General Science Flash Card Set 246574

Cards 10
Topics Blood Cells, Cerebrum, Consumers, Frequency, Infiltration, Liver, Medulla, Stratosphere, Types of Rock, Vectors

Study Guide

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.

Cerebrum

The cerebrum is the major part of the brain and is responsible for the main senses (thinking, hearing, seeing).

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.

Frequency

The rate of vibration of sound is called frequency and is measured in hertz (Hz). One hertz is one repetition per second and sounds with high frequency have a higher pitch than sounds with lower frequency. Humans can hear sounds in the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

Infiltration

The water then accumulates as runoff and eventually returns to bodies of water or is absorbed into the Earth (infiltration) and becomes part of the water table, an underground resevoir of fresh water.

Liver

The liver produces bile which emulsifies (separates) fat.

Medulla

Part of the brainstem, the medulla is the connection between the brain and the spinal cord. It controls involuntary actions like breathing, swallowing, and heartbeat.

Stratosphere

The stratosphere is just above the troposphere and is stratified in temperature with warmer layers higher and cooler layers closer to Earth. This increase in temperature is a result of absorption of the Sun's radiation by the ozone layer.

Types of Rock

The Earth's rocks fall into three categories based on how they're formed. Igneous rock (granite, basalt, obsidian) is formed from the hardening of molten rock (lava), sedimentary rock (shale, sandstone, coal) is formed by the gradual despositing and cementing of rock and other debris, and metamorphic rock (marble, slate, quartzite) which is formed when existing rock is altered though pressure, temperature, or chemical processes.

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: \(\vec{v}\)