Questions | 5 |
Topics | Filtering Air, Geologic Time Scale, Light Waves, Prefixes, Spinal Cord |
After air enters through the nose, it passes through the nasal cavity which filters, moistens, and warms it. Further filtering takes place in the pharynx, which also helps protect against infection, and then in the trachea which is just past the epiglottis, responsible for preventing food from entering the airway.
The Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old and its history is divided into time periods based on the events that took place and the forms of life that were dominant during those periods. The largest graduation of time is the eon and each eon is subdivided into eras, eras into periods, periods into epochs, and epochs into ages.
Unlike mechanical sound waves that require a physical medium for propagation, light waves are electromagnetic and can travel through empty space. Light waves are also much faster, travelling at 186,000 m/s vs. 343 m/s for sound waves.
A prefix is added to the base units of the metric system to indicate variations in size. Each prefix specifies a value relative to the base unit in a multiple of 10. Common prefixes are:
Prefix | Symbol | Relative Value | Example |
---|---|---|---|
mega | M | 106 (1,000,000) | Mm |
kilo | k | 103 (1,000) | km |
base unit | N/A | 1 | m |
centi | c | 10-2 (1/100) | cm |
milli | m | 10-3 (1/1,000) | mm |
The spinal cord connects the brain to the body's network of nerves. It carries impulses between all organs and the brain and controls simple reflexes.