Science 1

• Earth's Spheres:

  • Lithosphere: solid, outer part of the Earth
  • Hydrosphere: total amount of water on a planet
  • Atmosphere: layer of gases surrounding a planet
  • Biosphere: part of the world where life can exist
• Igneous rocks are formed from the cooling of magma underneath the Earth's surface (e.g., Rhyolite, Granite, Basalt)
• Sedimentary rocks are formed from pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organisms (e.g., limestone, conglomerate, dolomite, shale)
• Metamorphic rocks are formed through the alteration of preexisting rocks in response to changing environmental conditions (e.g., marble from limestone, slate from shale)
• Weathering is the breakdown of rocks at the Earth's surface by rainwater, temperature extremes, and biological activity
• Erosion is the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces like wind or water
• Lithification is the process by which unconsolidated materials are converted into solid rock, through compaction or cementation
• Meteorology is concerned with the processes and phenomena of the atmosphere, especially in weather forecasting
• Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, and pressure
• Climate is the long-term average weather conditions for a specific region (minimum 30 years)
• Nitrogen, 78% of gases in Earth's Atmosphere, reacts with chemicals to produce nitrates used by living things in protein manufacturing
• Nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere by the process of decay
• Oxygen, 21% of gases in Earth's Atmosphere, is used for respiration and combustion processes
• Troposphere is the layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth's surface, containing 75% of the atmosphere's mass
• Stratosphere lies directly above the troposphere, about 35 km deep, and is warmer at the top than the bottom
• Mesosphere is directly above the stratosphere, extending from 50 to 80 km above the Earth's surface, and is a cold layer
• Thermosphere extends from 80 km above the Earth's surface to outer space, with temperatures reaching thousands of degrees
• Exosphere is the most external layer of the atmosphere, with a temperature exceeding 2000 °C
• Ecology is a branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment
• Biotic factors are all living factors in the environment, while abiotic factors are nonliving but essential to living organisms
• Population is the number of organisms of the same species living in a particular geographic area at the same time
• Community is an ecological unit composed of a group of organisms or different species interacting in a particular area
• Ecosystem includes all living organisms (biotic factors) and physical environment (abiotic factors) functioning together as a unit
• Biome is an area classified by the plants and animals that live in it
• Nebular theory describes the formation of our solar system from a nebula cloud around 4.5 billion years ago
• Ptolemaic Theory stated Earth was at the center of the universe with planets revolving around it
• Copernican Theory published in 1543 by Copernicus stated Earth and planets revolve around the sun
• Planets orbit a star, are spherical due to gravity, and have cleared their orbit of similar-sized objects
• Asteroids are rocky objects in space, mostly found between Mars and Jupiter
• Meteoroids are small chunks of rock or iron traveling through space
• Comets are balls of frozen gases, rock, and dust that orbit the sun, forming tails visible from Earth
• Solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, obscuring Earth's view of the Sun
• Biology, from "bios" meaning life and "logos" meaning study, is the science of life and living organisms
• Cells are the basic unit of life, either single or multicellular, arising from pre-existing cells
• Amyloplasts are organelles in some plant cells that store starch, found in starchy plants like tubers and fruits
• Cell wall, existing in plant cells only, is a thick, rigid membrane that surrounds a plant cell, providing support and structure
• Cell membrane is the semi-permeable membrane present within the cell wall, regulating substance entry and exit
• Centrosome, near the nucleus, is where microtubules are made
• Chlorophyll uses light energy for photosynthesis, found in chloroplasts
• Cytoplasm is the material outside the cell nucleus where organelles are located