Glossary
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Phenology | The timing of natural events, such as flower blooms and animal migration, which is influenced by changes in climate. Phenology is the study of such important seasonal events. Phenological events are influenced by a combination of climate factors, including light, temperature, rainfall, and humidity. Climate Change |
| Phenotype | The observable traits of an organism, resulting from its genes and environment. Science General |
| Photon | A particle of light, the smallest unit of electromagnetic energy. Science General |
| Photosynthesis | The process by which plants take CO<sub>2</sub> from the air (or bicarbonate in water) to build carbohydrates, releasing O<sub>2</sub> in the process. There are several pathways of photosynthesis with different responses to atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations. Climate Change |
| Phrenology | Phrenology is a 19th-century pseudoscience, developed by Franz Joseph Gall in 1796, that claimed personality traits and intellectual abilities could be determined by measuring bumps and indentations on the skull. Alternative Medicine |
| Physics | The branch of science that studies matter, energy, motion, forces, space, and time. Science General |
| Placebo | A fake treatment that should have no effect outside the power of suggestion. Example: In drug trials, test patients may be given a pill containing the drug or a placebo, which resembles the drug (pill, injection, liquid) but doesn't contain the active ingredient. Science General |
| Placebo effect | A real or perceived improvement in symptoms caused by expectations rather than the treatment itself. Controlled trials are designed to account for it. Science Literacy |
| Placebo-Controlled Trial | A trial in which one group receives the intervention and another receives an inactive substance, so that true effects can be distinguished from expectation and chance. Vaccines |
| Plagiarism | Appropriating another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving proper credit. Public Trust |