| Cards | 10 |
| Topics | Atomic Mass, Compound, Consumers, Medulla, Power, Precipitation, Producers, Troposphere, Types of Rock |
The atomic mass of an element listed in the Periodic Table represents the average mass of a single atom of that element and is measured in atomic mass units (amu). This number is an average as some elements have isotopes with atoms that vary in their number of neturons and, therefore, differ in weight.
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.
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.
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.
Power is the rate at which work is performed or work per unit time: \(P = {w \over t}\) and is measured in watts (W).
Rising into the atmosphere, the water condenses into clouds. When the clouds become too saturated with water, the water is released as snow or ice precipitation which may warm as it falls to reach Earth as rain.
Producers (autotrophs) serve as a food source for other organisms. Typical producers are plants that can make their own food through photosynthesis and certain bacteria that are capable of converting inorganic substances into food through chemosynthesis
The Earth's atmosphere has several layers starting with the troposphere which is closest in proximity to the surface. Containing most of the Earth's breathable air (oxygen and nitrogen), it's a region with warmer temperatures closer to the surface and cooler temperatures farther away which results in the rising and falling air that generates weather.
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.