UPCAT Science Review: General Science and Biology

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering General Science (Astronomy, Geology, Earth Science, Scientific Method) and Biology (Macromolecules, Cell Biology, Organ Systems, Energy, Ecology, and Genetics) based on the UPCAT Review transcript.

Kepler’s First Law

The orbit of a planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci.

Kepler’s Second Law

A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.

Kepler’s Third Law

The square of the orbital period of a planet is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.

Igneous Rock

A classification of rock that forms from cooled magma or lava.

Intrusive Igneous Rock

Rock that forms in underground pockets; an example is granite.

Extrusive Igneous Rock

Rock that forms above ground; an example is obsidian.

Clastic Sedimentary Rocks

Rocks formed from inorganic debris, such as sandstone.

Organic Sedimentary Rocks

Rocks formed from plant or animal remains, such as limestone or coal.

Chemical Sedimentary Rock

Rock formed when dissolved materials come out of solution, such as rock salt.

Foliated Metamorphic Rocks

Rocks that form with visible layers or banded striations from pressure, such as slate.

Non-foliated Metamorphic Rocks

Rocks that form more irregular striations, such as marble.

Oxygen (O)

The most abundant element on the Earth’s crust, making up $47 \%$ by weight.

Minerals

Substances formed naturally in the Earth with a definite chemical composition and structure.

Mechanical Weathering

A destructive process producing clasts of rock or mineral smaller than the original with the same general composition, involving fracturing or abrasion.

Chemical Weathering

A process that produces smaller pieces of rock with a different chemical composition; the most common product is clay.

Crust

The outermost layer of the Earth, consisting of continental ($32-70\,km$ thick) and oceanic ($8\,km$ thick) sections.

Compression

A type of stress where rocks are pushed together causing increased density and decreased volume.

Tension

A type of stress where rocks are pulled apart causing decreased density and increased volume.

Shearing

A type of stress where rocks are pushed in opposite directions causing twisting or breaking apart.

Normal Fault

A break in the crust where the hanging wall goes down relative to the foot wall.

Pangea

The name of the supercontinent from which Alfred Wegener proposed continents moved via Continental Drift.

Transform Boundaries

Boundaries that occur where two lithospheric plates slide or grind past each other; plates are neither created nor destroyed.

Divergent Boundaries

Boundaries that occur where two plates slide apart from each other; also known as rifting.

Convergent Boundaries

Boundaries that occur where two plates slide toward each other to form either a subduction zone or a continental collision.

Half-life

The amount of time required for a quantity to fall to half its value as measured at the beginning of the time period.

Independent Variable

The factor that is purposely changed in an experiment.

Dependent Variable

The factor that is measured in an experiment to determine if it is affected by the independent variable.

Hypothesis

A limited statement regarding cause and effect in specific situations before experimental work is performed.

Proteins

Organic macromolecules composed of amino acid monomers containing C, H, O, and N.

Biuret Test

A test for protein where a color change from blue to violet indicates a positive result.

Benedict’s Test

A test for simple sugars where a positive result changes the solution from blue to brown-red as $Cu^{2+}$ is reduced to $Cu^+$.

Sucrose

A disaccharide common table sugar composed of glucose and fructose ($C_{12}H_{22}O_{11}$).

Lactose

The major sugar in milk, composed of glucose and galactose.

Starch

An insoluble plant storage form of carbohydrate with a positive iodine test result of black-blue.

Cellulose

The single most abundant organic molecule in the biosphere; a major structural material for plants with glucose rings in a flip-flop orientation.

Glycogen

The animal storage form of carbohydrate, stored mostly in the liver and muscles.

Saturated Lipids

Lipids with all single bonds and the maximum amount of hydrogens; solid at room temperature.

LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein)

A lipoprotein associated with the deposition of cholesterol, often called the "bad guy."

Phospholipids

Molecules composed of glycerol, two fatty acids, and a phosphate group; they act as emulsifying agents in cell membranes.

Steroids

Lipids consisting of four fused rings; examples include estrogen, testosterone, and Vitamin D.

Capsule

An additional outer covering in some bacterial cells that protects, retains moisture, and aids adherence.

Pili

Hair-like structures on the surface of prokaryotic cells that attach to other bacterial cells.

Nucleoid Region

The area of the cytoplasm in a prokaryote that contains the single bacterial DNA molecule.

Mitosis

The division of somatic body cells resulting in two daughter cells.

Meiosis

The division of sex cells or gametes resulting in four recombinant cells with half the number of parent chromosomes.

Osmosis

The spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules through a partially permeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration.

Tonicity

A measure of the effective osmotic pressure gradient between two solutions separated by a selectively permeable membrane.

Tendons

Bands of connective tissue that attach muscles to bones.

Ligaments

Bands of connective tissue that hold bones together at joints.

Afferent Nerves

Nerves that transmit information from the periphery to the spinal cord.

Efferent Nerves

Nerves that transmit information from the spinal cord to the periphery.

Rubisco

The most abundant protein on Earth, which catalyzes the carboxylation of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate ($RuBP$).

Glycolysis

The process of "splitting sugars" that converts glucose into two molecules of pyruvic acid, yielding $2\,ATP$ and $2\,NADH$.

Trophic Levels

The hierarchical levels in an ecosystem comprising producers, consumers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, detritivores, and decomposers.

Poikilotherms (Ectotherms)

Organisms whose body temperature varies with the temperature of their surroundings.

Transcription

The process of transcribing DNA to RNA, where RNA polymerase binds to the promoter region.

Translation

The process in the cytoplasm where ribosomes and tRNA work together to translate messenger RNA (mRNA) into a protein.

Allele

One alternative form of a given allelic pair.

Genotype

The specific allelic combination for a certain gene or set of genes.

Phenotype

The outward, physical appearance of a particular trait.