General Science Flash Card Set 891521

Cards 10
Topics Blood Cells, Fronts, Health Benefits of Vitamins & Minerals, Kidneys & Bladder, Magnetism, Mass vs. Weight, Minerals, Mouth & Throat, Pancreas, Water Cycle

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.

Fronts

An air mass is a large body of air that has similar moisture (density) and temperature characteristics. A front is a transition zone between two air masses.

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.
Kidneys & Bladder

Chemical waste like excess water, minerals, and salt are filtered from the blood by the kidneys and secreted into the urine. Urine is transported from the kidneys to the bladder through ureters.

Magnetism

Simple magnets have two poles, north and south, and opposite poles attract each other (N attracts S, S attracts N). Likewise, the same pole of two magnets repel (N repels N, S repels S). The Earth has a magnetic field and North and South Poles which enables the use of a magnetic compass to determine direction.

Mass vs. Weight

Mass is the amount of matter something has while weight is the force exerted on an object's mass by gravity. So, although a person's mass doesn't change when going from the Earth to the Moon, their weight will decrease because the force of the Moon's gravity is much less than that of Earth.

Minerals

Small quantities of certain minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, and salt are important for nutrition and health.

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.

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.