SNC 1W Course Summary Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary review covering the four major units of the SNC 1W course: Chemistry, Electricity, Ecosystems, and Space.

Chemistry

The study of matter, its properties and how it changes, explaining everyday processes like cooking, cleaning, medicine, and manufacturing.

Matter

Anything that has mass and takes up space, made of tiny particles called atoms.

Solid

A state of matter with a fixed shape and volume where particles are tightly packed and only vibrate in place (e.g., ice).

Liquid

A state of matter with a fixed volume but no fixed shape where particles are close together but can move past each other (e.g., water).

Gas

A state of matter with no fixed shape or volume where particles are far apart and move freely (e.g., steam).

Particle Theory

An explanation stating all matter is made of tiny particles; particles are always moving; there is space between particles; adding heat makes particles move faster; and different substances are made of different particles.

Pure substance

A substance made of only one type of particle with a fixed composition that cannot be separated by physical methods (e.g., pure water, oxygen, and gold).

Mixture

Formed when two or more substances are physically combined but not chemically joined, allowing each substance to keep its own properties.

Homogeneous mixture

A mixture that looks the same throughout because the different substances are evenly mixed (e.g., salt water or air).

Heterogeneous mixture

A mixture where you can see different parts or substances (e.g., salad or trail mix).

Periodic Table

Organizes all known elements by their atomic number and groups them by similar properties to help predict reactions.

Bohr-Rutherford Diagram

An illustration showing an atom with a central nucleus (protons and neutrons) and electrons moving in fixed energy levels or shells.

Chemical change

Occurs when a substance becomes one or more new substances with different properties, often hard to reverse; signs include color change, gas forming, heat/light release, or a new smell.

Lewis dot diagram

Shows an atom’s valence electrons using dots around its symbol to illustrate how atoms bond by sharing electrons.

Energy

The ability to do work and cause change, used by the human body to move, grow, and carry out activities.

Electricity

A form of energy caused by the movement of charged particles that travel through wires to power devices.

Load

The part of a circuit that uses electrical energy, such as light bulbs, motors, and fans.

Power source

Provides the energy needed for electricity to flow through a circuit, such as batteries and power outlets.

Conductor

A material, such as wire, that allows electricity to flow easily through it.

Insulators

Materials that prevent electricity from flowing, such as plastic, rubber, glass, and ceramic, used to keep people safe from electric shock.

Static electricity

A buildup of electric charge that stays in one place until it is released, often caused by friction (rubbing).

Current electricity

The movement of electric charges from one place to another through a controlled circuit.

Resistors

Materials or devices like steel and carbon that have higher resistance and slow down the movement of electrons.

Ohm’s Law

Describes the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance; defined by the equations $V = I \times R$, $I = V ÷ R$, and $R = V ÷ I$.

Renewable energy

Energy from natural sources that are constantly replaced and produce little pollution, such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power.

Non-Renewable Energy

Energy from sources that take millions of years to form and cannot be replaced quickly, such as coal, oil, and natural gas.

Law of conservation of energy

States that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred from one object to another or transformed from one form to another.

Ecosystem

A community of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) things that interact and depend on each other to survive.

Biotic factors

All the living parts of an ecosystem, including plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria.

Abiotic Factors

The nonliving parts of an ecosystem that affect life, such as sunlight, water, air, soil, rocks, and climate.

Detritivores

Organisms that eat dead organic material, such as dead leaves or animals, to break it into smaller pieces.

Decomposers

Organisms like fungi and bacteria that break down dead matter and recycle nutrients back into the soil.

Producers (Autotrophs)

Organisms like plants that make their own food using sunlight through the process of photosynthesis.

Consumers (Heterotrophs)

Organisms that cannot make their own food and must eat other living things for energy.

Photosynthesis

The process where plants use sunlight, $CO_2$, and water to produce glucose and oxygen, converting radiant energy into chemical energy.

Cellular Respiration

The process where organisms break down glucose using oxygen to release energy, producing $CO_2$ and water as waste products.

Food chain

A single path of energy flow showing how energy moves directly from the Sun to producers, then to consumers and decomposers.

Food web

A complex system of many connected food chains showing multiple feeding relationships and paths for energy flow in an ecosystem.

Competition

Occurs when organisms compete for limited resources like food, water, shelter, or mates, which can limit population growth.

Predation

An interaction where one organism (the predator) hunts and eats another (the prey) to transfer energy.

Mutualism

A relationship where both species benefit from each other, such as bees pollinating flowers while getting nectar.

Commensalism

A relationship where one species benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed (e.g., barnacles on whales).

Parasitism

A relationship where one organism (the parasite) benefits while the host is harmed, such as a tick on a deer.

Carrying capacity

The largest population an ecosystem can support with its available resources; exceeding this limit leads to an overshoot and increased competition.

Geocentric model

An ancient model based on the ideas of thinkers like Aristotle that placed the Earth at the center of the universe.

Heliocentric model

Created by Nicolaus Copernicus, this model places the Sun at the center of the solar system with Earth and other planets orbiting it.

Terrestrial planets

The small, rocky planets with solid surfaces: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

Gas giants

The larger planets made mostly of gas with no solid surface: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Asteroids

Small, rocky objects made of rock and metal that orbit the Sun, mostly found between Mars and Jupiter.

Comets

Objects made of ice, dust, and frozen gases that create a glowing tail pointing away from the Sun when they melt.

Meteors

Small pieces of rock or dust that burn up in Earth’s atmosphere from friction, creating a "shooting star."

Meteorite

A meteor that does not burn up completely and successfully lands on Earth.

Satellites

Machines placed in orbit to help with GPS, weather forecasting, internet signals, and monitoring the Earth.

Light-year

The distance light travels in one year, approximately equal to $9.46 \text{ trillion kilometers}$.