General Science Flash Card Set 791859

Cards 10
Topics Biome, Cerebellum, Cold Front, Geologic Time Scale, Meiosis, Mesosphere, Primary Consumers, Radiation, Stratus Clouds, Third Law of Motion

Study Guide

Biome

A biome is a large naturally occurring community of flora (plants) and fauna (animals) occupying a major habitat (home or environment).

Cerebellum

The cerebellum is a large cluster of nerves at the base of the brain that's responsible for balance, movement, and muscle coordination.

Cold Front

A cold front is a warm-cold air boundary with the colder air replacing the warmer. As a cold front moves into an area, the heavier cool air pushes under the lighter warm air that it is replacing. The warm air becomes cooler as it rises and, if the rising air is humid enough, the water vapor it contains will condense into clouds and precipitation may fall.

Geologic Time Scale

The Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old and its history is divided into time periods based on the events that took place and the forms of life that were dominant during those periods. The largest graduation of time is the eon and each eon is subdivided into eras, eras into periods, periods into epochs, and epochs into ages.

Meiosis

Reproductive (haploid) cells known as gametes have half as many (23) pairs of chromosomes as normal (diploid) cells. When the male gamete (sperm) combines with the female gamete (ovum) through meiosis to form a zygote, each gamete supplies half the chromosomes needed to form the normal diploid cells.

Mesosphere

In the mesosphere, temperature again drops as altitude increases until the coldest point in the Earth's atmosphere, the mesopause, is reached where temperatures fall to −225 °F (−143 °C).

Primary Consumers

Primary consumers (herbivores) subsist on producers like plants and fungus. Examples are grasshoppers, cows, and plankton.

Radiation

Radiation occurs when electromagnetic waves transmit heat. An example is the heat from the Sun as it travels to Earth.

Stratus Clouds

Clouds are categorized based on their shape, size, and altitude. Stratus clouds are low-altitude clouds characterized by horizontal layering with a broad flat base. When stratus clouds occur on the ground the result is fog.

Third Law of Motion

Newton's third law of motion states that For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When an object exerts a force on another object, the second object exerts a force of equal magnitude in the opposite direction on the first object.