TASC Transdisciplinary Science flashcards
TASC Transdisciplinary Science · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Cell membrane function
- A selectively permeable barrier that controls which substances enter and leave the cell, maintaining internal conditions and separating the cell from its environment.
- Mitochondria
- Organelles in eukaryotic cells that carry out aerobic respiration, converting glucose and oxygen into carbon dioxide, water, and usable ATP energy.
- Chloroplast
- A plant cell organelle containing chlorophyll that captures light energy and uses it to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose during photosynthesis.
- DNA replication
- The process by which a DNA molecule unwinds and each strand serves as a template to build a complementary strand, producing two identical copies.
- Dominant allele
- An allele whose trait is expressed in the phenotype even when only one copy is present, masking the effect of a recessive allele.
- Natural selection
- The process by which organisms with heritable traits that improve survival and reproduction become more common in a population over generations.
- Food chain
- A linear sequence showing how energy flows from producers to primary consumers, then to higher consumers and decomposers in an ecosystem.
- Homeostasis
- The maintenance of stable internal conditions, such as temperature and pH, within an organism despite changes in the external environment.
- Atomic number
- The number of protons in an atom's nucleus, which determines the element's identity and its position on the periodic table.
- Ionic bond
- A chemical bond formed when one atom transfers electrons to another, creating oppositely charged ions that attract each other.
- Covalent bond
- A chemical bond in which two atoms share one or more pairs of electrons, typically forming between nonmetal atoms.
- Law of conservation of mass
- In a chemical reaction, matter is neither created nor destroyed, so the total mass of reactants equals the total mass of products.
- Newton's first law
- An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion at constant velocity unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
- Newton's third law
- For every action force there is an equal and opposite reaction force, and the two forces act on different objects.
- Kinetic energy
- The energy an object possesses due to its motion, calculated as one-half the mass times the square of its velocity.
- Density
- The amount of mass per unit volume of a substance, calculated by dividing mass by volume and often expressed in grams per cubic centimeter.
- Ohm's law
- The relationship stating that voltage equals current multiplied by resistance in a circuit, expressed as V = IR.
- pH scale
- A scale from 0 to 14 measuring hydrogen ion concentration, where values below 7 are acidic and values above 7 are basic.
- Plate tectonics
- The theory that Earth's lithosphere is divided into rigid plates that move over the mantle, causing earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building.
- Rock cycle
- The continuous process in which igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks transform into one another through melting, cooling, weathering, and heat.
- Water cycle
- The continuous movement of water among oceans, atmosphere, and land through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff, powered mainly by the Sun.
- Earth's tilt
- Earth's axis is tilted about 23.5 degrees from vertical, causing different hemispheres to receive varying sunlight and producing the seasons.
- Moon phases
- The changing appearance of the Moon as seen from Earth, caused by the relative positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon during a 29.5-day cycle.
- Solar system order
- The sequence of planets from the Sun outward: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
- Solar fusion
- The process in the Sun's core where hydrogen nuclei combine to form helium, releasing enormous energy that radiates outward as light and heat.
- Erosion versus weathering
- Weathering breaks rock into smaller pieces in place, while erosion transports those pieces away by water, wind, or ice.
- Independent variable
- The factor that an experimenter deliberately changes or manipulates in an experiment to observe its effect on the dependent variable.
- Dependent variable
- The factor that is measured or observed in an experiment, changing in response to the independent variable being manipulated.
- Control group
- A group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment, used as a baseline for comparison with the experimental group.
- Accuracy versus precision
- Accuracy is how close a measurement is to the true value, while precision is how close repeated measurements are to each other.
- Hypothesis
- A testable, falsifiable prediction about the relationship between variables that can be supported or rejected by experimental evidence.
- Scientific theory
- A well-supported explanation of natural phenomena developed from extensive evidence and repeated testing, broader than a single hypothesis.