Science
Science
Science
Subject: SCIENCE – 6G
Key topics:
• Mapping Earth,
• Earth in space.
• Earth systems.
• Time zone: area on Earth’s surface between two meridians where people use the same
time. Earth is divided into 24 zones.
Earth takes 365.5 days or one year to revolve around the sun once.
Rotation: Spin of an object around its axis. It causes day and night.
When the North Pole is toward the sun, the northern hemisphere experiences summer (it
receives more direct sunlight), and the southern hemisphere experiences winter (it
receives less direct sunlight).
It formed 4.6 billion years ago from a cloud of gas and dust.
Planet: Orbits the sun, is massive enough to be spherical, and has no other large
objects in its orbital path. There are 8 planets in the solar system.
Dwarf planet: Orbits the sun and are nearly spherical in shape, but they share their
orbital paths with other objects of similar size. Pluto is a dwarf planet.
Moon: A Natural satellite that orbits an object other than a star.
Star: Large sphere of hydrogen gas hot enough for nuclear reaction to occur in its core.
The Big Bang Theory states that the universe began from one point and has been
expanding and cooling ever since.
Earth Systems: The atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the geosphere, and the biosphere.
Minerals: Naturally occurring, inorganic solids with crystal structures and definite
chemical compositions.
Rocks: Naturally occurring solids composed of minerals and (sometimes) organic
matter.
Igneous rocks: Formed when molten material, magma, cools, and hardens.
Sedimentary rocks: Formed when forces (water, wind, and ice) break down
rocks into small pieces (sediment).
Metamorphic rocks: Formed when extreme temperatures and pressure within
Earth change existing rocks into new rocks.
The Water Cycle: The continuous movement of water on, above, and below Earth’s surface.
Climate: Average weather pattern for a region over a long period of time.
Plate tectonics: The theory that states that Earth’s surface is broken into large, rigid pieces
(tectonic plates) that move with respect to each other.
Asthenosphere: The partially melted portion of the mantle below the lithosphere.
Tectonic plates move slowly over Earth’s surface, and they can be very large or very small.
Plate boundaries: Boundaries between two tectonics, where the plates move in different
directions.
Convergent boundary: A boundary where two plates move toward each other.
Subduction: Process that occurs when one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic
plate.
Transform boundary: A boundary where two plates slide past each other.
What causes plates to move? Convection: The circulation within fluids (molten rock)
caused by differences in density and thermal energy.
Earthquakes: Vibrations caused by the rupture and sudden movement of rocks along a
break or a crack in Earth’s surface. They occur every day on Earth and can damage both
natural features and human-made structures.
Earthquakes can occur at faults, and a place where a fault can exist is at a plate
boundary.
The size of an earthquake is determined by how much energy is released during the
earthquake.
Faults are largest where one plate subducts into the mantle. The strongest and most
damaging earthquakes occur at these locations!
The movement of crust along faults can make: tall mountains (convergent boundary - no
subduction), , volcanoes (convergent boundaries - subduction), valleys and mid-ocean
ridges (divergent boundaries), shifted streams (transform boundary), and other
landforms (For details, see Page 117).
When lava erupts, it hardens and forms a new crust (ocean crust or seafloor at an oceanic
divergent boundary).
Mid-ocean ridges usually have gentle slopes and are about 2 km high.
Mountains: An elevated portion of the Earth's crust, formed when Earth’s crust folds and
crumples.
Folding and crumpling usually occur at the edges of the plates, this is why most mountains
form near plate boundaries.
When two continents collide at a convergent boundary, large mountain ranges form.
The Himalayas, the largest and highest mountain range in the world, formed when the
Indian plate converged with the Eurasian plate.
Weathering: Mechanical and chemical processes that change Earth’s surface over time.
Weathering can produce sediments of different sizes (e.g. gravel, sand, silt, or clay).
Physical weathering: Process of breaking down rock without changing its composition.
Several natural processes cause physical weathering: forces from plate motion,
changes in weather, water (liquid or frozen), plants (roots), and animals.
Chemical weathering: Process that changes the composition of rocks. It alters the
composition of the rock material toward surface minerals, such as clays.
Chemical weathering happens faster where it is warm and where water is abundant.
It can make rocks weaker, making the rocks break more easily.
Agents of erosion:
Water flows fastest where the land is steep and in large rivers.
As water slows, the sediment in the water is deposited on the sides of the river.
Nonrenewable Energy Resources: Resources that are used faster than they can be
replaced by natural processes.
Fossil Fuels: They form over millions of years, from the remains of prehistoric organisms.
Coal: Formed from the remains of plants in prehistoric swamps. Bacteria, extreme
temperatures, and pressure acted on the plant remains over time. Eventually, peat was
formed and then changed into harder types of coal.
Oil: Formed millions of years ago from the remains of microscopic marine organisms
(plankton). When they died, bacteria decomposed the organic matter, and then
pressure and extreme temperatures acted on the sediments. During this process, thick,
liquid oil was formed.
Natural gas: The process that forms natural gas is the same as the process to form oil,
but if the temperature and pressure were greater.
Advantages: Easy and direct process to generate electricity, cheaper than other
resources, and easy to store and transport.
Disadvantages: Limited supply, habitat disruption, and pollution (e.g. runoff from coal
mines, oil spills, haze, smog, and acid precipitation).
Advantages: A small amount of Uranium produces a large amount of energy and does
not pollute the air, soil, or water.
Mine land must be reclaimed. Reclamation: Process in which mined land must be
recovered with soil and replanted with vegetation.
Laws also help ensure that mining takes place in an environmentally safe manner (e.g.
Clean Air Act).
What can you do? Unplugging electronic devices when not in use, walking or riding a
bike, and using renewable energy resources.
3. Water Energy:
5. Biomass Energy: Energy produced by burning organic matter (e.g. wood, food
scraps, and alcohol).
★Advantages: They will be available for millions of years to come, and they produce less
pollution than fossil fuels.
Land Resources
People use soil for growing crops (e.g. fruits, vegetables, and grains).
They harvest wood from forests for making furniture, houses, and paper products.
They mine minerals from the land, to make products we use every day.
Living space: natural habitats, as well as the land on which buildings, sidewalks,
parking lots, and streets are built.
★ Advantages:
Some land resources are not renewable (e.g. minerals and some forests).
The amount of land is limited, so there is competition for space.
Deforestation: The cutting of large areas of forests for human activities. It leads to soil
erosion and habitat destruction and can affect global climates.
Pollution: Runoff from coal mines and chemical fertilizers can pollute rivers, soil, and
underground water supplies.
Air and water are resources that you cannot live without.
Air: Most living things need air to survive, however, polluted air can harm humans and
other living things.
Air pollution is produced when fossil fuels burn in homes, vehicles, and power plants:
Photochemical smog: A brownish haze produced when nitrogen compounds and other
pollutants in the air react in the presence of sunlight. It can irritate your respiratory
system.
Acid precipitation: Precipitation that has a pH less than 5.6. It can pollute soil and kill
trees, fish, and other organisms.
Air pollution can also be caused by natural events, such as volcanic eruptions or forest
fires.
Water: Most water on Earth is salt water (97%); only 3% is freshwater, and most of that is
frozen in glaciers.
Humans can only use 0.9% of the total amount of water on Earth!
The small supply of freshwater must meet many needs:
For drinking water.
Farming, industry, electricity production, household activities, transportation, and
recreation.
Most living things on Earth are unicellular organisms (e.g. bacteria, amoebas,
paramecia, etc).
They are the oldest form of life.
Most of them are tiny and cannot be seen without a microscope.
They have different types of cells that carry out specific functions.
Multicellular organisms have different levels of organization:
Cells → Tissues → Organs → Organ Systems → Organism
Asexual reproduction: When one cell divides and forms two new organisms (e.g. bacteria
and some multicellular organisms).
Sexual reproduction: When the reproductive cells of one or two parent organisms join and
form a new organism. (e.g. animals and plants).
Autotrophs: Organisms that convert energy from light (e.g. plants and algae) or inorganic
substances (e.g. bacteria living in extreme environments) into usable energy.
Heterotrophs: Organisms that obtain energy from other organisms (e.g. animals and
fungi).
Organisms live in environments specific to their needs, where they are protected, can
obtain food and water, and can get shelter.
Using taxonomy, scientists divide all living things into eight taxonomic ranks (from most
general to most specific): domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and
species.
Species: A group of organisms that can reproduce with one another and produce fertile
offspring.
Most cells are so small that they can not be seen without a microscope.
Cells are made of four macromolecules – nucleic acids, lipids, proteins, and
carbohydrates.
Cell membrane
Cell wall
Some cells also have a cell wall (e.g. cells in plants, fungi, and many bacteria).
It’s a strong, rigid layer outside the cell membrane.
It provides structure and helps protect the cell from the outside environment.
The organelles inside a cell perform specific functions (e.g. control cell activities, provide
energy, transport materials, and store materials).
The information in DNA is transferred to another nucleic acid (RNA), which gives cells
instructions about which proteins need to be made.
In prokaryotic cells, DNA is in the cytoplasm.
In eukaryotic cells, DNA is stored in the nucleus.
Mitochondria: Organelles that break down food (e.g. glucose) and release energy.
Chloroplasts: Organelles that capture light energy and convert it to chemical energy in a
process called photosynthesis.
Golgi Apparatus: Organelle that packages proteins into organelles called vesicles.
1. What is a map?
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Chapter 4
Part Description
Tectonic plates
Asthenosphere
Lithosphere
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5. Characterize earthquakes.
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7. What is the name given to the mountain range that formed in oceans at divergent
plate boundaries?
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Chapter 5
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2. Fossil fuels formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals. What are the
three types of fossil fuels?
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12. How much of Earth’s water is available for humans to use? __________________.
Chapter 6
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7. What is taxonomy?
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13. Which organelles are common to both plant and animal cells?
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14. Which organelles are found in plant cells, but not in animal cells?
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a. cytoplasm
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b. nucleus
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c. mitochondria
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d. chloroplast
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e. ribosomes
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f. golgi apparatus
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g. vacuole
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