Karnataka SSLC Science (KSEAB) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Combination reaction

A reaction in which two or more substances combine to form a single product, e.g., CaO + H2O → Ca(OH)2, releasing heat.

Redox reaction

A reaction in which oxidation (loss of electrons or gain of oxygen) and reduction (gain of electrons or loss of oxygen) occur simultaneously.

Balanced chemical equation

An equation in which the number of atoms of each element is equal on both sides, obeying the law of conservation of mass.

pH scale

A 0–14 scale measuring hydrogen ion concentration; values below 7 are acidic, 7 is neutral, and above 7 are basic.

Neutralisation reaction

The reaction of an acid with a base to produce salt and water, e.g., HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H2O.

Chlor-alkali process

Electrolysis of concentrated brine producing chlorine at the anode, hydrogen at the cathode, and sodium hydroxide near the cathode.

Reactivity series

A list of metals arranged in decreasing order of reactivity, from potassium to gold; metals above hydrogen displace it from acids.

Ionic bond

The electrostatic attraction formed when a metal transfers electrons to a non-metal, creating oppositely charged ions, as in sodium chloride.

Thermite reaction

The highly exothermic reduction of iron(III) oxide by aluminium powder, producing molten iron, used to weld railway tracks.

Catenation

The ability of carbon atoms to link with one another to form long chains, branches, and rings, giving millions of compounds.

Homologous series

A family of organic compounds with the same functional group, in which successive members differ by one CH2 unit.

Esterification

The reaction of a carboxylic acid with an alcohol in the presence of an acid catalyst to form an ester with a pleasant smell.

Micelle

A spherical cluster of soap molecules in water, with hydrophobic tails inward and hydrophilic heads outward, trapping oily dirt.

Aerobic respiration

Breakdown of glucose in the presence of oxygen inside mitochondria, producing carbon dioxide, water, and about 38 ATP molecules.

Alveoli

Tiny balloon-like sacs in the lungs with thin walls and rich blood supply, where exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs.

Translocation

The transport of soluble food material, mainly sucrose, through phloem tissue from leaves to other parts of the plant.

Reflex arc

The pathway taken by a nerve impulse in a reflex action: receptor, sensory neuron, spinal cord, motor neuron, and effector.

Synapse

The junction between two neurons across which an impulse is transmitted by chemical neurotransmitters released into a small gap.

Auxin

A plant hormone produced at shoot tips that promotes cell elongation and causes bending toward light during phototropism.

Binary fission

A form of asexual reproduction in which a single-celled organism divides into two identical daughter cells, as in Amoeba.

Vegetative propagation

Asexual reproduction in plants from vegetative parts such as stem, root, or leaf, producing clones, e.g., in potato and sugarcane.

Placenta

A structure in the uterus that allows exchange of nutrients, oxygen, and wastes between the mother's blood and the embryo.

Mendel's law of segregation

Alleles of a gene separate during gamete formation, so each gamete receives only one allele of each pair.

Homologous organs

Organs with the same basic structure and origin but different functions, such as forelimbs of humans, whales, and bats.

Natural selection

Darwin's mechanism of evolution in which individuals with favourable inherited variations survive and reproduce more successfully.

Snell's law

The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is constant for a given pair of media.

Power of a lens

The reciprocal of focal length in metres, measured in dioptres; positive for convex and negative for concave lenses.

Total internal reflection

Reflection of light back into a denser medium when it strikes a rarer medium at an angle greater than the critical angle.

Dispersion of light

Splitting of white light into its component colours because each colour refracts by a different amount through a prism.

Myopia

Short-sightedness in which the image forms in front of the retina, corrected by a concave lens of suitable power.

Ohm's law

At constant temperature, the current through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it, so V = IR.

Electric power

The rate at which electrical energy is consumed, given by P = VI = I²R = V²/R and measured in watts.