ASVAB General Science Practice Test 845289

Questions 5
Topics Decomposers, Prefixes, Vectors, Velocity, Warm Front

Study Guide

Decomposers

Decomposers (saprotrophs) are organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break down the organic matter in the dead bodies of plants and animals into simple nutrients.

Prefixes

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
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: \(\vec{v}\)

Velocity

Velocity is the rate at which an object changes position. Rate is measured in time and position is measured in displacement so the formula for velocity becomes \(\vec{v} = { \vec{d} \over t } \)

Warm Front

A warm front is the boundary between warm and cool (or cold) air when the warm air is replacing the cold air. Warm air at the surface pushes above the cool air mass creating clouds and storms.