General Science Flash Card Set 457676

Cards 10
Topics Asteroids, Cell Membrane, Fermentation, Mouth & Throat, Pancreas, Prefixes, Species Groups, Terrestrial Planets, Traits, Vectors

Study Guide

Asteroids

The solar system also contains over a million rocky fragments of at least 1km in diameter called asteroids as well as millions more with smaller diameters. Many of these asteroids are an asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Cell Membrane

Animal cells are surrounded by a semipermeable membrane which allows for the transfer of water and oxygen to and from the cell. In plant cells, the cell membrane is surrounded by a somewhat rigid cell wall which provides the cell structure and support.

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.

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.

Pancreas

The acids produced by the pancreas contain several enzymes that aid in digestion. Lipase converts fat to glycerol and fatty acids. Pancreatic amylase breaks down complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. Trypsin converts polypeptides (the building blocks of protein) into amino acids.

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
Species Groups

A population is a group of organisms of the same species who live in the same area at the same time. A community is a group of populations living and interacting with each other in an area.

Terrestrial Planets

The four planets closest to the Sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are called terrestrial (Earth-like) planets because, like the Earth, they're solid with inner metal cores covered by rocky surfaces.

Traits

The traits represented by genes are inherited independently of each other (one from the male and one from the female gamete) and a trait can be dominant or recessive. A dominant trait will be expressed when paired with a recessive trait while two copies of a recessive trait (one from each parent) must be present for the recessive trait to be expressed.

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: \(\vec{v}\)