1. optical
adj. relating to sight or to what one sees; connected with the relationship between light and sight
ocular, visual, optic
The new X-ray microscopes considerably improve on the resolution provided by optical microscopes.
2. panel
n. a rectangular board forming a section board, pane
The instrument panel of a light airplane has at least a dozen instruments the pilot must watch.
3. perseverance
n. a continued effort to achieve something despite setbacks persistence, patience, endurance
The researcher’s discovery was based on over thirty years of perseverance and sweat.
4. self-consistent
adj. not self-contradictory self-evident, self-explaining
Although the phlogiston theory was self-consistent, it was awkward because it required that imaginative, even mysterious, properties be ascribed to phlogiston.
5. scarce
adj. less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable scant, rare, lacking
The scarce fossils of the Proterozoic, mostly single-celled bacteria, provide little evidence for glaciation.
6. assure
v. to state positively and confidently; to guarantee ensure, assert
Nesting material should be added in sufficient amounts to avoid both extreme temperature situations and to assure that the eggs have a soft, secure place to rest.
7. concede
v. to acknowledge as true, just, or proper admit, accept, acknowledge
Darwin himself conceded that the missing fossil record could be used as an argument against the validity of his theory.
8. principal
adj. first in rank or importance chief, primary, important
Darwin was an amazing man and was the principal founder of evolutionary biology.
9. puncture
v. to make a small hole in something
perforate, pierce, stab
The external surfaces of plants often carry spiky hairs known as trichomes, which either prevent feeling by insects or may even puncture and kill insect larvae.
10. reproductive
adj. producing new life or offspring generative, procreative
These fish have not had a chance to mature long enough to become reproductive.
11. repertoire
n. the list of things that a performer is ready to perform repertory, stockpile, collection
Plovers have an effective repertoire of tricks for distracting potential nest predators from their exposed and defenseless eggs.
12. deft
adj. skillful and quick dexterous, handy
As a rule, large-billed crossbills are better at seeking seeds from large cones while small-billed crossbills are more deft at removing the seeds from small, thin-scaled cones.
13. squirt
v. to shoot a liquid or something else out in a narrow jet spout, gush, jet
When the sea cucumber is attacked, it squirts all its internal organs into the water.
14. gear
v. to adjust to a particular situation in order to bring about satisfactory results adjust, fit, tailor
A consequence of right-hand dominance is that most common consumer products are geared to right-handers only.
15. free
v. to allow someone to move without restriction release, emancipate, liberate
The increasing water pressure under the glacier might lift it off its bed, overcoming the friction between ice and rock, thus freeing the glacier.
16. hazy
adj. not clear or exact foggy, faint, vague
When it comes to predicting an earthquake, it is a very hazy area.
17. nutrient
n. a chemical or food that provides what is needed for life and growth nourishment
Since the dam was built, the sediments, rich with nutrients, are fewer, and the fish are also fewer.
18. residue
n. what remains of something or is left over remainder, remains, rest
The water can be drawn off and evaporated, leaving a residue of clay, which can be weighed.
19. sag
v. to bend, sink, or hang down, especially in the middle droop, dip, drop
Each piece of clay can stand only a certain amount of heat without losing its shape through sagging or melting.
20. segment
n. a part of something that is different from the whole section, portion, fragment
The cable ship will move on to repeat the process and lay another segment of cable.
21. segregate
v. to set apart or to isolate divide, separate, discriminate
The one riddle was that in the Western United States, two kinds of ejecta – quartz and melted rock – are not intermingled but are segregated; the quartz is layered just above the melted rock.
22. convoluted
adj. coiled and twisted curled, entwined, coiled
The convoluted folds of the Earth’s surface and its fractured geological structure tend to absorb the seismic energy of an earthquake.
23. worth (of)
adj. equal in value to something specified; deserving of valuable, qualified, meriting
Floods cause billions of dollars worth of property damage annually.
24. spot
1) v. to search for; to mark with spots 2) n. a place; a small mark or stain 1) detect, identify 2) site, stain
The geographical center of the North American continent is a spot near Balta, North Dakota.
25. adjacent
adj. lying beside or next to something adjoining, bordering, touching
Meteorology studies the currents of free air that are not adjacent to the Earth’s surface but which are higher up in the atmosphere.
26. retain
v. to keep or continue to have something hold, preserve, save
On the moon, there is no air because the moon’s gravitational field is too weak to retain an atmosphere.
27. faint
adj. difficult to see, hear, or smell pale, dim, faded
Astronomers use photography and sighting telescopes to study the motions of all of the bright stars and many of the faint ones.
28. glimpse
v. to see something or someone momentarily spot, glance, peek
This cometary train, glistening like a string of pearls, had been first glimpsed only a few months before its fateful impact with Jupiter.
29. mutate
v. to change and develop a new form modify, alter, transform
The radioactive rays are especially dangerous to humans because they increase the risk of cancer and can negatively alter and mutate DNA.
30. observation
n. the act of noticing or watching watching, viewing, notice
The scientist plans experiments, performs calculations, and makes observations to test hypotheses.
Chapter 05 UNIT 20 Applied Sciences
1. folly
n. a foolish action, practice, or idea idiocy, stupidity, absurdity
However, the artists’ achievements were mocked by the artistic elite of Paris as expensive and ugly follies.
2. regardless of
ph. in spite of; without regard for despite, notwithstanding, heedless of
Potters found it convenient to locate their workshops near their source of clay, regardless of their relation to the center of the settlements.
3. renovation
n. the act of improving by renewing and restoring remodeling, reengineering, upgrade
The renovation of the building will take longer than what had been previously estimated.
4. spacious
adj. having ample room or space; extending over a large area wide, capacious, extensive
By the opening decades of the twentieth century, spacious buildings finally transcended the light confinement of row house building lots.
5. centripetal
adj. acting or moving toward the center of a circle; tending to unify centralized, unifying
Social life is thus centripetal; that is, it is focused around the community center, the village.
6. compete
v. to strive to outdo another for acknowledgment, a prize, supremacy, or profit contend, vie
As the populations expanded, they may have competed with other game species for the same environmental niche.
7. periodic
adj. happening at intervals, especially regular ones periodical, regular, cyclical
This periodic extinction might be due to the intersection of the Earth’s orbit with a cloud of comets.
8. perch
v. to sit or rest on an elevated place or position roost, rest, sit
In Alaska, where eagles perched on fish traps and scared away the salmon, hunters killed more than 100,000 eagles between 1917 and 1952.
9. conversion
n. an act or process of changing something into a different state or form
alteration, metamorphosis, transformation
At least 5,000 years ago, in Europe, deforestation and the conversion of wildlands to pasture began.
10. jolting
adj. moving suddenly and roughly; giving someone a sudden shock jerking, shaking, shocking
The high rate of species extinctions in these environments is jolting.
11. magnitude
n. the great size or importance of something size, enormousness, greatness
However, nothing has ever equaled the magnitude and speed with which the human species is altering the physical and chemical world and demolishing the environment.
12. perish
v. to die; to be destroyed or ruined lose life, expire
When a species can no longer adapt to a changed environment, it may perish.
13. poultry
n. birds such as chickens and ducks that are kept on farms in order to produce eggs and meat domestic fowl
Ducks are less susceptible to infection than other types of poultry.
14. choke
v. to prevent or be prevented from breathing by an obstruction in the throat suffocate, smother, stifle
Oil and the pollutants it causes are choking the life from the planet.
15. combustion
n. the act or process of burning burning, flaming
Oil was in the depths of the planet for millions of years before man found a use for it in the internal combustion engine.
16. tempting cf. temptation adj. attractive; inviting
seductive, enticing, alluring
Many people find chocolate tempting, which accounts for the reason why the chocolate industry is so profitable.