Project-Based Learning (PBL)

A Glossary of Common NatureMapping Terms

Vocabulary used throughout the NatureMapping curriculum.

November 26, 2008

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We use the terms listed below throughout the curriculum. Please peruse the list and refer back to it when needed.

Analog: Continuous time. An analog clock tells time by moving hands on a clock face from hours 1 to 12.
Digital: Specific time. A digital clock represents finite time (every tenth of a second, for example) via numbers instead of clock hands.
Military time: A method of time keeping through a 24-hour clock, in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours.
Standard time: A method of time keeping through a 12-hour clock, based on the official local time of a region or country.

Species: A class of individuals having common attributes and designated by a common name
Morphology: The form and structure of an organism or any of its parts
Binomen: The scientific name of a species consisting of two parts. The first part is the genus name and the second part is the specific name, e.g., Canis lupus
Common name: The name for an animal species that is in general use within a community, e.g., wolf
Habitat: The area or environment in which an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs
Nocturnal: Active at night
Diurnal: Active during the day
Migrate: To pass periodically from one region or climate to another
Hibernate: To spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition

Vanishing point: In perspective drawing, the point at which receding axes converge
Perspective: Any graphic system used to create the illusion of three-dimensional images or spatial relationships on a two-dimensional surface. There are several types of perspective, such as linear, atmospheric, and projection system.
Horizon line: The line in a perspective drawing where the sky meets the ground. A drawing inside a room has an eye-level line.
Grid system: A series of boxes or circles divided into equal areas

Cardinal directions: North, south, east, and west
Latitude line: Horizontal line on the globe that shows the angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and seconds, of a point north or south of the equator. Lines of latitude are often referred to as parallels; they run from east to west.
Longitude line: Vertical line on the globe that shows the angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and seconds, of a point east or west of the prime meridian. Lines of longitude are often referred to as meridians; they run from north to south.
The Global Positioning System (GPS): A system of satellites, computers, and receivers that is able to determine the latitude and longitude of a receiver on earth by calculating the time difference for signals from different satellites to reach the receiver.

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