advocate: (n.) Someone who performs work to support some cause, idea or program. For instance, they might campaign for some change, speak up on behalf of someone or something in court (or other public forum), or write commentaries (opinion pieces) on a topic for some news outlet. (v.) The term for the act of doing such work. For instance, Sarah advocated for turning over the group’s bake sale proceeds to buy a new park bench.
algebra: A field of mathematics that describes a way to think about certain relationships that will involve numbers. And not just any particular number, usually, but abstract expressions involving numbers. For instance, instead of saying “1 + 2 = 3” or “3 – 1 = 2,” algebra gives each number a letter to take its place. So it now reads something like a “a + b = c” or “c – a = b.” But any number can substitute for those letters as long as the values on each side of the equal sign are still true. In other words, the a can be a 100 and b can be 101 as long as c = 201. Such expressions with different things on either side of an equals sign are known as algebraic equations.
algorithm: A group of rules or procedures for solving a problem in a series of steps. Algorithms are used in mathematics and in computer programs for figuring out solutions.
analytics: A term largely used in the business world to mean the interpretation of large quantities of data. Similar to statistics, it has a greater focus on real-world applications.
coding: (in genetics) The instructions contained in DNA (or its genes) that allow a cells to know what proteins to make and when to make them. (in computing) A slang term for developing computer programming — or software — that performs a particular, desired computational task.
data: Facts and/or statistics collected together for analysis but not necessarily organized in a way that gives them meaning. For digital information (the type stored by computers), those data typically are numbers stored in a binary code, portrayed as strings of zeros and ones.
electrical engineer: An engineer who designs, builds or analyzes electrical equipment.
electricity: A flow of charge, usually from the movement of negatively charged particles, called electrons.
engineering: The field of research that uses math and science to solve practical problems. Someone who works in this field is known as an engineer.
environmental engineer: A person who uses science to study and solve problems in ecosystems — from forests to the human body.
equation: In mathematics, the statement that two quantities are equal. In geometry, equations are often used to determine the shape of a curve or surface.
feminine: Of or relating to women.
focus: (in behavior) To look or concentrate intently on some particular point or thing.
grad school: Short for graduate school. A university program that offers advanced degrees, such as a Master’s or PhD degree. It’s called graduate school because it is started only after someone has already graduated from college (usually with a four-year degree).
heat stroke: A dangerous illness that can result from prolonged heat exposure. Symptoms tend to include dry skin and a fast heartbeat. Sufferers also may feel dizzy, nauseated and confused. Heat stroke can be fatal.
high school: A designation for grades nine through 12 in the U.S. system of compulsory public education. High-school graduates may apply to colleges for further, advanced education.
hypothermia: A life-threatening medical condition in the core (internal) body temperature falls below 35° Celsius (95° Fahrenheit). In Greek, “hypo” means under or lower than normal, and “therm” means heat.
major: (in education) A subject that a student chooses as their area of focus in college, such as: chemistry, English literature, German, journalism, pre-medicine, electrical engineering or elementary education.
pandemic: An outbreak of disease that affects a large proportion of the population across much or most of the world.
perception: The state of being aware of something — or the process of becoming aware of something — through use of the senses.
PhD: (also known as a doctorate) A type of advanced degree offered by universities — typically after five or six years of study — for work that creates new knowledge. People qualify to begin this type of graduate study only after having first completed a college degree (a program that typically takes four years of study).
policy: A plan, stated guidelines or agreed-upon rules of action to apply in certain specific circumstances. For instance, a school could have a policy on when to permit snow days or how many excused absences it would allow a student in a given year.
risk: The chance or mathematical likelihood that some bad thing might happen. For instance, exposure to radiation poses a risk of cancer. Or the hazard — or peril — itself. (For instance: Among cancer risks that the people faced were radiation and drinking water tainted with arsenic.)
stroke: (in biology and medicine) A condition where blood stops flowing to part of the brain or leaks in the brain.
sustainable: (n. sustainability) An adjective to describe the use of resources in a such a way that they will continue to be available long into the future.
system: A network of parts that together work to achieve some function. For instance, the blood, vessels and heart are primary components of the human body’s circulatory system. Similarly, trains, platforms, tracks, roadway signals and overpasses are among the potential components of a nation’s railway system. System can even be applied to the processes or ideas that are part of some method or ordered set of procedures for getting a task done.
thermostat: A temperature sensor that allows a system to know when a change — either heating or cooling — is called for.
tool: An object that a person or other animal makes or obtains and then uses to carry out some purpose such as reaching food, defending itself or grooming.
unique: Something that is unlike anything else; the only one of its kind.
