General Science Flash Card Set 793387

Cards 10
Topics Autonomic Nervous System, Blood Cells, Classification of Life, Compound, Endoskeleton, Fats, Molecule, Phase Transition, Secondary Consumers, Water Cycle

Study Guide

Autonomic Nervous System

Part of the peripheral nervous system, the autonomic nervous system regulates involuntary activity in the heart, stomach, and intestines.

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.

Classification of Life

Classifications of life are too numerous to enumerate, here's an overview of the classifications from broadest to narrowist:

Classification Contains Related
Kingdom phyla
Phylum classes
Class orders
Order families
Family genera
Genus species
Species organisms

Compound

A compound is a substance containing two or more different chemical elements bound together by a chemical bond. In covalent compounds, electrons are shared between atoms. In ionic compounds, one atom borrows an electron from another atom resulting in two ions (electrically charged atoms) of opposite polarities that then become bonded electrostatically.

Endoskeleton

An endoskeleton (internal skeleton) is a charateristic of vertebrate animals, including humans.

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.

Molecule

A molecule is the smallest multi-atom particle of an element or compound that can exist and still retain the characteristics of the element or compound. The molecules of elements consist of two or more similar atoms, the molecules of compounds consist of two or more different atoms.

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.

Secondary Consumers

Secondary consumers (carnivores) subsist mainly on primary consumers. Omnivores are secondary consumers that also eat producers. Examples are rats, fish, and chickens.

Water Cycle

The water (hydrologic) cycle describes the movement of water from Earth through the atmosphere and back to Earth. The cycle starts when water evaporates into a gas from bodies of water like rivers, lakes and oceans or transpirates from the leaves of plants.