Yearly science

What is the centre of an atom called?

The nucleus

What two particles are found inside the nucleus of an atom?

protons and neutrons

What charge does an electron have?

negative

What do we call the starting substances in a chemical reaction?

reactants

What do we call the new substances formed in a chemical reaction?

products

What shape is a DNA molecule?

double helix

Where inside a cell is DNA stored?

The nucleus

What is an alternative version of a gene called?

An allele

What type of cell division creates sex cells (sperm and eggs)?

meiosis

What is the term for an organism's physical appearance or observable traits?

Phenotype

What is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion called?

Inertia

On a distance-time graph, what does a flat, horizontal line mean?

The object is stationary (stopped)

what type of energy does a moving object possess?

Kinetic energy

Name two greenhouse gases.

Carbon dioxide and methane

What process do plants use to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

Photosynthesis

What do scientists analyze from deep ice sheets to study ancient climates?

Trapped air bubbles in ice cores

Why does melting sea ice not raise sea levels directly?

Because it is already floating and displacing its weight in water

What are the two main causes of global sea level rise?

Thermal expansion of warming water and melting land ice

What unit is used to measure vast distances across stars and galaxies?

Light year

What does redshift tell us about distant galaxies?

They are moving away from us, showing the universe is expanding.

What is the Doppler effect?

The change in frequency/pitch of a wave when the source and observer are moving relative to each other

What are the vertical columns on the Periodic Table called?

groups

What do we call atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons?

isotopes

What type of chemical bond forms when atoms share electrons?

covalent bond

What are the four chemical bases that make up the steps of the DNA ladder?

Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C), and Guanine (G)

What is the term for an organism's genetic makeup or allele combination>

Genotype

What is meiosis>

A special type of cell division that reduces the number of chromosomes by half and produces four unique sex cells

What term describes how much sunlight is reflected by a surface, such as white ice?

Albedo

What natural process allows trees and plants to pull carbon dioxide out of the air?

Photosynthesis

What are gametes?

sex cells (sperm and egg cells) that carry half the normal number of chromosomes.

What is the purpose of a Punnett square?

To predict the probability of different genotypic and phenotypic outcomes in offspring from a genetic cross

What is genetic engineering?

direct laboratory modification, addition, or removal of genes in an organism's DNA

What is recombinant DNA?

DNA that has been created artificially by combining genetic material from multiple different sources

Why is an animal cloned via nuclear transfer genetically identical to the nucleus donor, but not the surrogate mother?

Because all of its nuclear DNA comes exclusively from the donor cell's nucleus, while the surrogate only provides the womb for development

What is a major risk or disadvantage of agricultural monocultures and selective breeding?

It reduces genetic diversity, making entire crops or livestock populations much more vulnerable to diseases or pests

Besides trapped greenhouse gases, what else do scientists measure in ice cores to figure out past global temperatures?

The ratio of different oxygen (or hydrogen) isotopes in the frozen water molecules

What is the main difference between where sea ice forms and where ice sheets and glaciers form?

Sea ice forms directly from frozen ocean water, while ice sheets and glaciers form on land from compacted snow

How does melting sea ice cause the Earth to warm up even faster?

Bright white sea ice reflects sunlight away, so when it melts, the dark ocean water underneath absorbs more heat instead

Name atleast three different types of biotechnology

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) , Lab-Grown (Cellular) Meat , cloning, xenotransplantation , etc.