General Science Flash Card Set 772574

Cards 10
Topics Acidity, Blood Cells, Crust, Element, Fats, Menstruation, Pancreas, Proteins, Stomach, Vectors

Study Guide

Acidity

An acid is a substance that gives up positively charged hydrogen ions (H+) when dissolved in water. A base (alkaline) gives up negatively charged hydroxide ions (OH-) when dissolved in water. pH is a scale that measures of how basic or acidic a solution is. Numbered from 0 to 14, solutions with a pH of 7 are neutral, less than 7 are acidic, more than 7 are alkaline.

Blood Cells

Blood is created in bone marrow and is made up of cells suspended in liquid plasma. Red blood cells carry oxygen, white blood cells fight infection, and platelets are cell fragments that allow blood to clot.

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.

Element

An element is matter than cannot be separated into different types of matter by ordinary chemical methods.

Fats

Like carbohydrates, fats provide energy to the body. The difference is energy from fats tends to be longer burning as opposed to the quick fuel provided by carbohydrates. Fats come in three types, saturated (meats, shellfish, eggs, milk), monounsaturated (olives, almonds, avocados), and polyunsaturated (vegetable oils). Saturated fats can raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol while unsaturated fats can decrease it.

Menstruation

If the ovum fails to become fertilized, the lining of the uterus sloughs off during menstruation. From puberty to menopause, this cycle of menstruation repeats monthly (except during pregnancy).

Pancreas

The acids produced by the pancreas contain several enzymes that aid in digestion. Lipase converts fat to glycerol and fatty acids. Pancreatic amylase breaks down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. Trypsin converts polypeptides (the building blocks of protein) into amino acids.

Proteins

Found in both animal sources (meat, fish, eggs, cheese) and vegetables (beans, nuts, some grains), proteins are important for the body's maintenance, growth, and repair.

Stomach

Food is mixed with gastric acid and pepsin in the stomach to help break down protein.

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: \(\vec{v}\)