[DK] 1000 Words STEM

1OOO

SWTOERDMS
Jules Pottle

Written by Jules Pottle
Editors Sophie Parkes, Robin Moul
Senior Editors James Mitchem, Dawn Sirett
Designers Rachael Hare, Sadie Thomas

Managing Editor Penny Smith
Managing Art Editor Mabel Chan

Art Director Helen Senior
Publishing Director Sarah Larter
Production Editor Abi Maxwell
Production Controller Inderjit Bhullar

First published in Great Britain in 2021 by
Dorling Kindersley Limited

DK, One Embassy Gardens, 8 Viaduct Gardens,
London, SW11 7BW

Imported into the EEA by Dorling Kindersley Verlag GmbH.
Arnulfstr. 124, 80636 Munich, Germany

Copyright © 2021 Dorling Kindersley Limited
A Penguin Random House Company
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
001–321017–Jan/2021

All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced
into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without

the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-0-2414-5896-9
Printed and bound in China

www.dk.com

This book was made with Forest Stewardship
Council ™ certified paper – one small step in
DK’s commitment to a sustainable future. 
For more information go to
www.dk.com/our-green-pledge

1OOO

SWTOERDMS

A note for parents
about STEM…

STEM subjects are those which incorporate science, technology,
engineering, and maths. They often overlap. You need
mathematical measurements to collect the results from a science
experiment. You need to write computer programs to operate
the machines you have engineered. You need to understand the
science of forces to be a structural engineer. STEM subjects are
highly interlinked and many of the words from one subject will
be useful when learning about another.
Children will meet a lot of new words when they begin to study
STEM subjects at school. A great deal of technical vocabulary
is used in these lessons: names for pieces of equipment, names
for things we cannot see (such as forces), and words that describe
a specific property of materials (such as “opaque”). These may all
be new to children.
This book contains topics and words that children are likely
to encounter in their first few years at school. It also includes many
of the topics that fascinate children in this age group, and some
that show how STEM subjects are present in our everyday lives.
A broad vocabulary can help children to access their education
more easily. Spending time with children and talking about the
words and the illustrations in this book will expose them to more
than just the words written here, as they will encounter additional
words as part of the conversation. This book is a great place to
start your child’s STEM education.
Jules Pottle, primary science consultant, teacher, and trainer

4

Contents

6 Hot and cold 36 Measuring
8 Seasons 38 Up high
10 Sound 40 Long ago
12 Machines 42 Plants
14 Space 44 Playground forces
16 Moon landing 46 Laboratory
18 Transport 48 Ecosystems
20 Vehicles 50 Classification of animals
22 Weather 52 Water
24 At the doctor’s 54 Experiments
26 Human body 56 Mixing and cooking
28 Materials 58 Light
30 Underground 60 Sharing and grouping
32 Comparisons 62 Adding and subtracting
34 Junk 64 Acknowledgements

5

Hot and cold

How warm are you right now? Some
places in the world are warm while
others are freezing cold.

fireworks sunglasses

summer hot

Sun

explode orang-utan
Equator fire

bonfire

desert lizard

sand

camel coat flask

cactus icicles hot
6 water
ice bottle
cubes

tree vine
frog

rainforest

snake

monkey North Pole Arctic
butterfly

cold Antarctic
glacier
South Pole

iceberg polar
bear
explorers

orca sea Inuk
penguins 7
snowman

seal

Seasons cold

As the Earth orbits the Sun, snowflake
countries near the North and Christmas
South Poles move through
different seasons. Winter is lights
usually cold. In spring, the
weather gets warmer. It is
hottest in summer, and then
cools down again in autumn.

reindeer

changing
colour

fireworks

fog

rain evergreen tree

umbrella

waterproof snow ice
skates
wet candles

bonfire

wellies falling Diwali
lamp

puddle Hanukkah
lights

autumn leaves winter

8

sky

eggs

bird beach
nest fruit

warm harvest

blossom hot

shade

calf lamb sheep cow
bee tadpoles butterfly
water
watering
can

sunhat

rabbit baby
pollen rabbit

flower sun cool box
cream

shoot

caterpillar spring frog summer

9

Sound beat strings
pluck
The world around us is bursting with
different noises. Do you know what guitar
all of these sound like?

tap

rhythm shake rattle

instrument

music

sound waves

ear whisper traffic
laugh

hearing aid talk
silence
hear

ear bone
deaf

10 listen

voice tune

hum vibration speakers
microphone

splish splash

sing piano

headphones

woof

flute meow
siren

fire engine roar tweet
buzz
volume
mobile phone
bird song

clickety clack tick tock

aeroplane
purr

loud

quiet

11

Machines X-ray
machine
We build machines to help us.
They can be small and simple or
big and complicated.

pulley chain
weight
nuts and turn
bolts

gear

lever

axle

parts

circuit
board

electrician

building

drill

plug mechanic
electricity
crane wire
12

wheelchair computer

hospital television

toaster

calculator clock
pull
scanner home

cog mobile phone fridge
push

lawnmower vacuum
racing car cleaner

power

tractor transport bus
digger wheel
tyre
bike
steam engine

motorbike
13

Space shooting
star
Have you ever looked at the night
sky and wondered what’s out
there, in space?

star black outer
Cassiopeia space
constellation

asteroid

Solar System Mars light

Sun day Earth night Jupiter

14 Venus solar
Mercury panel

satellite Mars
Rover

Hubble Space spin eclipse
Telescope Northern lights
Neptune
Saturn
Uranus
dark
planets

comet Milky Way
astronomer

space telescope
shuttle

galaxy

15

Moon landing radio

What do you think it would be like to be an
astronaut like Neil and Buzz, the first people
to walk on the Moon?

space weightless spacecraft

astronaut

oxygen 0 lift off
tank quiet
space walk float space 1
suit 2
mission 7 3
control 8 4
9 5 boot
10 6

Moon

Buzz Aldrin

16

porthole

zoom

rocket control desk
Apollo 11 airlock

silence

helmet lunar
module

visor landing
site

Moon rock

“lTfeoharapmt’fsaoornn,meoansnemkgainiladl sn.”ttep

glove

crater crescent Moon

Neil Armstrong 17

Transport

There are lots of ways to travel. How many of
these types of transport have you used?

beep horn funicular
railway

4x4 jeep pick-up truck coach
indicator soft top

monster
truck

quad lorry
bike

taxi petrol station charger electric car
engine
steam road
engine

bullet train

underground train tram
18
underground tracks

air glider helicopter

parachute aeroplane

jet plane airport

horse and
carriage

traffic
lights

port container ship containers

sea

sailing boat ferry

monorail bicycle tandem
engineer tricycle
rail 19

Vehicles aerodynamic
fighter
Many machines are designed to move people jet
and things around. We call them vehicles.

lifeboat speedboat ship
submarine army truck tank

dump truck cab backhoe loader

bulldozer caterpillar excavator
20 tracks

drone horse box

baler combine
harvester
tractor tyre pit stop

flag spoiler
streamlined

racing car grip motorbike

ramp siren wheel
fire engine
ambulance police car
crane
garage

jack car lift mechanic

21

Weather

What is the weather like today? It can change from
season to season or from day to day. In some places,
it can even change several times in one day!

rainbow

blue sky

Sun light

bright

hot wind

humid

windmill tornado

sweaty
frozen

wind turbine

dry

22

thunder

cloud storm cloud

storm hail

rain

raindrops lightning

colours

showers mist

snow drizzle
cold
wet

snowstorm damp

ice crystal

chilly

forecast

23

At the doctor’s

The doctor can work out what is wrong with us
and help us to get better when we are poorly.

doctor’s surgery bite
sting
doctor

X-ray recovery
position
hand
washing

tablets medicine

antibiotics patient
taking your
temperature

thermometer sling
plaster

cast

syringe hand gel cream

broken wheelchair
leg

crutches

24

bacteria hospital

virus receptionist ambulance
infection baby

germs

weighing height
scales chart

bandage pregnant midwife
woman
scan

bruise operation

nurse mask surgeon

gloves

heart
monitor

patient

cut operating
table
blood

injury

25

Human body

Your body is amazing! It has so
many parts, and it can do so many
wonderful things!

nose mouth teeth fingers skull
lips
smell tongue glasses

nostril skeleton
bones
freckles ear
spine
neck hear thigh

muscles shin
knee

X-ray foot ankle
26
stethoscope toes

breathe brain

sole forehead
eyebrow
head
taste
shoulder heel
leg
hair

hand

palm

see

eyelashes

chew swallow

arm throat

eye armpit lungs
elbow heart
skin

heartbeat arteries stomach digestion
liver
veins

touch pump intestines
bladder
adults child
27

Materials

The world is made of many different
materials. Some are rare, and some
you might see every single day!

hard iron

diamond steel metals

ruby crystal copper
amethyst lava
emerald
explosive

gravel flint
pebble
sandstone
clay granite

sand solids rock
28

icicle melt oxygen hydrogen
freeze
nitrogen
ice crystal paper carbon dioxide

poisonous gases

sugar crystal plastic air rain
salt crystal
man-made
elastic

rubber band

cotton

recyclable wool
biodegradable

natural glass

wood pearl water
shell
brittle acid
sponge absorbent

coral washing-up liquid 29

liquids

Underground

You can’t always see it, but there is a whole
world in the ground underneath your feet!

anthill microorganism bulbs

ants

insect seeds roots

worm soil badger

clay gerbil sett
den

mole fox hamster
jewellery

coins warren
diamond
rabbit

treasure pot tin
ruins
gold

coal

fossil dinosaur core
skull

mine manhole

fossil underground drain basement
lift car park stairs foundations
mining internet
helmet water pipe
cables gas mains pipe

electricity wires sewer
cables escalator

tube station underground train

limestone

miner rock car tunnel
magma
stalactite

sandstone granite

cave stalagmite
31

Comparisons

You might be tall. You might be short. You might be
early or late, or hot or cold. These kinds of words
help us to describe and compare things.

big

small

smaller bigger

mouse dog T.rex

elephant

blue whale biggest

smallest

microbe slow fast fastest

slowest cheetah racing car

snail tortoise
32

darker dark bright brighter

Moon shallow Sun

equal bath deep

balance swimming pool

light deeper

heavy feather ocean

rock unequal

quieter quiet loud louder loudest

buzz purr

mosquito cat crying baby toot siren
trumpet
temperature

coldest colder cold hot hotter hottest

33

Junk electromagnet

What happens to all the things we throw
away? How many of these things can be
reused or recycled?

backhoe loader

steel

excavator aluminium

landfill repair

engine

reuse

windows

exhaust
pipes

dustbin rubbish truck
scrap
metal rubber
34
junk tyres

rubbish collector

crate scrapyard

incinerator crusher rubbish
plastic bottles toxic
waste compactor
plastic
reduce
electronics
garden waste decompose
lights
recycle

compost

wood boxes

glass food
recycling bin waste bin garden

waste bin

card

paper sorting

foil packaging wrappers batteries
conveyor belt 35
litter

Measuring

If you are doing an experiment or making something, you
often need to measure things. And there are many ways to
measure things!

millimetre height
centimetre

distance short tall

measuring tape length 100 cm = 1 metre

miles day night hour hand minute
kilometres hand
slow

speedometer second
hand
stopwatch clock

timer annual Big
Ben

year

fast

month

speed time

36

weight balance
gram
99p
£2.00 weighing scales kilogram

notes

coins light heavy apples

shopping weight

money

fill

full litre

half empty

hot 2000 container half full
millilitres
cold degrees
thermometer volume

temperature

37

Up high ozone layer

Look up! There are lots of things going on
up there. What can you see above you?

atmosphere clouds cirrus clouds

stratus clouds Empire State
Building
jet
skyscrapers
gnat
helicopter Eiffel
hot-air Tower
balloon
thunder
The satellite lightning
Shard dish
lightning
aerial rod
flag

helium
balloons

38 kite tower block

satellite star meteor planet Sun
biplane
Moon travel

jet stream hang glider

aeroplane

cumulus skydiver
clouds
snowflakes parachute glide
pollen
Chinook

vapour trail

rain flying
seagull

red
kite

birds butterfly

pigeon swallow Everest
mountain

control mist
tower

wind turbine windsock phone mast jet pack
39

Long ago

65 million years ago, dinosaurs were alive. 2.6 million years
ago, large areas of the Earth were covered in ice. The Earth
looks very different today.

palaeontologist

triceratops skeleton bones
reconstruction

fossils albertosaurus skull
teeth
dinosaur poo
plesiosaur
ammonite amber foot

ichthyosaur horseshoe crab
plesiosaur
40

meteor strike pine trees
microraptor
volcano

diplodocus dinosaurs
triceratops
tyrannosaurus

dinosaur eggs stegosaurus

horsetail ice age

mammoth saber tooth tiger

giant ground sloth
41

Plants

Plants are really important to our planet. They make their
food from the carbon dioxide we breathe out, and they
release oxygen back into the air for us to breathe in.

grow stem photosynthesis

soil germinate

Sun

seed roots water oxygen
carbon
leaves dioxide

serrated palmate lobed

rings

branch

trees deciduous evergreen trunk
twig
42

flowers butterfly bud
blossom
stigma

stamen

ovary bee pollinator
pollen
petal

plants

pod green

pine cone soya beans moss climbing plant cactus

stone fruits

nuts apple avocado mango cherries
onion radish
vegetables

asparagus sweet potato

bulb rhizome root vegetable tuber 43

Playground forces

It’s fun to play at the park, but did you know that
parks are full of science? You are using forces all the
time when you play!

pull push

friction swing

force of gravity

force of gravity

slide

balance push up

force of seesaw
gravity

44

pull up

force of
gravity

force of
gravity

climbing frame spring

pushing

push up

centripetal force bouncy toy

roundabout

45

Laboratory atom neutron
proton
Some scientists work in a laboratory. electron
Different scientists use different
equipment. What kind of scientist
would you like to be?

chemistry chemist evolution
lab
chemical safety coat
test tube goggles
acid
biologist

magnifying glass

liquid observe

experiment funnel biology

plant

gas mix Bunsen
burner
idea
conical flask

measure engineer

animal laser

zoologist specimen jar diagram machine

46

theory

pulley results
gravity
pull evidence

DNA Isaac Newton

space

force energy solid
test
physicist physics

acceleration

lever motion astronomer telescope

doctor

prediction nurse

rocket stethoscope
scientist
beaker body
magnet

palaeontologist

microbiologist virus

petri sample virologist
dish bacterium
microscope
fossil
47

Ecosystems

An ecosystem is a group of animals and plants living in a
habitat, with different relationships to each other. Let’s
take a dip into the pond ecosystem. The arrows show how
energy flows, and who benefits from each relationship.

camouflage

toad frog
fish eggs
frogs die and
release nutrients to pondweed puts
help pondweed grow oxygen into water
fish give carbon dioxide
frog spawn to the plants

pond snail

pondweed is
food for snails

pondweed

48