth in the solar system for terms specific to Earth.
		Days
		Phases of the moon		Lunar phases, Moon’s phases, Moon phases
		Seasons
		Years
	Space exploration		Includes explorations of space made from Earth using, for example, optical or radio telescopes. Also includes explorations conducted in space such as those performed during manned space missions or by the Mars rovers.
	Weather		Weather is short term. Climate refers to weather trends over a long period of time for a given region or place.
		Clouds
		Fronts
		Hurricanes
		Precipitation	Includes different types of precipitation such as rain, snow, and sleet.
		Pressure
		Storms	Use Hurricanes or Tornadoes for resources about those specific types of severe storms.
		Temperature	As a weather metric/measure of the weather.
		Tornadoes
		Wind	Includes wind speed and direction.
History and nature of science
	Historical perspectives		This could be used with Scientific Breakthroughs.
	Scientific breakthroughs
		Scientists and inventors
	Scientific enterprises
		Careers
		Fields of science	This includes areas of study such as genetics or optics. The vocations related to these areas of study would go under careers.
Life science				Biology
	Animals			Eukarya
		Amphibians		Frogs, Toads, Salamanders
		Annelids		Earthworms, Leeches, Marine polychaetes
		Arthropods		Crustaceans, Arachnids, Insects
		Birds		Aves
		Boney fish		Osteichthyes
		Cartilagenous fish		Chondrichthyes, Sharks, Rays
		Cnidarians		Corals, Jellyfish, Hydra
		Dinosaurs		Paleontology (ERIC uses this term)
		Echinoderms		Starfish, Sea urchins, Sand dollars, Sea Cucumbers, Brittle stars
		Flat worms		Platyhelminthes, Planaria, Tapeworms, Flukes, Trematode, Cestode
		Jawless fish		Lampreys, Agnatha
		Mammals		Marsupials, Monotremes, Placentals
		Mollusks		Clams, Squid, Octapus, Snails, Slugs, Nudibranchs
		Reptiles		Snakes, Lizards
		Round worms		Nematodes
		Sponges		Porifera
	Bacteria			Eubacteria, Archaea, Blue Green Algae
	Behavior		Include behavior of all organisms, for example, plants, animals, protists – geotropism, phototropism, etc.
	Biochemistry
		Carbohydrates
		Cell respiration
		Chemical reactions
		Enzymes
		Lipids
		Nucleic acids		Genetics (ERIC uses this term)
		Photosynthesis
		Proteins	This is focusing on the reactions between amino acids as proteins are produced, the categories of proteins, and the relationship between shape and protein function.
	Biodiversity		Includes resources about lack of or changes to biodiversity. If the resource includes the broad impact in terms of ecosystem and/or evolution, mark those terms as well. This could include extinction.
	Biological classification
	Cell		Includes cell level events, such as mitosis.
		Cellular specializations	This includes cells that differentiate into specific kinds of cells, such as liver or xylem cells.
		Cellular structures	This includes all of the specific organelles, cell membrane, and cell wall. The functions of these organelles are also included here. Osmosis and permeability would go here because those are aspects of cell membrane function.
		Diffusion	Osmosis
		Membrane transport	Use Cellular structures for endocytosis and exocytosis, since those are functions of the Golgi and cell membrane. Limit this to things moving through the membrane using protein carriers.	Active transport
	Disease
	Ecosystems		Includes ecosystem interactions that affect biodiversity and extinction.
		Biomes
		Competition
		Cycles
		Energy transfer	This includes biomass. This can be related to Food Web, but one or the other can be assigned by itself.
		Food web	This can be related to energy transfer, but one or the other can be assigned by itself.	Food chain
		Population dynamics
		Populations
		Predation
		Symbiosis
		Trophic levels		Autotrophs, Heterotrophs, Consumers, Producers, Decomposers
	Evolution		Includes evidence such as biogeography, biochemistry, genetics, and fossils. If biodiversity is part of the resource, include that term as well. If related to earth science, use Earth and Space/Evolution/Evolution of Life.
		Adaptations
		Natural selection
	Fungi			Eukarya
	Genetics		Includes inheritance, genes, and gene expression.	Inheritance, Heredity
		Chromosomes
		DNA
		Genes
		Mutations
		Protein synthesis	This refers to the process of protein synthesis starting with the DNA going through transcription and translation. It makes the connection between the sequence of nitrogen bases on nucleic acids and the sequence of amino acids in proteins.	Transcription, Translation
	Growth and development		This could include mitosis depending on the context. Mitosis might also be found under Cell or Reproduction.
	Homeostasis
	Life cycles
	Metabolism
	Organ systems			Body systems
		Cardiovascular system
		Digestive system
		Endocrine system
		Excretory system
		Immune system
		Integumentary system		Skin
		Muscular system
		Nervous system
		Reproductive system	This refers to the organ system and does not necessarily refer to activities at the cellular level. It might include meiosis, depending on the context.
		Respiratory system
		Skeletal system
	Plants		Nucleated multicellular organisms that contain chlorophyll and have rigid cell walls -- some classifications include bacteria, unicellular algae, and/or fungi (Note: Use a more specific term if possible). (ERIC)	Eukarya, Plants (Botany) (ERIC)
	Protists			Eukarya
	Reproduction		This is referring to reproduction as a characteristic of living things.
		Asexual reproduction	This could include reproduction as a characteristic of living things, types of asexual reproduction, and the process of mitosis as it results in asexual reproduction.
		Sexual reproduction	This includes the process of sexual reproduction as it relates to the characteristics of living things. It might include a discussion of meiosis.
	Viruses		Parasitic particles capable of independent metabolism and reproduction within living cells. (ERIC)	Microbiology (used by ERIC)
Personal and social issues
	Human population growth		Includes population density, carrying capacity, limits, birth rate, death rate, emigration, and immigration.
	Humans and the environment
		Conservation	Includes recycling, land management, resource management, sustainability, and impacts on biodiversity.	Resource management, Land management
		Environmental change	Includes natural and human induced change; examples include natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, asteroid impacts, floods, and processes such as desertification, ozone depletion, oil spills, and waste disposal.
		Nonrenewable resources
		Pollution
		Renewable resources
	Personal health			Hygiene (used by ERIC)
		Disease	Illness, viruses, bacteria, awareness, control, prevention, cure, and transmission.	Illness
		Drugs	Alcohol, tobacco, over the counter medications and drug use, addiction, abuse, and development.	Alcohol, Tobacco
		Family relationships		Parents
		Nutrition	Food pyramid, food groups, nutritional requirements, vitamins
		Peer pressure	Pressure, either planned or unplanned, exerted by peers to influence personal behavior. (ERIC)	Peer influence (used by ERIC)
		Personal hygiene
		Physical fitness	Exercise, strength, and cardiovascular endurance.	Exercise
		Psychological health	Mental health	Mental health
		Safety and security	Includes prevention, safety rules, preventing abuse, avoiding injury and accidents, preparing for fires in the home, safety on the job, dealing with occupational hazards, and staying safe during an earthquake or other natural disaster.	Safety rules
		Self image	Body image, self perception	Body image
		Sex	Includes sexuality, sex education, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs).	Sexuality, Sex education
	Science and technological challenges in society		Includes setting policy, informing the public, the funding of research, the reciprocal effects of science and society on each other, the reciprocal effects of technology and society, the limitations of science and technology, and risk assessment.
Physical science
	Chemical reactions			Combustion
	Acid base reactions		Titration
		Catalysts
		Combustion
		Conservation of mass
		Ionic reactions
		Oxidation reduction reactions		Redox reactions
		Reaction rates
		Stoichiometry	Study of the quantities of materials consumed and produced by chemical reactions. (ERIC)
	Electricity
		Batteries
		Circuits
		Electrochemistry
		Electromagnetism
	Electromagnetic radiation
	Energy			Mechanical energy, Thermal energy
		Conservation of energy
		Energy transfer	Moving the same type of energy from one place to another
		Energy transformation
		Entropy
		Kinetic energy
		Potential energy
		Thermodynamics
	Forces and motion			Circular motion, Harmonic motion, Mechanics
		Acceleration
		Electrical forces
		Electromagnetic forces
		Electrostatic forces
		Friction
		Gravity
		Inertia
		Magnetism		Magnets
		Mass
		Momentum
		Newton’s laws of motion
		Simple machines
		Speed
		Vectors
		Velocity
		Weight
		Work
	Gas laws
	Heat
		Conduction
		Convection
		Kinetic molecular theory		Kinetic theory, Modular structure (used by ERIC)
		Radiation	Process of energy emission. (ERIC)
		Temperature		Climate (used by ERIC)
	Light		Only use this subject when cataloging a resource about visible light.	Optics, Visible light
		Absorption
		Lasers
		Lenses
		Mirrors
		Photochemistry
		Reflection
		Refraction
		Transmission
	Nuclear reactions
		Fission
		Fusion
		Heavy elements	Use when smaller elements are joined to form heavier elements.
		Radioactivity
	Properties of materials
		Acids and bases		Indicators, Buffers, pH
		Chemical changes	Also known as chemical reactions, a substance is transformed into a chemically different substance.
		Chemical properties	Describes the way a substance may change or "react" to form other substances.
		Physical changes	A substance changes its physical appearance but not its basic identity. All changes of state (e.g. solid to liquid to gas) are physical changes.
		Physical properties	Properties we can measure without changing the basic identity of the substance; examples are solubility, malleability, ductility, etc.
	Sound		Science of sound -- includes the study of the transmission of sound through various media or in various enclosures. (ERIC)	Acoustics (used by ERIC)
		Music
	States of matter
		Gases
		Liquids
		Solids
	Structure of matter
		Atomic mass		Atomic number
		Atomic theory		Nuclear physics (used by ERIC)
		Atomic weight
		Atoms
		Chemical formulas
		Classification
		Compounds
		Covalent bonds
		Crystalline solids		Salts
		Electron configuration
		Elements
		Hydrogen bonds
		Ionic bonds
		Ions
		Isotopes
		Molecular geometry
		Molecules
		Organic molecules
		Periodic table
		Polymers		Plastics (used by ERIC)
		Subatomic particles		Protons, Electrons, Neutrons, Quarks, Gluons
Science and technology
	Agricultural technology			Farming technology
	Biotechnology		Application note: It's fine to also add health technology if the resource stresses the health application of the biotechnology. The same best practice also applies to agricultural technology.
	Energy technology		Study and/or application of energy transfer or generation processes.	Power technology (used by ERIC)
	Engineering technology
	Environmental technology		Can include resources about technologies for environmental protection or remediation.
	Health technology			Medicine, Medical technology
	Information and communications technology		Includes resources about technologies such as remote sensing, GIS, computers, the Internet, and telecommunications.
	Materials and manufacturing		Includes materials science.	Materials science
	Nature of science and technology		Includes how science and technology influence each other and the similarities and differences between science and technology.
	Space technology			Astronautics, Space program, Space shuttle, Space station, Space flight
	Technological design		Use for resources about design and the design process.
	Transportation technology	Includes resources about airplanes and flight, trains, wheels, ships, automobiles, etc.	Aeronautics, Aerodynamics, Aircraft
Science as inquiry
	Science process skills		Broadly transferable intellectual skills, appropriate to all scientific endeavors -- includes basic process skills (e.g., observing, inferring, measuring, communicating, classifying, predicting, using time-space relations, using numbers) and integrated process skills (e.g., controlling variables, defining operationally, formulating hypotheses, interpreting data, experimenting, formulating models). (ERIC)
		Analyzing data	Preparation of factual information items for dissemination or further treatment (includes compiling, verifying, ordering, classifying, and interpreting). (ERIC)	Data analysis (used by ERIC and in Math Subject List)
		Asking questions	Method or process of seeking knowledge, understanding, or information. (ERIC)	Inquiry (used by ERIC)
		Classifying	Ordering of related phenomena into categories, groups, families, or systems according to characteristics or attributes. (ERIC)||Classification (used by ERIC)
		Collecting data	Generating or bringing together information that has been systematically observed, recorded, organized, categorized, or defined in such a way that logical processing and inferences may occur. (ERIC)	Data collection (used by ERIC, data analysis is the broader term)
		Communicating	Transmission and reception of signals or meanings through a system of symbols (codes, gestures, language, etc.) common to sender and receiver. (ERIC)	Communication, Communication (Thought transfer) (used by ERIC)
		Experimenting		Designing experiments, Conducting experiments, Indentifying variables, Controlling variables, Experimentation, Experiments (used by ERIC)
		Hypothesizing	Processes by which hypotheses are accepted or rejected. (ERIC) ||Hypothesis testing (used by ERIC)
		Interpreting data	Explanation of the meaning, implications, or limitations of factual information. (ERIC) ||Data interpretation (used by ERIC)
		Measuring	Process of obtaining a numerical description of the extent to which persons, organizations, or things possess specified characteristics. (ERIC)	Measurement (used by ERIC)
		Modeling
		Observing	Directed or intentional examination of persons, situations, or things to obtain information -- includes the quantified values by which observed facts are represented. (ERIC)	Observation (used by ERIC)
		Predicting	Process or act of foretelling future events, conditions, outcomes, or trends on the basis of current information. (ERIC)	Prediction (used by ERIC)
		Scientific habits of mind	Process of reasoning from premise to conclusion. (ERIC)	Critical thinking, Skepticism, Logical thinking (used by ERIC)
		Using mathematics	Complex behaviors developed through practice in order to complete mathematical tasks (Note: Use for documents whose specific focus is on the acquisition and/or use of mathematics skills -- do not use as an automatic adjunct to "Mathematics Curriculum," "Mathematics Education," etc.) (ERIC)	Mathematics skills (used by ERIC)
		Using scientific equipment
		Using technology

Disclaimer

The ENCdl Science Subject List work was funded through NSF NSDL Grant Number DUE 128632, Developing a National Digital Library Science Metadata Schema, as a supplement to the National Digital Library for Undergraduate Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Teacher Preparation and Professional Development Digital Library Project, NSF NSDL Grant Number DUE 008534 and the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse, U.S. Department of Education, Contract No. RJ97071001. The ideas and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the National Science Foundation or the U.S. Department of Education.

Copyright

The Ohio State University holds copyright on all original materials we publish but grants permission for materials to be reproduced or to be adapted and used by others under a Creative Commons 3.0 Share-Alike license. Please contact Kimberly Lightle if you plan on using this resource.

Please use the following format to credit OSU.

Reprinted/Modified from ENCdl science subject list, version 1.0. Retrieved [insert date], from NSDL Middle School Portal: ENCdl Science Subject List. Copyright The Ohio State University.