HESI A2 key terms

The central point that a passage is built to convey, usually stated in a topic sentence and supported by details throughout the text.

A conclusion a reader draws by combining information stated in a passage with prior knowledge, even though the passage does not say it directly.

A word, phrase, or sentence near an unfamiliar term that helps a reader work out that term's meaning from the surrounding text.

The writer's attitude toward the subject, revealed through word choice and sentence structure, such as humorous, critical, or respectful.

A word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word, such as begin and start.

A word whose meaning is opposite to that of another word, such as hot and cold.

A word part attached to the front of a base word that changes the base word's meaning, as un- does in unhappy.

A word part attached to the end of a base word that changes its meaning or its part of speech, as -ness does in kindness.

The emotional or cultural association a word carries beyond its literal meaning, such as the negative feeling of stingy compared with thrifty.

The rule that a verb must match its subject in number and person, so a singular subject takes a singular verb form.

The rule that a pronoun must match the noun it refers to in number and gender, as in each student must bring his or her book.

Two or more independent clauses written together without correct punctuation or a connecting conjunction to separate them.

A specific run-on error in which a comma alone is used to join two independent clauses.

A descriptive phrase placed so that it seems to modify the wrong word, or a word that is not actually present in the sentence.

The top number of a fraction, which tells how many equal parts of the whole are being counted.

The bottom number of a fraction, which tells how many equal parts the whole has been divided into.

A comparison of two quantities by division, often written as a fraction or with a colon, such as 3:4.

An equation stating that two ratios are equal, used to solve problems involving equivalent rates or scaled amounts.

A ratio that compares a number with 100, meaning per hundred, so that 45 percent equals 45 out of 100.

The agreed sequence for evaluating an expression: parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction, working left to right.

The movement of water across a selectively permeable membrane from an area of higher water concentration to an area of lower water concentration.

The type of cell division that produces two genetically identical daughter cells and is used for growth and repair of body tissues.

The process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.

A protein that speeds up a chemical reaction in living things by lowering the energy required, without being consumed by the reaction itself.

The set of reactions inside cells that release energy from glucose, using oxygen and producing carbon dioxide and water as waste products.

The smallest unit of an element that keeps that element's properties, made of protons and neutrons in a nucleus with electrons around it.

A chemical bond formed when two atoms share one or more pairs of electrons rather than transferring them.

A chemical bond formed by the attraction between oppositely charged ions, which results after one atom transfers electrons to another.

A scale from 0 to 14 that measures hydrogen ion concentration, where values below 7 are acidic, 7 is neutral, and values above 7 are basic.

A form of the same element whose atoms have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons, giving a different atomic mass.

The body's ability to keep internal conditions such as temperature and blood sugar within a stable range despite changes outside the body.

Tiny air sacs at the ends of the bronchioles in the lungs where oxygen enters the blood and carbon dioxide leaves it.

The microscopic filtering unit of the kidney that removes wastes from the blood and forms urine.

A nerve cell that receives, carries, and transmits electrical signals throughout the nervous system.

Wavelike muscular contractions of the digestive tract walls that push food and waste along the pathway.

A measure of how fast an object moves in a stated direction, so it includes both a speed value and a direction.

The rate at which velocity changes over time, which includes speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction.

The principle that an object's acceleration equals the net force acting on it divided by its mass, commonly written as force equals mass times acceleration.

The energy an object has because of its motion, calculated as one-half of its mass multiplied by the square of its speed.