General Science Flash Card Set 52669

Cards 10
Topics Acidity, Consumers, Element, Filtering Air, Health Benefits of Vitamins & Minerals, Light Waves, Mouth & Throat, Periods, Secondary Consumers, Spinal Cord

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.

Consumers

Most animals consume other organisms to survive. Consumers (heterotrophs) are divided into three types, primary, secondary, and tertiary, based on their place in the food chain.

Element

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

Filtering Air

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.

Health Benefits of Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamin / Mineral Sources Health Benefits
Calcium Dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese), spinach. Aids bone growth and repair, muscle function.
Iron Red meat, beans, whole grains. Allows red blood cells to transfer oxygen to body tissues.
Magnesium Nuts, whole grains, green leafy vegetables. Muscle, nerve, and enzyme function.
Potassium Bananas, nuts, seeds. Helps balance fluid levels in the body.
Vitamin A Liver, milk, eggs, carrots. Vision, immune system, cell growth.
Vitamin C Green and red peppers, citrus fruits, broccoli. Collagen formation, immune system function, antioxidant (helps protect cells from damage).
Vitamin D Exposure to sunlight. Helps calcium strengthen bones, muscle, nerve, and immune system function.
Light Waves

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.

Mouth & Throat

Digestion begins in the mouth where the teeth and tongue break down food mechanically through chewing and saliva, via the enzyme salivary amylase, starts to break starches down chemically. From the mouth, food travels down the esophagus where contractions push the food into the stomach.

Periods

The rows of the Periodic Table are called periods and contain elements that have the same number of electron shells ordered from lower to higher atomic number.

Secondary Consumers

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

Spinal Cord

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.