General Science Flash Card Set 264972

Cards 10
Topics Base Units, Biosphere, Crust, Domain, Electron, Meiosis, Solid, Species Groups, Stationary Front, Vectors

Study Guide

Base Units
Measurement Base Unit Example
length / distance meter (m) km
mass gram (g) kg
volume liter (L) mL
volume (medical) cubic centimeter (cc) cc
time second (s), minute (min), hour (h) ms, min, h
temperature centigrade (°C) °C

Biosphere

The biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships. This includes their interactions with the lithosphere (the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle), hydrosphere (all surface water), and atmosphere (the envelope of gases surrounding the planet).

Crust

The crust is the Earth's outermost layer and is divided into oceanic and continental types. Oceanic crust is 3 miles (5 km) to 6 miles (10 km) thick and is composed primarily of denser rock. Continental crust is 20 to 30 miles (30 to 50 km) thick and composed primarily of less dense rock. The crust makes up approximately one percent of the Earth's total volume.

Domain

The broadest classification of life splits all organisms into three groups called domains. The three domains of life are bacteria, archaea and eukaryota.

Electron

An electron is a subatomic particle that orbits the nucleus of an atom. It carries a negative electric charge. Generally, an atom has the same number of negative electrons orbiting the nucleus as it does positive protons inside.

Meiosis

Reproductive (haploid) cells known as gametes have half as many (23) pairs of chromosomes as normal (diploid) cells. When the male gamete (sperm) combines with the female gamete (ovum) through meiosis to form a zygote, each gamete supplies half the chromosomes needed to form the normal diploid cells.

Solid

An element in a solid state has atoms or molecules that are constricted and do not move freely. Solids maintain a constant volume and shape and exist at a lower temperature than liquids or gases.

Species Groups

A population is a group of organisms of the same species who live in the same area at the same time. A community is a group of populations living and interacting with each other in an area.

Stationary Front

When two air masses meet and neither is displaced, a stationary front is created. Stationary fronts often cause persistent cloudy wet weather.

Vectors

Velocity and displacement are vector quantities which means each is fully described by both a magnitude and a direction. In contrast, scalar quantities are quantities that are fully described by a magnitude only. A variable indicating a vector quantity will often be shown with an arrow symbol: \(\vec{v}\)