Project-Based Learning (PBL)

A Glossary of Common NatureMapping Terms

Vocabulary used throughout the NatureMapping curriculum.

November 26, 2008

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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