Year 10 Exam Revision - Physics, Energy, and Biology

Flashcards covering key vocabulary for Year 10 exam revision including Physics (Motion and Forces), Energy Transformations, and Biology (DNA and Genetics).

Scalar

A physical quantity that has magnitude only, such as mass or temperature.

Vector

A physical quantity that has both magnitude and direction, such as velocity or displacement.

Displacement ($\Delta x$)

A vector quantity representing the straight-line distance between an object's initial position ($x_i$) and final position ($x_f$).

Velocity ($v$)

The rate of change of displacement calculated as $v = \frac{\Delta x}{\Delta t}$, where $\Delta x$ is displacement and $\Delta t$ is time.

Acceleration ($a$)

The rate of change of velocity, calculated as $a = \frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}$, with units typically in $m\,s^{-2}$..

Acceleration due to gravity ($g$)

The approximately constant acceleration near Earth's surface, valued at $g \approx 9.8\,m\,s^{-2}$.

Newton's First Law of Motion

The law stating that an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force; it introduces the concept of inertia.

Inertia

The inherent property of an object to resist changes in its state of motion.

Free Body Diagram

A diagram used to show forces where arrows go away from the object, touch the object, and have lengths indicating the size of the force.

Newton's Second Law of Motion

A law stating that net force equals mass times acceleration ($F = ma$).

Weight

A vector quantity measuring the force due to gravity acting on an object, measured in Newtons ($N$).

Newton's Third Law of Motion

The law stating that forces occur in pairs: for every action force, there is an equal and opposite reaction force acting on different objects.

Work

The transfer of energy that occurs when a force causes displacement, measured in Joules ($J$).

Law of Conservation of Energy

A principle stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed within a system.

Percent Efficiency

The ratio of useful energy output to total energy input, calculated as $\frac{\text{Energy input}}{\text{Energy output}} \times 100$.

Sankey Diagram

A visual model used to illustrate energy flows and the distribution of energy losses such as heat or sound.

Nucleotide

The basic building block of DNA, composed of a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogenous base.

Complementary Base Pairing

The specific chemical bonding in DNA where Adenine ($A$) pairs with Thymine ($T$) and Guanine ($G$) pairs with Cytosine ($C$).

Gene

A specific segment of DNA that provides the code for creating proteins.

Mitosis

The process of cell division for growth and replacement, producing two identical daughter cells with the same chromosome number as the parent.

Meiosis

A type of cell division for producing gametes, resulting in genetic variation through crossing over and reducing the chromosome number by half.

Somatic Cells

Human body cells that contain the full number of chromosomes, as opposed to gametes.

Gamete

A reproductive cell (sperm or egg) that contains half the number of chromosomes found in somatic cells.

Punnett Square

A diagrammatic tool used to predict the genetic ratios and outcomes of offspring based on parental traits.

Autosomal Dominant

An inheritance pattern where only one copy of an allele is needed for a trait to be expressed.

Autosomal Recessive

An inheritance pattern where two copies of an allele are required for a trait to be expressed.