Science Bee IMPORTANT other topics

What is ENSO?

The El Niño–La Niña Southern Oscillation where trade winds shift warm water across the Pacific affecting rainfall and upwelling.

What happens during La Niña?

Trade winds push warm water toward Asia causing rain there and upwelling of cold nutrient-rich water near the Americas.

What happens during El Niño?

Trade winds weaken and warm water moves toward the Americas causing rain there and drought in Asia.

What are Rossby waves?

Large meanders in the jet stream caused by the Coriolis effect that can pinch off into rotating air masses.

What is vapor pressure?

The tendency of molecules to escape from a liquid into the air; increases with temperature.

What is the Bergeron–Findeisen process?

Ice crystals steal water vapor from supercooled droplets causing crystals to grow and fall as snow or rain.

What are Wadati–Benioff zones?

Slanted earthquake zones along a subducting plate reaching depths up to 435 miles.

What are metamorphic facies?

Groups of rocks showing the pressure and temperature conditions they formed under.

What is the greenschist facies?

Low pressure

What is the amphibolite facies?

Medium-high pressure and temperature metamorphism.

What is the blueschist facies?

High pressure

What is the hornfels facies?

Low pressure

What is the eclogite facies?

Extremely high pressure and temperature metamorphism with red/green minerals.

What are upwelling zones?

Areas where deep nutrient-rich water rises due to winds and Ekman transport.

What is Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium?

A condition where allele frequencies stay constant if no mutation

What is the lac operon?

A gene system normally off but activated when lactose binds the repressor.

What is the trp operon?

A gene system normally on but turned off when tryptophan activates its repressor.

What is signal transduction?

A process where external signals activate internal cell pathways to trigger responses.

What is enzyme kinetics?

The study of enzyme reaction rates including Vmax and Km.

What is Vmax?

The maximum speed of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction.

What is Km?

The substrate concentration at half Vmax measuring enzyme affinity.

What are competitive inhibitors?

Molecules that block the active site increasing Km but not changing Vmax.

What are noncompetitive inhibitors?

Molecules that disable enzymes reducing Vmax but not changing Km.

What is MHC Class I?

Proteins on all nucleated cells showing internal peptides to CD8+ T cells.

What is MHC Class II?

Proteins on APCs showing eaten antigens to CD4+ T cells.

What is Photosystem II?

The photosystem that splits water and pumps H+ to make ATP.

What is Photosystem I?

The photosystem that re-energizes electrons to form NADPH.

What is Le Châtelier’s principle?

A system at equilibrium shifts to oppose changes in concentration

What is atomic radius?

Size of an atom increasing down groups and decreasing across periods.

What is ionization energy?

Energy to remove an electron; decreases down groups and increases across periods.

What is electronegativity?

An atom’s pull on shared electrons; decreases down groups and increases across periods.

What electronegativity difference forms nonpolar covalent bonds?

D < 0.4.

What electronegativity difference forms polar covalent bonds?

0.4 < D < 1.7.

What electronegativity difference forms ionic bonds?

D > 1.7.

What is pH?

A measure of hydrogen ion concentration in a solution.

What is pKa?

A measure of acid strength based on how tightly it holds its ions.

What are London forces?

Weak attractions from temporary electron shifts in all molecules.

What are dipole forces?

Attractions between polar molecules.

What are hydrogen bonds?

Strong dipole interactions involving H bonded to N

What is a redox reaction?

A reaction where one substance loses electrons and another gains them.

What is an elastic collision?

A collision where momentum and kinetic energy are conserved.

What is an inelastic collision?

A collision where momentum is conserved but kinetic energy is not.

What is the Combined Gas Law?

P1V1/T1 = P2V2/T2.

What is Boyle’s Law?

Pressure increases as volume decreases.

What is Charles’s Law?

Volume increases as temperature increases.

What is Gay-Lussac’s Law?

Pressure increases as temperature increases.

What is the Ideal Gas Law?

PV = nRT.

What is the Van der Waals equation?

A corrected gas law accounting for molecular attraction and volume.