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General Education-Natural Science

Science
 systematized body of knowledge
 knowledge of principles and causes

Natural science
 composed of physical and biological sciences
 knowledge of objects or processes observable in nature

Physical Science
 deals with inanimate matter and energy
 systematic study of the inorganic world
 broad areas include astronomy, physics, chemistry, and the Earth sciences.

Biological Science
 deals with life
 scientific study of living organisms

Technology
 applied science
 application of scientific concepts and principles
 making, usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of
organization in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose

Physics

Laws of motion
 1st law-Law of inertia
o an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An
object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same
direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force
o reason why seatbelt and air bags are needed for safety

 2nd law-Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass.

o relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. (F=ma ; F is force, m is mass
and a is acceleration)

 3rd law-Action and reaction

o every force there is a reaction force that is equal in size, but opposite in direction
o the rocket's action is to push down on the ground with the force of its powerful
engines, and the reaction is that the ground pushes the rocket upwards with an
equal force
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Friction
 resistive force
 holds back the movement of a sliding object
 found in objects come into contact with each other
 low friction in car tires when it rains may result many accidents

Energy
 ability to do work
 needed to do work
 capacity of a physical system to perform work
 may be classified to potential (stored or not moving) or kinetic energy (moving)
 may also be classified as mechanical, heat, sound light, magnetic, electric, nuclear or
chemical
 has Law of conservation of Energy
o energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it can only be converted from one form to
another
o example, When you turn on an electric heater, electrical energy is converted to
heat energy

Work
 force times distance
 amount of energy transferred by a force acting through a distance in the direction of the
force
 examples showing work: a horse pulling a plow through the field, a father pushing a
grocery cart down the aisle of a grocery store, a freshman lifting a backpack full of books
upon her shoulder, a weightlifter lifting a barbell above his head, an Olympian launching
the shot-put

Simple machines
 allow people to magnify force, increase speed or change direction
 mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force
 basic types
o Lever-ex hammer
o Wheel and axle –ex door knob
o Pulley-ex flag pole
o Inclined plane-ex ramp
o Wedge-ex knife
o Screw-ex

Heat
 energy in transit from a high temperature object to a lower temperature object
 added heat (energy) is usually expressed as an increase in the kinetic energies of the
molecules of the substance
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 when heat (energy) goes into a substance the following may happen
o The substance can experience a rise in temperature
 the substance can change state
 most substances when heated expand; most substances when cooled contract
o One Exemption is water; when water freezes, it expands
 Heat transfer
o Conduction-medium is solid; example- the heat transfer by conduction through
the bodywork of a car.
o Convection-media are liquid and gas; example- houses are warmed by convection
o Radiation-no medium needed; example- exchange of heat between the Sun and
the object

Temperature
 average kinetic energy of the molecules of a substance
 temperature is NOT energy

Sound
 sound waves are mechanical, compression waves
o generally longitudinal in nature
 travels in longitudinal waves
o particles vibrate parallel to the direction of the wave's velocity
 Echo
o Reflection of sound
 speed of sound in air at 200C is about 343.5 m/s

Light
 travels in straight line called rays
 travels at 3 X 108 m/s
o the more dense the medium, the slower the speed
 travels in a form of transverse waves
 visible light is only a small segment of electromagnetic radiation
 reflection is caused when light rays strikes off a surface
 mirror can be
o Flat
o Concave (curved inward)-Example make up kit
o Convex (curved outward)-Example side mirror
 refraction refers to the bending of light rays as they pass from one material to another

Magnets
 unlike poles attract
 like poles repel
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Electricity
 flow through conductors
o example of conductor: metals
 resisted to flow by insulator
o example of insulator: glass, porcelain, or composite polymer materials

Electric circuit
 requires source of electrical energy (battery) and conductor(wire)
 can be parallel or series circuit
 in series
o current (amount of electricity of flowing through a conductor) goes through every
component in the circuit
o if one component is disconnected, the circuit is disabled
 in parallel
o each component is connected to the main circuit
o if one component is disconnected, the flow of electricity continues to other
components

Chemistry

Matter
 anything that occupies space and has mass
o Volume is the amount of space occupied
o Mass is the amount of matter
 can be classified by it chemical constitution as an element, a compound, or a mixture

States of Matter
 solid
o definite shape and volume
o molecules are closely packed

 liquid
o particles are neither too close nor too far from each
o takes the shape of the container

 gas
o particles are very far apart and moving randomly

 plasma
o formed when materials become so energized
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Atom
 tiniest particles of an element
 have subatomic particles
o proton-positive
o neutron- neutral
o electron-negative
 has atomic number (number of protons)
 has atomic mass (number of protons and neutrons)

Isotopes
 same atomic number but of different mass number
 example
o Hydrogen-1, Hydrogen-2 and Hydrogen-3
o Carbon -12, Carbon-14

Ion
 charged particles
 can be cations (positively charged) or anions( negatively charged)

Element
 chemically the simplest substances and hence cannot be broken down further using
chemical methods
 elements can only be changed into other elements using nuclear methods.
 pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom
 listed in the periodic table

Compound
 a material in which atoms of different elements are chemically held to one another
 composed of atoms of two or more elements chemically combined in fixed proportions
 can be decomposed by chemical means into simpler substances
 example : H2O

Water
 contracts until it reaches 40 C then it expands until it is solid.
 solid water is less dense that liquid water (thus, ice floats)
 can be attracted to other water (cohesion).
 can be attracted to other materials (adhesion).
 high surface tension
 high boiling point
 water has a high specific heat (amount of heat per unit mass required to raise the
temperature by one degree Celsius)
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Periodic Table
 horizontal rows called period (indicates the number of energy levels)
 vertical column called group or family (indicates the number of valence electrons)
 element in the periodic table can be metals, metalloids or non-metals

Covalent bond
 sharing of valence electron
 example- found in water (H2O)

Ionic bond
 formed by oppositely charged ions
 there is complete transfer of electron from one atom to another
 example- found in salt (NaCl)

Mixture
 consist of two or more substances wherein their composition varies
 may be homogenous (one phase) or heterogeneous (multiple phase)
 examples of homogenous mixture
o vinegar
 examples of heterogeneous mixture
o soil

Earth Science

Parts of the earth

 Crust
o two different types of crust:
 thin oceanic crust that underlies the ocean basins
 thicker continental crust that underlies the continents.
 Mantle
o temperature is lowest immediately beneath the crust and increases with depth
o highest temperatures occur where the mantle material is in contact with the heat-
producing core
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 Core
o thought to be composed mainly of an iron and nickel alloy
o source of internal heat because it contains radioactive materials which release heat
as they break down into more stable substances
o has outer core
 liquid
o has inner core
 solid
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Plate tectonic theory

 unified the continental drift theory and sea floor spreading
 large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere

Rocks
 solid aggregate
 may be classified as igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic rocks
o igneous rock comes from magma (intrusive) or from lava (extrusive). Examples
are pumice and granite
o sedimentary rock is formed from sediments. Examples are sandstone and shale
o metamorphic rock is formed by extreme pressure and heat. Examples are marble
and slate

Weather/Climate
 weather is the state of the atmosphere for a short time
 climate is the state of the atmosphere for a long time
 caused by the complex interaction of several factors(the following are some)
o humidity-amount of water vapor in the atmosphere
o temperature-hotness or coldness
o wind-moving air
o air pressure- force exerted by the weight of a column of air above a particular
location
o precipitation- product of the condensation that falls under gravity (ex. Rain,
drizzle and hail)

Coriolis effect
 apparent deflection from a straight-line path observed in any body moving near the
earth’s surface, caused by the earth’s rotation

Earth quake
 result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates

Fault
 fracture or discontinuity in which if there has significant displacement results
of earth movement.

El Niño
 variations in the temperature of the surface
 accompanied by prolonged drought
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Astronomy

Solar system
 consists of sun, planets and other heavenly bodies

Sun
 star at the center of the Solar System.
 almost perfectly spherical
 consists of hot plasma

Moon
 too small to have an atmosphere
 causes tides

Eclipse
 when earth or the moon crosses into the shadow cast by the other
 may be lunar or solar eclipse
o solar eclipse-moon’s shadow falls on the earth
o lunar eclipse-earth’s shadow falls on the moon

Planets
 Mercury-closest the sun; holds little atmosphere
 Venus-closely resembles the earth with respect to size, density and distance from the sun;
hottest planet
 Earth
 Mars-visited by Pathfinder in 1997 which shows a very dry and windy place; with two
moons namely Phobos (inner) and Deimos (outer)
 Jupiter-largest planet; no hard surface crust astronaut can walk on
 Saturn-ringed (composed of chunks of frozen water and rocks) planet; least dense of all
planets (0,7 times compared to water)
 Uranus-axis is tilted 980 to the perpendicular of its orbital plane (it lies on its side)
 Neptune-caused perturbation (disturbance due to gravitational attraction) for Uranus

Asteroids
 small rocky bodies

Meteoroid
 smaller than a few hundred kilometer than asteroids
 meteoroid that reaches the earth’s atmosphere is called a meteor
 meteoroid that reaches the earth’s ground is called a meteorite

Constellation
 group of stars
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Biology

Cell theory
 cells are the basic unit of life
 all organisms are composed of cells. Every living thing is either single-celled or multi-
celled.
 all cells arise from pre-existing cells (Except for the origin of life itself).

Cellular structures
 Cell membrane
o for protection
o explained by the fluid mosaic model
 Mitochondrion
o production of ATP
 Chloroplast
o pigment-containing structure
 Ribosome
o make proteins
 Endoplasmic Reticulum
o may be Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (RER)
 contain ribosomes
 for protein synthesis
o may be Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum (SER)
 no ribosomes
 for lipid synthesis and detoxification
 Golgi Apparatus
o modifies and packages materials
 Vacuole
o for storage and osmotic regulation

 Lysosome
o for intracellular digestion
o contain digestive enzymes
o suicide bag of the cell
o may destroy cellular debris, pathogenic bacteria and fungi.
 Nucleus
o control center of the cell because of the presence of genetic material
o surrounded by the nuclear membrane

 Flagellum/Cilia
o has 9+2 microtubular arrangement
o for movement
 Centrioles
o has 9+0 microtubular arrangement
o for cellular division
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Plant and Animal Cells

Animal Cell Plant Cell
Mitochondria present present
Cell wall None Yes
Plastids No Yes
One or more small vacuoles One, large central vacuole
Vacuole (much smaller than plant taking up 90% of cell
cells). volume.
Ribosomes Present Present
Only present
Centrioles Always
present in lower plant
forms.
Lysosomes occur in Lysosomes usually not
Lysosomes
cytoplasm. evident.
Plasma Membrane Present Present
Cell wall Absent Present
Chloroplast Absent Present
Nucleus Present Present

Plants
Root
 anchorage and absorption
 protection, support, reproduction, and storage (by specialized roots)
 root systems include taproot, fibrous, and adventitious
o Taproot- composed of the primary secondary and tertiary roots
o Fibrous- of an extensive mass of similarly sized roots

Stem
 main support system
 composed of the main stem and their branches
 with annual rings (can estimate the age of a tree)
 can be specialized (ex tuber, stolon)

Leaf
 serves in photosynthesis
 with stomata (entry of CO2 and exit of H2O vapor)
 can be specialized (ex tendrils, spines)

Flower
 reproductive structure
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 male part is the stamen (pollen)

 female part is the carpel (ovary)
 develop to become the fruit
Transport
 Xylem
o conducts water from roots to leaves

 Phloem
o conducts sugar from leaves to other parts

Genetics
 study of heredity
o heredity is the transmission of genes from one generation to the next generation

Chromosome Theory of Inheritance

 Mendelian factors or genes are located on chromosomes
 It is the chromosome that segregates and independently assorts.
 Mendelian inheritance has its physical basis on the behavior of chromosomes during
sexual life cycles. (In the early 1900s, geneticists showed that chromosomal movements
in meiosis account for Mendel’s laws.)

Six Kingdom Classification Scheme

Monera
 prokaryotic (without true nucleus)
 example-bacteria

Protista
 eukaryotic (with true nucleus)
 with plant, animal and fungus like characteristics
 example- Paramecium, Amoeba and Algae

Fungi
 eukaryotic (with true nucleus)
 heterotroph (consumer)
 examples- Penicillum and .mushroom

Plantae
 eukaryotic (with true nucleus)
 autotroph (producer)
 photosynthetic

Animalia
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 eukaryotic (with true nucleus)

 heterotroph (consumer)

Niche
 role or status of the organism in the community or ecosystem
 this can be through participation in the transfer of energy, recycling of materials, shaping
communities

Habitat
 place where an organism lives

Food chain
 series of eating and be eaten
 example
o rice plantmousesnakedecomposer

Food web
 composed of different food chains

Food pyramid
 shows the energy transferred to each trophic level
 producers occupy the base of the pyramid
 final consumers at the tip

References

http://ardictionary.com/Science/2235
http://teachertech.rice.edu/Participants/louviere/Newton/law2.html
http://www.physics4kids.com/files/motion_friction.html
http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ci-Co/Conservation-Laws.html
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/energy/u5l1a.cfm
http://atlantis.coe.uh.edu/archive/science/science_lessons/scienceles1/finalhome.htm
http://zonalandeducation.com/mstm/physics/mechanics/energy/heatAndTemperature/heatAndTe
mperature.html
http://www.biocab.org/Heat_Transfer.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/10429/low/matter/matter.htm
http://www.chemicool.com/definition/element.html
http://geology.com/nsta/earth-internal-structure.shtml