2-D: Short for two-dimensional. This term is an adjective for something in a flat world, meaning it has features that can be described in only two dimensions — width and length.
3-D: Short for three-dimensional. This term is an adjective for something that has features that can be described in three dimensions — height, width and length.
4-D: An adjective that refers to being able to define something in terms of four dimensions: height, width, depth and time.
degree: (in geometry) A unit of measurement for angles. Each degree equals one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of the circumference of a circle.
dimension: Descriptive features of something that can be measured, such as length, width or time.
latitude: The distance from the equator measured in degrees (up to 90). Low latitudes are closer to the equator; high latitudes are closer to the poles.
longitude: The distance (measured in angular degrees) from an imaginary line — called the prime meridian — that would run across Earth’s surface from the North Pole to the South Pole, along the way passing through Greenwich, England.
New Zealand: An island nation in the southwest Pacific Ocean, roughly 1,500 kilometers (some 900 miles) east of Australia. Its “mainland” — consisting of a North and South Island — is quite volcanically active. In addition, the country includes many far smaller offshore islands.
parallel: An adjective that describes two things that are side by side and have the same distance between their parts. In the word “all,” the final two letters are parallel lines. Or two things, events or processes that have much in common if compared side by side.
physics: The scientific study of the nature and properties of matter and energy. Classical physics is an explanation of the nature and properties of matter and energy that relies on descriptions such as Newton’s laws of motion. Quantum physics, a field of study that emerged later, is a more accurate way of explaining the motions and behavior of matter. A scientist who works in such areas is known as a physicist.
plane: (in mathematics) A flat 2-dimensional surface, meaning it has length and width but no depth. A plane also extends infinitely in all directions.
point: (in mathematics) A precise point in space that is so small that it has no size. It merely has an address.
relativity: (in physics) A theory developed by physicist Albert Einstein showing that neither space nor time are constant, but instead affected by one’s velocity and the mass of things in your vicinity.
science fiction: A field of literary or filmed stories that take place against a backdrop of fantasy, usually based on speculations about how science and engineering will direct developments in the distant future. The plots in many of these stories focus on space travel, exaggerated changes attributed to evolution or life in (or on) alien worlds.
sea level: The overall level of the ocean over the entire globe when all tides and other short-term changes are averaged out.
square: (in geometry) A rectangle with four sides of equal length.
theory: (in science) A description of some aspect of the natural world based on extensive observations, tests and reason. A theory can also be a way of organizing a broad body of knowledge that applies in a broad range of circumstances to explain what will happen. Unlike the common definition of theory, a theory in science is not just a hunch. Ideas or conclusions that are based on a theory — and not yet on firm data or observations — are referred to as theoretical. Scientists who use mathematics and/or existing data to project what might happen in new situations are known as theorists.
universe: The entire cosmos: All things that exist throughout space and time. It has been expanding since its formation during an event known as the Big Bang, some 13.8 billion years ago (give or take a few hundred million years).
wormhole: (in physics) A tunnel or bridge formed by the warping of spacetime that would allow objects to take a shortcut path between two distant places in space and time. Although none has yet been witnessed, Einstein’s theory of general relativity predicted that they could exist.
