General Science Flash Card Set 184764

Cards 10
Topics Acceleration, Blood Types, Decomposers, Fermentation, Fronts, Large Intestine, Meiosis, Phase Transition, Plate Tectonics, Proteins

Study Guide

Acceleration

Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity per unit of time. In physics, the delta symbol (\(\Delta\)) represents change so the formula for acceleration becomes \(\vec{a} = { \Delta \vec{v} \over t }\)

Blood Types

Blood is categorized into four different types (A, B, AB, and O) based on the type of antigens found on the outside of the red blood cells. Additionally, each type can be negative or positive based on whether or not the cells have an antigen called the Rh factor.

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.

Fermentation

If no oxygen is present, cellular respiration is anaerobic and will result in fermentation where either lactic acid or alcohol is used instead of oxygen.

Fronts

An air mass is a large body of air that has similar moisture (density) and temperature characteristics. A front is a transition zone between two air masses.

Large Intestine

The large intestine (colon) follows the small intestine and processes the physical waste produced by digestion, absorbing water and minerials that remain back into the body. Solid waste is then stored in the rectum while liquid waste is stored in the bladder.

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.

Phase Transition

A substance undergoes a phase transition when it moves from one state of matter to another, for example, when water freezes or boils.

Plate Tectonics

The crust and the rigid lithosphere (upper mantle) is made up of approximately thirty separate plates. These plates more very slowly on the slightly more liquid mantle (asthenosphere) beneath them. This movement has resulted in continental drift which is the gradual movement of land masses across Earth's surface. Continental drift is a very slow process, occurring over hundreds of millions of years.

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.