Science Terms N-P Flashcards
net force
the vector sum of all the forces acting on an object
newton
the metric and System International unit of force. One newton equals one kg/s2.
non-renewable resource
a resource that is not replaced in nature as quickly as it is used. In many cases it is not replaced or re-formed at all.
normal force
this force acts between any two surfaces in contact. It is the part of the contact force that acts normal or perpendicular to the surfaces in contact.
nucleolus
an organelle found inside a nucleus that is responsible for the production of ribosomes
nucleotide
the smallest unit of DNA. There are five different types of nucleotides: adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine, and uracil. The arrangement of genes is based directly on the specific arrangement of nucleotides.
nucleus
an organelle in a cell that contains all of the DNA and controls the functions of the cell
object distance
the distance from an object to a mirror or lens
oceanography
the study of the Earth’s oceans
orbit
the path an object takes as it travels around another in space
organic
a material that is plant or animal in origin
oxbow lake
a crescent shaped lake formed when a meander is cut off from the river it was part of
oxidation
the loss of electrons by a substance in a chemical reaction
parallel circuit
a circuit with more than one path for the current to follow
period
the time, often measured in seconds, for one complete repetition or rotation
phloem
vascular tissue found in plants that transports mostly sugar and water; can travel either “shoot to root” or “root to shoot.”
photon
a particle of light. A discreet amount of light energy where a single photon of light is the smallest unit of light energy possible.
photosynthesis
a process by which the sunlight’s energy, water, and carbon dioxide are transformed into sugar and oxygen
physical property
a property that can be observed without performing a chemical transformation of that substance
plate tectonics
the theory in which Earth’s crust is made up of many plates that float on the mantle. This theory explains the movement of the continents, the formation of mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, and the existence of mid-oceanic ridges.
polymer
a large molecule made up of repeating units of one or more small molecules (monomers)
position
the location of an object in a coordinate system. Common units of measure are meters (m).
potential difference
the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points. This is commonly called voltage. The common unit of measure for potential difference is called volts.
potential energy
the energy due to an object’s position or state
precession
the process by which the Earth’s axis traces out a circle on the celestial sphere
precision
the measurement of the closeness of measurements obtained from two or more experimental runs
pressure
force per unit area. Units used to measure pressure are torr, atmosphere (atm), and pascal (pa).
procedure
a logical list of steps that explain the exact actions taken to perform an experiment
projectile
an object in two-dimensional motion that has a vertical acceleration equal to -g (or g downward) and a horizontal acceleration of zero
protein synthesis
a process by which DNA will transport its information by way of RNA to the ribosomes where proteins will be assembled
