Comprehensive CXC CSEC Integrated Study Guide for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics

Excretion

The biological process of removing metabolic waste products from the body.

Fill in the blank: Egestion removes undigested food from the digestive tract, whereas excretion removes waste produced by cellular ______.

metabolism

What primary metabolic waste gas is produced by cellular respiration and excreted by the lungs?

Carbon dioxide

What metabolic waste product is formed from the deamination of excess amino acids and excreted by the kidneys?

Urea

Osmoregulation

The maintenance of the correct water and salt concentration in body fluids.

Trace the structural pathway of urine from the kidney to external release.

Kidney $\rightarrow$ nephron $\rightarrow$ collecting duct $\rightarrow$ ureter $\rightarrow$ bladder $\rightarrow$ urethra

Fill in the blank: Ultrafiltration occurs in the Bowman's capsule, where blood pressure filters out small molecules but retains large ______ proteins.

plasma

Selective reabsorption

The process in the nephron where useful substances like glucose, amino acids, and required ions are returned to the bloodstream.

What effect does antidiuretic hormone (ADH) have on urine volume and concentration when blood water levels are low?

It increases water reabsorption, producing a small volume of concentrated urine.

Phototropism

A directional growth response of a plant in response to light.

Fill in the blank: Plant shoots bend toward light because the hormone ______ accumulates on the shaded side, causing elongated cell growth.

auxin

Distinguish between the tissue connections made by ligaments and tendons.

Ligaments connect bone to bone, whereas tendons connect muscle to bone.

Antagonistic muscles

Pairs of muscles that produce opposite movements at a joint because muscle tissue can contract (pull) but cannot push.

Trace the pathway of a nervous impulse through a reflex arc.

Stimulus $\rightarrow$ receptor $\rightarrow$ sensory neuron $\rightarrow$ relay neuron $\rightarrow$ motor neuron $\rightarrow$ effector $\rightarrow$ response

What are the primary functions of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and medulla stem in the human brain?

The cerebrum controls conscious thought and voluntary movement; the cerebellum controls balance and coordination; the medulla controls involuntary functions such as breathing.

Accommodation

The process by which the lens changes shape to focus light from objects at varying distances onto the retina.

Fill in the blank: When focusing on a near object, ciliary muscles contract and suspensory ligaments ______, causing the lens to thicken.

loosen

Vasodilation

The widening of blood vessels near the skin surface to increase heat loss when body temperature rises.

What three environmental conditions are required for most plant seeds to germinate?

Water, oxygen, and a suitable temperature.

Oxidation (in terms of electron transfer)

The loss of electrons by a chemical species during a reaction.

Reduction (in terms of electron transfer)

The gain of electrons by a chemical species during a reaction.

Fill in the blank: In any electrochemical or electrolytic cell, reduction always occurs at the ______.

cathode

What is the typical oxidation number of oxygen in neutral compounds?

$$-2$$

What formula calculates electric charge ($Q$) passed during electrolysis?

$$Q = It$$

How much charge in Coulombs is carried by one mole of electrons?

$$96\,500\,C$$

Fill in the blank: A catalyst speeds up a reaction by providing an alternative reaction pathway with a lower ______ energy.

activation

Exothermic reaction

A chemical reaction that releases thermal energy to its surroundings, giving a negative enthalpy change ($\Delta H < 0$).

Homologous series

A family of organic compounds sharing the same functional group, general formula, and similar chemical properties.

What is the general molecular formula for alkanes?

$$C_nH_{2n+2}$$

Structural isomerism

Molecules that share the same molecular formula but have different structural arrangements of their atoms.

Fill in the blank: Alkenes react with aqueous bromine, causing the solution to change color from orange/brown to ______.

colourless

Esterification

The reversible reaction of an alcohol with a carboxylic acid to form an ester and water, typically using a concentrated sulfuric acid catalyst.

Write the chemical equation for the reduction of iron(III) oxide by carbon monoxide in a blast furnace.

$$Fe_2O_3 + 3CO \rightarrow 2Fe + 3CO_2$$

What observation is seen when sodium hydroxide solution is added to a solution containing $Cu^{2+}$ ions?

A blue precipitate forms.

What chemical test confirms the presence of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) gas?

Passing the gas through limewater causes it to turn milky or cloudy.

Scalar quantity

A physical quantity that possesses magnitude only and no direction.

Vector quantity

A physical quantity that possesses both magnitude and direction.

Fill in the blank: Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of ______ over time.

velocity

What physical quantity is represented by the area under a velocity-time graph?

Displacement (or total distance travelled).

Newton's Second Law of Motion

The resultant force acting on an object is equal to the product of its mass and acceleration ($F = ma$).

Principle of moments

For a system in rotational equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments about a pivot equals the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same pivot.

What formula expresses linear momentum ($p$)?

$$p = mv$$

Fill in the blank: Longitudinal waves have oscillations that travel ______ to the direction of wave propagation.

parallel

Wave speed equation

$$v = f\lambda$$

Ohm's Law

The current through an ohmic conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it, provided temperature and physical conditions remain constant ($V = IR$).

How is total resistance ($R_T$) calculated for three resistors connected in series?

$$R_T = R_1 + R_2 + R_3$$

Isotope

Atoms of the same element containing the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Radioactive half-life

The time required for half the unstable nuclei in a radioactive sample to decay.

Fill in the blank: An alpha particle consists of two protons and two neutrons, equivalent to a ______ nucleus.

helium

Excretion

The biological process of removing metabolic waste products from the body.

Fill in the blank: Egestion removes undigested food from the digestive tract, whereas excretion removes waste produced by cellular .

metabolism

What primary metabolic waste gas is produced by cellular respiration and excreted by the lungs?

Carbon dioxide

What metabolic waste product is formed from the deamination of excess amino acids and excreted by the kidneys?

Urea

Osmoregulation

The maintenance of the correct water and salt concentration in body fluids.

Trace the structural pathway of urine from the kidney to external release.

Kidney $\rightarrow$ nephron $\rightarrow$ collecting duct $\rightarrow$ ureter $\rightarrow$ bladder $\rightarrow$ urethra

Fill in the blank: Ultrafiltration occurs in the Bowman's capsule, where blood pressure filters out small molecules but retains large proteins.

plasma

Selective reabsorption

The process in the nephron where useful substances like glucose, amino acids, and required ions are returned to the bloodstream.

What effect does antidiuretic hormone (ADH) have on urine volume and concentration when blood water levels are low?

It increases water reabsorption, producing a small volume of concentrated urine.

Phototropism

A directional growth response of a plant in response to light.

Fill in the blank: Plant shoots bend toward light because the hormone accumulates on the shaded side, causing elongated cell growth.

auxin

Distinguish between the tissue connections made by ligaments and tendons.

Ligaments connect bone to bone, whereas tendons connect muscle to bone.

Antagonistic muscles

Pairs of muscles that produce opposite movements at a joint because muscle tissue can contract (pull) but cannot push.

Trace the pathway of a nervous impulse through a reflex arc.

Stimulus $\rightarrow$ receptor $\rightarrow$ sensory neuron $\rightarrow$ relay neuron $\rightarrow$ motor neuron $\rightarrow$ effector $\rightarrow$ response

What are the primary functions of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and medulla stem in the human brain?

The cerebrum controls conscious thought and voluntary movement; the cerebellum controls balance and coordination; the medulla controls involuntary functions such as breathing.

Accommodation

The process by which the lens changes shape to focus light from objects at varying distances onto the retina.

Fill in the blank: When focusing on a near object, ciliary muscles contract and suspensory ligaments , causing the lens to thicken.

loosen

Vasodilation

The widening of blood vessels near the skin surface to increase heat loss when body temperature rises.

What three environmental conditions are required for most plant seeds to germinate?

Water, oxygen, and a suitable temperature.

Oxidation (in terms of electron transfer)

The loss of electrons by a chemical species during a reaction.

Reduction (in terms of electron transfer)

The gain of electrons by a chemical species during a reaction.

Fill in the blank: In any electrochemical or electrolytic cell, reduction always occurs at the .

cathode

What is the typical oxidation number of oxygen in neutral compounds?

$$-2$$

What formula calculates electric charge ($Q$) passed during electrolysis?

$$Q = It$$

How much charge in Coulombs is carried by one mole of electrons?

$$96\,500\,C$$

Fill in the blank: A catalyst speeds up a reaction by providing an alternative reaction pathway with a lower energy.

activation

Exothermic reaction

A chemical reaction that releases thermal energy to its surroundings, giving a negative enthalpy change (\Delta H < 0).

Homologous series

A family of organic compounds sharing the same functional group, general formula, and similar chemical properties.

What is the general molecular formula for alkanes?

$$C<em>nH</em>{2n+2}$$

Structural isomerism

Molecules that share the same molecular formula but have different structural arrangements of their atoms.

Fill in the blank: Alkenes react with aqueous bromine, causing the solution to change color from orange/brown to .

colourless

Esterification

The reversible reaction of an alcohol with a carboxylic acid to form an ester and water, typically using a concentrated sulfuric acid catalyst.

Write the chemical equation for the reduction of iron(III) oxide by carbon monoxide in a blast furnace.

$$Fe<em>2O</em>3 + 3CO \rightarrow 2Fe + 3CO_2$$

What observation is seen when sodium hydroxide solution is added to a solution containing $Cu^{2+}$ ions?

A blue precipitate forms.

What chemical test confirms the presence of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) gas?

Passing the gas through limewater causes it to turn milky or cloudy.

Scalar quantity

A physical quantity that possesses magnitude only and no direction.

Vector quantity

A physical quantity that possesses both magnitude and direction.

Fill in the blank: Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of over time.

velocity

What physical quantity is represented by the area under a velocity-time graph?

Displacement (or total distance travelled).

Newton's Second Law of Motion

The resultant force acting on an object is equal to the product of its mass and acceleration ($F = ma$).

Principle of moments

For a system in rotational equilibrium, the sum of clockwise moments about a pivot equals the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same pivot.

What formula expresses linear momentum ($p$)?

$$p = mv$$

Fill in the blank: Longitudinal waves have oscillations that travel to the direction of wave propagation.

parallel

Wave speed equation

$$v = f\lambda$$

Ohm's Law

The current through an ohmic conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference across it, provided temperature and physical conditions remain constant ($V = IR$).

How is total resistance ($R_T$) calculated for three resistors connected in series?

$$R<em>T = R</em>1 + R<em>2 + R</em>3$$

Isotope

Atoms of the same element containing the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Radioactive half-life

The time required for half the unstable nuclei in a radioactive sample to decay.

Fill in the blank: An alpha particle consists of two protons and two neutrons, equivalent to a nucleus.

helium