SCIENCE REVIEWER

Fields of science

Acoustics The study of sound.

Aeronautics Aircraft design, construction, and navigation.

Agronomy science of soil management and crop production

Anatomy The study of organisms and their parts.

AnthropologyThe study of the origin, behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans.

Archaeology The study of past human lives by examining remaining material evidence.

Astronomy The study of outer space.

Astrophysics The branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of stellar phenomena.

Bacteriology The study of bacteria, especially in relation to medicine and agriculture.

Biochemistry The study of the chemical substances and processes in living organisms.

Biology The science of life and living organisms

Botany The study of plants.

Cardiology The medical study of the heart.

Cartography The art or technique of making maps or charts.

ChemistryThe science of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter, especially of atomic and molecular systems.

CosmologyThe study of the physical universe considered as a totality of phenomena in time and space.

Crystallography The science of crystal structure and phenomena.

Ecology The study of organisms and their environment.

EmbryologyThe study of the formation, early growth, and development of living organisms.

Endocrinology The study of the glands and hormones of the body.

Entomology The scientific study of insects.

Enzymology The study of the biochemical nature and activity of enzymes.

Forestry The science and art of cultivating, maintaining, and developing forests.

Gelotology The study of laughter.

Genetics The study of heredity and inherited traits.

GeochemistryThe chemistry of the composition and alterations of the solid matter of the earth or a celestial body.

Geodesy The geologic science of the size and shape of the earth.

Geography The study of the earth and its features.

Geology The scientific study of the origin, history, and structure of the earth.

GeophysicsThe physics of the earth and its environment, including the physics of fields such as meteorology, oceanography, and seismology

Hematology The study of the blood and blood-producing organs.

Histology The study of the microscopic structure of animal and plant tissues.

Horology The science of measuring time and making time pieces

Hydrology The study of the properties and effects of water on earth.

Ichthyology The study of fish.

Immunology The study of the immune system of the body.

Linguistics The study of language and phonetics.

Mechanics Design, construction, and use of machinery or mechanical structures.

Medicine The science of diagnosing and treating disease and damage to the body.

Meteorology The study of weather and atmospheric conditions.

Metrology The science of measurement.

Microbiology The study of microorganisms and their effects on other living organisms.

MineralogyThe study of minerals, including their distribution, identification, and properties.

Mycology The branch of botany that deals with fungi.

Neurology The study of the nervous system and disorders affecting it.

Nucleonics The study of the behavior and characteristics of nucleons or atomic nuclei.

Nutrition The study of food and nourishment.

Oceanography The exploration and study of the ocean.

OncologyThe study of the development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of tumors.

Optics The study of light and vision.

Paleontology The study of prehistoric life through fossils.

PathologyThe study of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences.

Petrology The study of the origin, composition, structure, and alteration of rocks.

Pharmacology The science of the composition, use, and effects of drugs.

Physics The science of matter and energy and interactions between the two.

Physiology The study of the functions of living organisms.

Psychology The study of the mental process and behavior.

Radiology The use of radioactive substances in diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Robotics The science of technology to design, fabrication, and application of robots.

Seismology The study of earthquakes.

Spectroscopy The study of radiant light.

Systematics The science of systematic classification.

Thermodynamics

The study of relationships and conversions between heat and other forms of energy.

Toxicology The study of poisons and the treatment of poisoning.

Virology The study of viruses and viral diseases.

Volcanology The study of volcanoes and volcanic phenomena.

Zoologythe study of the structure, physiology, development, and classification of animals.

Famous Scientists and their Invention

» Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 - August 2, 1922): Invented the first practical telephone following extensive work on elocution and deafness.

» Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (October 24, 1632 - August 26, 1723): Invented the microscope. Leeuwenhoek is also considered as the first microbiologist in the world and the father of microbiology.

» Archimedes (c. 287-212 BC): Invented the Archimedean Screw, used for drawing water out of flooded ships, or from canals for irrigation. Archimedes also discovered the method for determining the volume of irregular objects.

» Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 - April 17, 1790): Invented the lightning rod and bifocals, among other inventions. He is also famous as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

» Brahmagupta (c. 597 - 668 AD): Brahmagupta was the first to use zero as a number, although it had been in use before his time as a symbol, representing the order of magnitude of the number in question (7 - 70 - 700 etc.). Consequently, he devised the rules of arithmetic involving zero. Brahmagupta was also the first to note that the product of two negative numbers is a positive number.

» Eli Whitney (December 8, 1765 - January 8, 1825): Invented the cotton gin, which helped speed up the industrial revolution by a great degree.

» Elias Howe (July 9, 1819 - October 3, 1867): The Sewing machine

» Emile Berliner (May 20, 1851 - August 3, 1929): Phonograph records

» Felix Hoffmann (January 21, 1868 - February 8, 1946): Formulated aspirin and heroin in medically usable forms.

» Fritz Pfleumer (March 20, 1881 - August 29, 1945): Invented the magnetic tape used in audio cassettes.

» Galileo Galilei (February 15 1564 - January 8 1642): Invented, among other devices, the telescope and the military compass. Galilei made several crucial astronomical observations (such as Jupiter's four largest moons, which are called the Galilean moons in his honor), and promoted the Copernican view that the earth revolves around the sun -- the latter inviting the wrath of the Church.

» Garrett Augustus Morgan (March 4, 1877 - July 27, 1963): Invented the traffic signal and a version of the gas mask (mainly for firefighters).

» Hans von Ohain (December 14, 1911 - March 13, 1998): Jet engine

» Heinrich Focke (October 8, 1890 - February 25, 1979): Built the first practicably functional helicopter.

» Jagadish Chandra Bose (Basu) (November 30, 1858 - November 23, 1937): Invented the crescograph, a device to measure growth in plants. Bose invented the crescograph to aid his own research on the effects of external stimuli on the growth of plants. Bose also made pioneering research in the field of radio transmission, and demonstrated the first wireless signalling in the world. Marconi's future (and patent-yielding) research was aided by Bose, who made his research available to the scientific community instead of rushing off to privatize the invention of the radio.

» Johannes Gutenberg (1395 - February 3, 1468): Invented the letterpress printing press also known as mechanical printing press. This invention is regarded as one of the most important in human history.

» Johann Philipp Reis (January 7, 1834 - January 14, 1874): Invented an early version of the telephone that only worked on an 'on/off' basis, and

thus could only convey a steady note when spoken into. It failed at reproducing articulated speech (which is a constantly changing mixture of different vibrations) and was thus impractical.

» John Logie Baird (August 13, 1888 - June 14, 1946): Invented the first practical Television. Baird's original design was electromechanical rather than fully electronic. He also invented the color television tube.

» Karl Benz (November 25, 1844 - April 4, 1929): Invented the first self-propelled, gasoline-powered automobile.

» Karl Friedrich von Drais (April 29, 1785 - December 29, 1851): Invented a pedal-less early version of the bicycle, the draisine.

» Karlheinz Brandenburg (b. June 20, 1954): Co-inventor of MP3 Technology

» Konrad Zuse (June 22, 1910 - December 18, 1995): Built the first working, programmable, electromechanical computer.

» Laszlo Jozsef Bíro (September 29, 1899 - October 24, 1985): Invented the ballpoint pen, still commonly called biro after him.

» Levi Strauss (February 26, 1829 - September 26, 1902): Denim trousers (Jeans)

» Melitta Bentz (January 31, 1873 - June 29, 1950): Coffee filter

» Nikola Tesla (July 10, 1856 - January 7, 1943): Built the Tesla induction motor, the Tesla coil and a pioneering mechanism for wireless (radio) communication.

» Orville and Wilbur Wright (Orville: August 19, 1871 - January 30, 1948 / Wilbur: April 16, 1867 - May 30, 1912): Invented the airplane, i.e., successfully completed the first powered heavier-than-air flight.

» Otto Lilienthal (May 23, 1848 - August 10, 1896): An early pioneer of gliders. Lilienthal designed and built several flying machines, including monoplanes, biplanes and gliders.

» Percy Spencer (July 9, 1894 - September 8, 1970): Microwave oven

» Peter Henlein (1479 - 1542): Considered the inventor of the pocket watch (early history of watches has not been sufficiently determined).

» Rudolf Diesel (March 18, 1858 - disappeared September 29, 1913): Invented the compression combustion engine, which was named the Diesel engine after him.

» Rudolf Hell (December 19, 1901 - March 11, 2002): Formulated pioneering technology for the scanner and the fax machine (hellschreiber).

» Thomas Edison (February 11, 1847 - October 18, 1931): Edison was involved in countless inventions, either directly or through the several engineers he employed. He is known for the invention and commercialization of the electric light and the phonograph.

» William Henry Perkin (March 12, 1838 - July 14, 1907): First to produce a synthetic aniline dye -- mauveine, of the color mauve.

... And Discoverers

» Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955): Perhaps the most famous scientist in history, Einstein formulated the theory of general relativity, and the famous equation of mass-energy equivalence -- E=mc2.

» Alexander Fleming (August 6, 1881 - March 11, 1955): Discovered the fungus responsible for the production of penicillin, Penicillium notatum.

» Andreas Vesalius (December 31, 1514 - October 15, 1564): First to describe the human skeletal system and muscular system accurately and in great detail.

» Aryabhata (476 AD - 550 AD): Approximated the value of pi to 3.1416 -- 5 significant figures (4 decimal places), and was possibly the first to note the irrationality of pi. Aryabhata also did commendable work in trigonometry, creating one of the earliest trigonometric tables (later found to be accurate), and astronomy, discovering the daily rotation of the earth.

» Carl Linnaeus (May 12, 1707 - January 10, 1778): Formed the taxonomical system of binomial nomenclature, wherein the name of the genus is followed by the name of the species. For instance, human beings are termed as Homo sapiens, wherein Homo is the genus and sapiens is the species.

» Carl Wilhelm Scheele (December 9, 1742 - May 21, 1786): Discovered oxygen, although Joseph Priestly published his findings first and is thus given credit for the discovery.

» Sir Chandrashekhar Venkata Raman (November 7, 1888 - November 21, 1970): Discovered the change in the wavelength -- and thus the color -- of light traveling through a transparent medium, a phenomenon later named after him -- the Raman effect.

» Charles Darwin (February 12, 1809 - April 19, 1882): Formulated the theory of evolution, explaining the huge diversity in organisms as a result of millions of years of unceasing evolution programmed by natural selection.

» Copernicus (February 19, 1473 - May 24, 1543): The first to accurately describe the solar system as heliocentric (having the sun at the center) rather than geocentric (having the earth at the center); some Greek scholars had previously described a heliocentric solar system, but none was accurate. Weirdly -- given the travails Galileo would later face -- the Church was curious, even accepting, about Copernicus' findings. However,

a few months after Copernicus published his findings, they were ridiculed and "refuted" on the basis of wrong but conventionally accepted wisdom.

» Dmitri Mendeleev (February 8, 1834 - February 2, 1907): Created a comprehensive periodic table of elements, incorporating the Newland's law of octaves and leaving blanks where he theorized the presence of elements that had not yet been discovered. Most of these gaps were later found to be correct.

» Edward Jenner (May 17, 1749 - January 26, 1823): Discovered the process of vaccination by proving that deliberate (or accidental) infection of cowpox provided immunity against smallpox, an untreatable disease in Jenner's time. Jenner is said to have saved more lives than any other man in history!

» Ernest Rutherford (August 30, 1871 - October 19, 1937): Discovered the phenomenon of radioactive half-life and the change in the atomic number of the element due to radiation, sowing the seeds of the extensive future research into nuclear fission. Due to his highly influential findings, Rutherford is termed the 'father of nuclear physics'.

» Francis Crick - James Watson (Crick: June 8, 1916 - July 28, 2004 / Watson: b. April 6, 1928): Discovered the double-helical structure of the DNA molecule.

» Georg Ohm (March 16, 1789 - July 6, 1854): Discovered the proportionality between the voltage and the resultant current in a circuit, now known as Ohm's law: I (current) = V (voltage)/ R (resistance)

» Heinrich Hertz (February 22, 1857 - January 1, 1894): Proved the existence of electromagnetic waves by constructing radio equipment. Although Hertz didn't realize the full ramifications of his work, the seminal research led to the discoveries made by Jagadish Chandra Bose, Marconi et al.

» Henri Becquerel (December 15, 1852 - August 25, 1908): Discovered radioactivity in uranium salts.

» Isaac Newton (December 25, 1642 - March 20, 1727): One of the most revered scientists in history (and rightly so), Newton discovered and formulated the laws of gravity and the three laws of motion, along with invaluable work in several other fields. He was also closely involved in the development of calculus.

» James Chadwick (October 20, 1891 - July 24, 1974): Discovered the electrically neutral particle in atoms, neutron.

» Johann Kepler (December 27, 1571 - November 15, 1630): Formulated the laws of planetary motion, which are named after him.

» Marie Sklodowska-Curie - Pierre Curie (Marie: November 7, 1867 - July 4, 1934 / Pierre: May 15, 1859 - April 19, 1906): Expounding on the work of Marie's Doctoral Advisor Henri Becquerel, Marie and Pierre Curie discovered the radioactive elements Radium (Ra) and Polonium (Po). Their work in radioactivity (a term coined by Marie Curie, incidentally) resulted in Marie Curie, Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel receiving the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics.

» Max Planck (April 23, 1858 - October 4, 1947): A theoretical physicist by nature and profession, Planck formulated the quantum theory, considered one of the most important theories of modern physics.

» Michael Faraday (September 22, 1791 - August 25, 1867): Discovered electromagnetic induction, laws of electrolysis and fundamental relations between light and magnetism. Faraday is considered the greatest experimentalist.

» Neils Bohr (October 7, 1885 - November 18, 1962): Formulated the Bohr model of the atom.

» Otto Hahn (March 8, 1879 - July 28, 1968): Discovered nuclear fission. During the related research, Hahn collaborated with Lise Meitner and her nephew Otto Frisch, who confirmed Hahn's results and coined the term 'nuclear fission'; Hahn was initially baffled by the results, which did not fit in the prevalent scientific paradigm.

» Robert Koch (1843-1910): Renowned for the isolation of Bacillus anthracis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria responsible for the diseases anthrax, tuberculosis and cholera, respectively. Although the diseases may not sound sinister in the 21st century, they were among the deadliest in the 19th century. Koch is also known for his eponymous postulates about the determination of the particular microbe responsible for a disease.

» Srinivasa Ramanujan (December 22, 1887 - April 26, 1920): Isolated from the European mathematics community, Srinivasa Ramanujan rediscovered several previously discovered theorems, as well as several new ones. Ramanujan's groundbreaking and unorthodox derivations are still being heavily researched by mathematicians all over the world.

» Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen (March 27, 1845 - February 10, 1923): Discovered the X-ray, and thus considered the father of diagnostic radiology.

» William Harvey (April 1, 1578 - June 3, 1657): Described the 'double cycle' nature of the human circulatory system (organs-veins-heart-lungs-heart-arteries-organs).

LABORATORY APPARATUS AND THEIR USESTest tube- use for combining chemicalsCrucible- used to head substances at a very high temperaturePipette- used for accurate measurement of substancesWire gauze- used to spread heatBurette- measures volume of solutionClay triangle-wire frame with porcelain used to support the crucibleForceps-used to hold small amount of solutionGraduated cylinder - measure approximate volumeGraduated pipette- measure solution's volumeCondenser - used in distillationWash glasses- holding small samples or for covering beakersWash bottles- used to dispense water Tong-used to pick large amount of solutionMortar and Pestle- used to grind paste or powder Beakersare useful as a reaction container or to hold liquid or solidsamples. They are also used to catch liquids from titration andfiltrates from filtering operations. Used to measure approximatevolume.Volumetric flasksare used to measure precise volumes of liquid or to make precise dilutions.Glass funnelsare for funneling liquids from one container to another or for filtering when equipped with filter paper Clay trianglesare placed on a ring attached to a ring stand as asupport for a funnel, crucible, or evaporating dishBunsen burnersare sources of heatplastic syringe- measures small volumes of liquid.gas syringe-

it is usually made of glass.test tube holder - it holds a test tube.test tube brush– use in cleaning the test tubeerlenmeyer flask- used in applications where solutions must bemixed multiple times.florence flask- (also known as aboiling flask) is a typeof flaskused as an item of laboratory glassware. It can be used as a container to hold solutions of chemicalsround bottom flask- used as laboratory glassware, mostlyfor chemical or biochemicalwork.watch glass-used in chemistryas a surface to evaporate a liquid, tohold solids while being weighed, or as a cover for a beaker   .evaporating dish- used to heat and evaporate liquids.thermometer -use to measure temperaturestirring rod-used to mix chemicals and liquids for laboratorypurposes.Tripod- used to keep things above bunsen burners when you needto heat somethingdropper-used for administering liquid medicines, especially one for dispensing medications into the eye.centrifuge-used to separate suspensions in liquids.reagent bottle-used to hold liquid chemicals.Filter paper-use to separate the solid particles from the solutionMicroscope-used for magnifying small objects

FORMS OF ENERGY

Kinetic Energy:

Consider a baseball flying through the air. The ball is said to have "kinetic energy" by virtue of the fact that its in motion relative to the ground. You can see that it is has energy because it can do "work" on an object on the ground if it collides with it (either by pushing on it and/or damaging it during the collision). 

The formula for Kinetic energy, and for some of the other forms of energy described in this section will, is given in a later section of this primer.

Potential Energy:

 Consider a book sitting on a table. The book is said to have "potential energy" because if it is nudged off, gravity will accelerate the book, giving the book kinetic energy. Because the Earth's gravity is necessary to create this kinetic energy, and because this gravity depends on the Earth being present, we say that the "Earth-book system" is what really possesses this potential energy, and that this energy is converted into kinetic energy as the book falls. 

Thermal, or heat energy:

Consider a hot cup of coffee. The coffee is said to possess "thermal energy", or "heat energy" which is really the collective, microscopic, kinetic and potential energy of the molecules in the coffee (the molecules have kinetic energy because they are moving and vibrating, and they have potential energy due their mutual attraction for one another - much the same way that the book and the Earth have potential energy because they attract each other). Temperature is really a measure of how much thermal energy something has. The higher the temperature, the faster the molecules are moving around and/or vibrating, i.e. the more kinetic and potential energy the molecules have. 

Chemical Energy:

Consider the ability of your body to do work. The glucose (blood sugar) in your body is said to have "chemical energy" because the glucose releases energy when chemically reacted (combusted) with oxygen. Your muscles use this energy to generate mechanical force and also heat. Chemical energy is really a form of microscopic potential energy, which exists because of the electric and magnetic forces of attraction exerted between the different parts of each molecule - the same attractive forces involved in thermal vibrations. These parts get rearranged in chemical reactions, releasing or adding to this potential energy.

Electrical Energy

All matter is made up of atoms, and atoms are made up of smaller particles, called protons (which have positive charge), neutrons (which have neutral charge), and electrons (which are negatively charged).Electrons orbit around the center, or nucleus, of atoms, just like the moon orbits the earth. The nucleus is made up of neutrons and protons.

Some material, particularly metals, have certain electrons that are only loosely attached to their atoms. They can easily be made to move from one atom to another if an electric field is applied to them. When those electrons move among the atoms of matter, a current of electricity is created.

This is what happens in a piece of wire when an electric field, or voltage, is applied. The electrons pass from atom to atom, pushed by the electric field and by each other (they repel each other because like charges repel), thus creating the electrical current. The measure of how well something conducts electricity is called its conductivity, and the reciprocal of conductivity is called the resistance.  Copper isused for many wires because it has a lower resistance than many other metals and is easy to use and obtain. Most of the wires in your

house are made of copper. Some older homes still use aluminum wiring.

The energy is really transferred by the chain of repulsive interactions between the electrons down the wire - not by the transfer of electrons per se. This is just like the way that water molecules can push on each other and transmit pressure (or force) through a pipe carrying water. At points where a strong resistance is encountered, its harder for the electrons to flow - this creates a "back pressure" in a sense back to the source. This back pressure is what really transmits the energy from whatever is pushing the electrons through the wire. Of course, this applied "pressure" is the "voltage". 

As the electrons move through a "resistor" in the circuit, they interact with the atoms in the resistor very strongly, causing the resistor to heat up - hence delivering energy in the form of heat. Or, if the electrons are moving instead through the wound coils of a motor, they instead create a magnetic field, which interacts with other magnets in the motor, and hence turns the motor. In this case the "back pressure" on the electrons, which is necessary for there to be a transfer of energy from the applied voltage to the motor's shaft, is created by the magnetic fields of the other magnets (back) acting on the electrons - a perfect push-pull arrangement!

Electrochemical Energy:

Consider the energy stored in a battery. Like the example above involving blood sugar, the battery also stores energy in a chemical way. But electricity is also involved, so we say that the battery stores energy "electro-chemically".  Another electron chemical device is a "fuel-cell". 

Electromagnetic Energy (light):

Consider the energy transmitted to the Earth from the Sun by light (or by any source of light). Light, which is also called "electro-magnetic radiation". Why the fancy term? Because light really can be thought of as oscillating, coupled electric and magnetic fields that travel freely through space (without there having to be charged particles of some kind around).  

It turns out that light may also be thought of as little packets of energy called photons (that is, as particles, instead of waves). The word "photon" derives from the word "photo", which means "light".  Photons are created when electrons jump to lower energy levels in atoms, and absorbed when electrons jump to higher levels. Photons are also created when a charged particle, such as an electron or proton, is accelerated, as for example happens in a radio transmitter antenna. 

But because light can also be described as waves, in addition to being a packet of energy, each photon also has a specific frequency and wavelength associated with it, which depends on how much energy the photon has (because of this weird duality - waves and particles at the same time - people sometimes call particles like photons "wavicles"). The lower the energy, the longer the wavelength and lower the frequency, and vice versa. The reason that sunlight can hurt your skin or your eyes is because it contains "ultraviolet light", which consists of high energy photons. These photons have short wavelength and high frequency, and pack enough  energy in each photon to cause physical damage to your skin if they get past the outer layer of skin or the lens in your eye. Radio waves, and the radiant heat you feel at a distance from a campfire, for example, are also forms of electro-magnetic radiation, or light, except that they consist of low energy photons (long wavelength and high frequencies - in the infrared band and lower) that your eyes can't perceive. This was a great discovery of the nineteenth century - that radio waves, x-rays, and gamma-rays, are just forms of light, and that light is electro-magnetic waves 

Sound Energy:

 Sound waves are compression waves associated with the potential and kinetic energy of air molecules. When an object moves quickly, for example the head of drum, it compresses the air nearby, giving that air potential energy. That air then expands, transforming the potential energy into kinetic energy (moving air). The moving air then pushes on and compresses other air, and so on down the chain. A nice way to think of sound waves is as "shimmering air".

Nuclear Energy:

The Sun, nuclear reactors, and the interior of the Earth, all  have "nuclear reactions" as the source of their energy, that is, reactions that involve changes in the structure of the nuclei of atoms. In the Sun, hydrogen nuclei fuse (combine) together to make helium nuclei, in a process called fusion, which releases energy. In a nuclear reactor, or in the interior of the Earth, Uranium nuclei (and certain other heavy elements in the Earth's interior) split apart, in a process called fission. If this didn't happen, the Earth's interior would have long gone cold! The energy released by fission and fusion is not just a product of the potential energy released by rearranging the nuclei. In fact, in both cases, fusion or fission, some of thematter making up the nuclei is actually converted into energy. How can this be? The answer is thatmatter itself is a form of energy! This concept involves one of the most famous formula's in physics, the formula,

      E=mc2.

This formula was discovered by Einstein as part of his "Theory of Special Relativity". In simple words, this formula means:

The energy intrinsically stored in a piece of matter at rest equals its mass times the speed of light squared. 

When we plug numbers in this equation, we find that there is actually an incredibly huge amount of energy stored in even little pieces of matter (the speed of light squared is a very very large number!). For example, it would cost more than a million dollars to buy the energy stored intrinsically stored in a single penny at our

current (relatively cheap!) electricity rates. To get some feeling for how much energy is really there, consider that nuclear weapons only release a small fraction of the "intrinsic" energy of their components. 

TAXONOMIC RANK

Species Genus Family Order Class Phylum Kingdom

Circulatory SystemThe circulatory system is the body's transport system. It is made up of a group of organs that transport blood throughout the body. The heart pumps the blood and the arteriesand veins transport it. Oxygen-rich blood leaves the left side of the heart and enters the biggest artery, called the aorta. The aorta branches into smaller arteries, which then branch into even smaller vessels that travel all over the body. When blood enters the smallest blood vessels, which are called capillaries, and are found in body tissue, it gives nutrients and oxygen to the cells and takes in carbon dioxide, water, and waste. The blood, which no longer contains oxygen and nutrients, then goes back to the heart through veins. Veins carry waste products away from cells and bring blood back to the heart , which pumps it to the lungs to pick up oxygen and eliminate waste carbon dioxide.

Digestive SystemThe digestive system is made up of organs that break down food into protein, vitamins, minerals,

carbohydrates, and fats, which the body needs for energy, growth, and repair. After food is chewed

and swallowed, it goes down the esophagus and enters the stomach, where it is further broken down

by powerful stomach acids. From the stomach the food travels into the small intestine. This is where

your food is broken down into nutrients that can enter the bloodstream through tiny hair-like

projections. The excess food that the body doesn't need or can't digest is turned into waste and is

eliminated from the body.

Endocrine SystemThe endocrine system is made up of a group of glands that produce the body's long-distance

messengers, or hormones. Hormones are chemicals that control body functions, such as

metabolism, growth, and sexual development. The glands, which include the pituitary gland, thyroid

gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, thymus gland, pineal body, pancreas, ovaries, and testes,

release hormones directly into the bloodstream, which transports the hormones to organs and

tissues throughout the body.

Immune SystemThe immune system is our body's defense system against infections and diseases. Organs, tissues,

cells, and cell products work together to respond to dangerous organisms (like viruses or bacteria)

and substances that may enter the body from the environment. There are three types of response

systems in the immune system: the anatomic response, the inflammatory response, and the immune

response.

The anatomic response physically prevents threatening substances from entering your

body. Examples of the anatomic system include the mucous membranes and the skin. If

substances do get by, the inflammatory response goes on attack.

The inflammatory system works by excreting the invaders from your body. Sneezing, runny

noses, and fever are examples of the inflammatory system at work. Sometimes, even though

you don't feel well while it's happening, your body is fighting illness.

When the inflammatory response fails, the immune response goes to work. This is the

central part of the immune system and is made up of white blood cells, which fight infection

by gobbling up antigens. About a quarter of white blood cells, called the lymphocytes,

migrate to the lymph nodes and produce antibodies, which fight disease.

Lymphatic SystemThe lymphatic system is also a defense system for the body. It filters out organisms that cause

disease, produces white blood cells, and generates disease-fighting antibodies. It also distributes

fluids and nutrients in the body and drains excess fluids and protein so that tissues do not swell. The

lymphatic system is made up of a network of vessels that help circulate body fluids. These vessels

carry excess fluid away from the spaces between tissues and organs and return it to the

bloodstream.

Muscular SystemThe muscular system is made up of tissues that work with the skeletal system to control movement

of the body. Some muscles—like the ones in your arms and legs—are voluntary, meaning that you

decide when to move them. Other muscles, like the ones in your stomach, heart, intestines and

other organs, are involuntary. This means that they are controlled automatically by the nervous

system and hormones—you often don't even realize they're at work.

The body is made up of three types of muscle tissue: skeletal, smooth and cardiac. Each of these

has the ability to contract and expand, which allows the body to move and function. .

Skeletal muscles help the body move.

Smooth muscles, which are involuntary, are located inside organs, such as the stomach

and intestines.

Cardiac muscle is found only in the heart. Its motion is involuntary

Nervous SystemThe nervous system is made up of the brain, the spinal cord, and nerves. One of the most important

systems in your body, the nervous system is your body's control system. It sends, receives, and

processes nerve impulses throughout the body. These nerve impulses tell your muscles and organs

what to do and how to respond to the environment. There are three parts of your nervous system

that work together: the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system, and the autonomic

nervous system.

The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. It sends out nerve

impulses and analyzes information from the sense organs, which tell your brain about things

you see, hear, smell, taste and feel.

The peripheral nervous system includes the craniospinal nerves that branch off from the

brain and the spinal cord. It carries the nerve impulses from the central nervous system to

the muscles and glands.

The autonomic nervous system regulates involuntary action, such as heart beat and

digestion.

Reproductive SystemThe reproductive system allows humans to produce children. Sperm from the male fertilizes the

female's egg, or ovum, in the fallopian tube. The fertilized egg travels from the fallopian tube to the

uterus, where the fetus develops over a period of nine months.

Respiratory SystemThe respiratory system brings air into the body and removes carbon dioxide. It includes the nose,

trachea, and lungs. When you breathe in, air enters your nose or mouth and goes down a long tube

called the trachea. The trachea branches into two bronchial tubes, or primary bronchi, which go to

the lungs. The primary bronchi branch off into even smaller bronchial tubes, or bronchioles. The

bronchioles end in the alveoli, or air sacs. Oxygen follows this path and passes through the walls of

the air sacs and blood vessels and enters the blood stream. At the same time, carbon dioxide

passes into the lungs and is exhaled.

Skeletal SystemThe skeletal system is made up of bones, ligaments and tendons. It shapes the body and protects

organs. The skeletal system works with the muscular system to help the body move. Marrow, which

is soft, fatty tissue that produces red blood cells, many white blood cells, and other immune system

cells, is found inside bones.

Urinary SystemThe urinary system eliminates waste from the body, in the form of urine. The kidneys remove waste

from the blood. The waste combines with water to form urine. From the kidneys, urine travels down

two thin tubes called ureters to the bladder. When the bladder is full, urine is discharged through the

urethra.

Cell Parts and Functions TableCell Organelle Cell Function

NucleusDirects all cell activities "Brain or Control Center of cell"

Nuclear Envelope (Membrane)Controls what passes in and out of the nucleus

CytoplasmJelly-like substance found inside cell that acts as a medium for chemical reactions within the cell

Golgi Body (Apparatus)Packages the proteins made by the ribosomes so they can be sent out of the cell. The UPS store of the cell

Mitochondrion

"powerhouse of the cell" breaks down sugar molecules to release energy, site of cellular respiration, double membrane, self-replicating, contains own DNA, cristae

Vacuole"Storage tanks" Can hold food, water or waste for the cell

RibosomeMakes proteins for the cell, can be found attached to the endoplasmic reticulum or free in the cytoplasm

Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)

Transportation network for the cell, moves materials around in the cell

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (RER)- endoplasmic reticulum that has ribosomes attached.

Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum (SER)- does not have ribosomes attached

Lysosome"Stomach of the cell" Helps the cell digest food, waste and worn out cell parts

NucleolusProduces ribosomes and rRNA( stuff ribosomes are made of)

Cell Membrane (plasma membrane)

"Gatekeeper" Separates the cell from the rest of the environment and helps control what passes in and out of the cell.  Semi-permeable: allows some materials to pass through but not all

Chloroplast A special plastid that contains chlorophyll a pigment that captures the sun's energy to produce glucose in a process called

photosynthesis

Cell WallRigid outer layer made of cellulose that supports and protects the cell (plant, fungi, and bacterial cells)

VesicleStores and Transports substances from the Golgi Body to the cell membrane for export. "The UPS truck of the cell"

Cytoskeletongives support and shape to the cell, made of proteins

Centriole

Organizes special parts of the cytoskeleton called microtubules for cell division, migrates to opposite ends (poles) of the cell to assist with cell division

SOLAR SYSTEM

The solar system is made up of the sun and everything that orbits around it, including planets, moons, asteroids, comets and meteoroids. It extends from the sun, called Sol by the ancient Romans, and goes past the four inner planets, through the Asteroid Belt to the four gas giants and on to the disk-shaped Kuiper Belt and far beyond to the giant, spherical Oort Cloud and the teardrop-shaped heliopause. Scientists estimate that the edge of the solar system is about 9 billion miles (15 billion kilometers) from the sun.

Discovery

For millennia, astronomers have followed points of light that seemed to move among the stars. The ancient Greeks named these planets, meaning "wanderers." Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were known in antiquity, and the invention of the telescope added the Asteroid Belt, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and many of these worlds' moons. The dawn of the space age saw dozens of probes launched to explore our system, an adventure that continues today. The discovery of Eris kicked off a rash of new discoveries of dwarf planets. [Infographic: Structure of the Solar System]

Formation

Many scientists think our solar system formed from a giant, rotating cloud of gas and dust known as the solar nebula. As the nebula collapsed because of its gravity, it spun faster and flattened into a disk. Most of the material was pulled toward the center to form the sun. Other particles within the disk collided and stuck together to form asteroid-sized objects named as planetesimals, some of which combined to become the asteroids, comets, moons and planets.

The solar wind from the sun was so powerful that it swept away most of the lighter elements, such as hydrogen and helium, from the innermost planets, leaving behind mostly small, rocky worlds. The solar wind was much weaker in the outer regions, however, resulting in gas giants made up mostly of hydrogen and helium.

The sun

The sun is by far the largest object in our solar system, containing 99.8 percent of the solar system's mass. It sheds most of the heat and light that makes life possible on

Earth and possibly elsewhere. Planets orbit the sun in oval-shaped paths called ellipses, with the sun slightly off-center of each ellipse.

Inner solar system

The four inner four planets — Mercury, Venus,Earth and Mars — are made up mostly of iron and rock. They are known as terrestrial or earthlike planets because of their similar size and composition. Earth has one natural satellite — themoon— and Mars has two moons — Deimos and Phobos.

Between Mars and Jupiter lies the Asteroid Belt. Asteroids are minor planets, and scientists estimate there are more than 750,000 of them with diameters larger than three-fifths of a mile (1 km) and millions of smaller asteroids. The dwarf planet Ceres, about 590 miles (950 km) in diameter, resides here. A number of asteroids have orbits that take them closer into the solar system that sometimes lead them to collide with Earth or the other inner planets.

Outer solar system

The outer planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — are giant worlds with thick outer layers of gas. Nearly all their mass is made up of hydrogen and helium, giving them compositions like that of the sun. Beneath these outer layers, they have no solid surfaces — the pressure from their thick atmospheres liquefy their insides, although they might have rocky cores. Rings of dust, rock, and ice encircle all these giants, with Saturn's being the most famous.

Comets are often known as dirty snowballs, and consist mainly of ice and rock. When a comet's orbit takes it close to the sun, some of the ice in its central nucleus turns into gas that shoots out of the comet's sunlit side, which the solar wind carries outward to form into a long tail. Short-period comets that complete their orbits in less than 200 years are thought to originate from the disk-shaped Kuiper Belt, while long-period comets that take more than 200 years to return are thought to come from the sphericalOort Cloud.

Trans-Neptunian region

Astronomers had long suspected that a band of icy material known as the Kuiper Belt existed past the orbit of Neptune extending from about 30 to 55 times the distance of

Earth to the sun, and from the last decade of the 20th century up to now, they have found more than a thousand of such objects. Scientists estimate the Kuiper Belt is likely home to hundreds of thousands of icy bodies larger than 60 miles (100 km) wide, as well as an estimated trillion or more comets.

The Oort Cloud lies well past the Kuiper Belt, and theoretically extends from 5,000 to 100,000 times the distance of Earth to the sun, and is home to up to 2 trillion icy bodies, according to NASA. Past the Oort Cloud is the very edge of the solar system, the heliosphere, a vast, teardrop-shaped region of space containing electrically charged particles given off by the sun. Many astronomers think that the limit of the heliosphere, known as the heliopause, is about 9 billion miles (15 billion km) from the sun.

Pluto, now considered a dwarf planet, dwells in the Kuiper Belt. It is not alone — recent additions include Makemake, Haumea and Eris. Another Kuiper Belt object dubbed Quaoar is probably massive enough to be considered a dwarf planet, but it has not been classified as such yet.Sedna, which is about three-fourths the size of Pluto, is the first dwarf planet discovered in the Oort Cloud. NASA's New Horizons mission performed history's first flyby of the Pluto system on July 14, 2015, and continues to explore the Kuiper Belt.

Terrestrial planets

The inner four worlds are called “terrestrial planets,” because, like Earth, their surfaces are all rocky. Pluto, too, has a solid surface (and a very frozen one) but has never been grouped with the four terrestrials

Jovian planets

The four large outer worlds — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune — are known as the “Jovian planets” (meaning “Jupiter-like”) because they are all huge compared to the terrestrial planets, and because they are gaseous in nature rather than having rocky surfaces (though some or all of them may have solid cores, astronomers say). According to NASA, "two of the outer planets beyond the orbit of Mars — Jupiter and Saturn — are known as gas giants; the more distant Uranus and Neptune are called ice giants." This is because, while the first two are dominated by gas, while the last two have more ice. All four contain mostly hydrogen and helium.

Dwarf planets

The new IAU definition of a full-fledged planet goes like this: A body that circles the sun without being some other object's satellite, is large enough to be rounded by its own gravity (but not so big that it begins to undergo nuclear fusion, like a star) and has "cleared its neighborhood" of most other orbiting bodies. Yeah, that’s a mouthful.

The problem for Pluto, besides its small size and offbeat orbit, is that it shares its space with lots of other objects in the Kuiper Belt, beyond Neptune. Still, the demotion of Pluto remains controversial.

The IAU planet definition puts other small, round worlds in the dwarf planetcategory, including the Kuiper Belt objects Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.

Also now a dwarf planet is Ceres, a round object in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres was actually considered a planet when discovered in 1801 and then later deemed to be an asteroid. Some astronomers like to consider Ceres as a 10th planet (not to be confused withNibiru or Planet X), but that line of thinking opens up the possibility of there being 13 planets, with more bound to be discovered.

The planets

Below is a brief overview of the eight primary planets in our solar system, in order from the inner solar system outward:

Mercury

The closest planet to the sun, Mercury is only a bit larger than Earth's moon. Its day side is scorched by the sun and can reach 840 degrees Fahrenheit(450 Celsius), but on the night side, temperatures drop to hundreds of degrees below freezing. Mercury has virtually no atmosphere to absorb meteor impacts, so its surface is pockmarked with craters, just like the moon. Over its four-year mission, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has revealed views of the planet that have challenged astronomers' expectations.

Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye Named for: Messenger of the Roman gods Diameter: 3,031 miles (4,878 km) Orbit: 88 Earth days

Day: 58.6 Earth days

Venus

The second planet from the sun, Venus is terribly hot, even hotter than Mercury. The atmosphere is toxic. The pressure at the surface would crush and kill you. Scientists describe Venus’ situation as a runaway greenhouse effect. Its size and structure are similar to Earth, Venus' thick, toxic atmosphere traps heat in a runaway "greenhouse effect." Oddly, Venus spins slowly in the opposite direction of most planets.

The Greeks believed Venus was two different objects — one in the morning sky and another in the evening. Because it is often brighter than any other object in the sky — except for the sun and moon — Venus has generated many UFO reports.

Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye Named for: Roman goddess of love and beauty Diameter: 7,521 miles (12,104 km) Orbit: 225 Earth days Day: 241 Earth days

Earth

The third planet from the sun, Earth is a waterworld, with two-thirds of the planet covered by ocean. It’s the only world known to harbor life. Earth’s atmosphere is rich in life-sustaining nitrogen and oxygen. Earth's surface rotates about its axis at 1,532 feet per second (467 meters per second) — slightly more than 1,000 mph (1,600 kph) — at the equator. The planet zips around the sun at more than 18 miles per second (29 km per second).

Diameter: 7,926 miles (12,760 km) Orbit: 365.24 days Day: 23 hours, 56 minutes

Mars

The fourth planet from the sun, is a cold, dusty place. The dust, an iron oxide, gives the planet its reddish cast. Mars shares similarities with Earth: It is rocky, has mountains and valleys, and storm systems ranging from localized tornado-like dust devils to planet-

engulfing dust storms. It snows on Mars. And Mars harbors water ice. Scientists think it was once wet and warm, though today it’s cold and desert-like.

Mars' atmosphere is too thin for liquid water to exist on the surface for any length of time. Scientists think ancient Mars would have had the conditions to support life, and there is hope that signs of past life — possibly even present biology — may exist on the Red Planet.

Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye Named for: Roman god of war Diameter: 4,217 miles (6,787 km) Orbit: 687 Earth days Day: Just more than one Earth day (24 hours, 37 minutes)

Jupiter

The fifth planet from the sun, Jupiter is huge and is the most massive planet in our solar system. It’s a mostly gaseous world, mostly hydrogen and helium. Its swirling clouds are colorful due to different types of trace gases. A big feature is the Great Red Spot, a giant storm which has raged for hundreds of years. Jupiter has a strong magnetic field, and with dozens of moons, it looks a bit like a miniature solar system.

Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye Named for: Ruler of the Roman gods Diameter: 88,730 miles (428,400 km) Orbit: 11.9 Earth years Day: 9.8 Earth hours

Saturn

The sixth planet from the sun is known most for itsrings. When Galileo Galilei first studied Saturn in the early 1600s, he thought it was an object with three parts. Not knowing he was seeing a planet with rings, the stumped astronomer entered a small drawing — a symbol with one large circle and two smaller ones — in his notebook, as a noun in a sentence describing his discovery. More than 40 years later, Christiaan Huygens proposed that they were rings. The rings are made of ice and rock. Scientists are not yet sure how they formed. The gaseous planet is mostly hydrogen and helium. It has numerous moons.

Discovery: Known to the ancients and visible to the naked eye Named for: Roman god of agriculture Diameter: 74,900 miles (120,500 km) Orbit: 29.5 Earth years Day: About 10.5 Earth hours

Uranus

The seventh planet from the sun, Uranus is an oddball. It’s the only giant planet whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit — it basically orbits on its side. Astronomers think the planet collided with some other planet-size object long ago, causing the tilt. The tilt causes extreme seasons that last 20-plus years, and the sun beats down on one pole or the other for 84 Earth-years. Uranus is about the same size as Neptune. Methane in the atmosphere gives Uranus its blue-green tint. It has numerous moons and faint rings.

Discovery: 1781 by William Herschel (was thought previously to be a star)

Named for: Personification of heaven in ancient myth Diameter: 31,763 miles (51,120 km) Orbit: 84 Earth years Day: 18 Earth hours

Neptune

The eighth planet from the sun, Neptune is known for strong winds — sometimes faster than the speed of sound. Neptune is far out and cold. The planet is more than 30 times as far from the sun as Earth. It has a rocky core. Neptune was the first planet to be predicted to exist by using math, before it was detected. Irregularities in the orbit of Uranus led French astronomer Alexis Bouvard to suggest some other might be exerting a gravitational tug. German astronomer Johann Galle used calculations to help find Neptune in a telescope. Neptune is about 17 times as massive as Earth.

Discovery: 1846 Named for: Roman god of water Diameter: 30,775 miles (49,530 km) Orbit: 165 Earth years Day: 19 Earth hours

Pluto (Dwarf Planet)

Once the ninth planet from the sun, Pluto is unlike other planets in many respects. It is smaller than Earth's moon. Its orbit carries it inside the orbit of Neptune and then way out beyond that orbit. From 1979 until early 1999, Pluto had actually been the eighth planet from the sun. Then, on Feb. 11, 1999, it crossed Neptune's path and once again became the solar system's most distant planet — until it was demoted to dwarf planet status. Pluto will stay beyond Neptune for 228 years. Pluto’s orbit is tilted to the main plane of the solar system — where the other planets orbit — by 17.1 degrees. It’s a cold, rocky world with only a very ephemeral atmosphere. NASA's New Horizons mission performed history's first flyby of the Pluto system on July 14, 2015.[Related: New Horizons' Pluto Flyby: Latest News, Images and Video]

Discovery: 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh Named for: Roman god of the underworld, Hades Diameter: 1,430 miles (2,301 km) Orbit: 248 Earth years Day: 6.4 Earth day

 Characteristics of Gases, Liquids and Solids and the Microscopic Explanation for the Behavior

gas liquid solid

assumes the shape and volume of its container 

particles can move past one another

assumes the shape of the part of the container which

it occupies particles can move/slide

past one another

retains a fixed volume and shape 

rigid - particles locked into place

compressible lots of free space between

particles

not easily compressible little free space between

particles

not easily compressible little free space between

particles

flows easily particles can move past one

another

flows easily particles can move/slide

past one another

does not flow easily rigid - particles cannot

move/slide past one another

Animal Groups

Vertebrates and Invertebrates

Almost all animals fall into one of two groups. Adult vertebrates have a spinal

column, or backbone, running the length of the body;invertebrates do not.

Vertebrates are often larger and have more complex bodies than

invertebrates. However, there are many more invertebrates than vertebrates.

Vertebrates

Fish breathe through gills, and live in water; most are cold-blooded

and lay eggs (although sharks give birth to live young).

Amphibians are cold-blooded and live both on land (breathing with

lungs) and in water (breathing through gills) at different times. Three types of amphibians are

frogs and toads, salamanders, and caecilians. Caecilians are primitive amphibians that

resemble earthworms. They are found in the tropics.

Reptiles are cold-blooded and breathe with lungs. They have scales, and most lay eggs.

Reptiles include snakes, turtles and tortoises, crocodiles and alligators, and lizards.

Dinosaurs were reptiles, although some scientists believe that some were warm blooded.

Birds are warm-blooded animals with feathers and wings. They lay eggs, and most can fly

(although many, including penguins and ostriches, cannot).

Mammals are warm-blooded, and are nourished by their mothers' milk; most are born live

(however, the platypus lays eggs). Most mammals also have body hair.

Invertebrates

Sponges are the most primitive of animal groups. They live in water (usually saltwater), are

sessile (do not move from place to place), and filter tiny organisms out of the water for food.

Coelenterates are also very primitive. Their mouths, which take in food and get rid of waste,

are surrounded by stinging tentacles. Some coelenterates are jellyfish, corals, and sea

anemones.

Echinoderms include starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. They live in seawater and

have external skeletons.

Worms come in many varieties and live in all sorts of habitats — from the bottom of the

ocean to the inside of other animals. They include flatworms (flukes), roundworms

(hookworms), segmented worms (earthworms), and rotifers (philodina).

Mollusks are soft-bodied animals, which often live in hard shells. They include snails, slugs,

octopus, squid, mussels, oysters, clams, scallops, chitons, and cuttlefish. Mollusks are the

second-largest group of invertebrates, with 50,000 living species.

Arthropods are the largest and most diverse of all animal groups. They have segmented

bodies supported by a hard external skeleton (or exoskeleton). Arthropods include insects,

arachnids (spiders and their relatives), centipedes, millipedes, and crustaceans like crabs,

lobsters, and shrimp.

Warm-blooded

animals regulate

their own body

temperatures; their

bodies use energy

to maintain a

constant

temperature.Cold-

blooded

animals depend

on their

surroundings to

establish their

body

temperatures.