Science Notes

BEING A SCIENTIST
Define all types of variables
-An independent variable or experimental variable is the variable that we change intentionally
to test how it affects the results. This is the cause.
-The dependent variable is the variable that might change as a result in the independent
variable. This is the effect.
What is a controlled variable?
A controlled variable (not control) is/are the other variable(s) that do not change so that they
cannot influence the results in any way.
What is a fair test?
A fair test is an experiment that ensure experimental results can be used to make the right
decisions. Usually it has only one variable. Only one variable or factor is changed at a time.
State which colour flame you get respectively when the air hole is open and when it is
closed.
You get a blue flame when the air hole is open. You get a yellow safety flame when you close
the air hole.
Label all the parts of a Bunsen burner.
Barrel, air hole, base, collar, rubber hose,
State all steps on how to light a bunsen burner.
1 Place the Bunsen burner on a heating mat.
2 Connect the rubber hosing firmly to the gas tap.
3 Close the air hole by turning the collar.
4 Light a match and place it just above the top of the barrel, with your hand below the flame.
5 Open the gas tap fully.
State all lab rules that you have learnt.
Wear a lab coat for practical work.
Keep your workbooks and paper away from heating equipment, chemicals and flames.
Tie long hair back whenever you use a Bunsen burner.
Wear safety glasses while mixing or heating substances.
Tell your teacher immediately if you cut or burn yourself.
Tell your teacher immediately if you break any glassware or spill chemicals.
Wash your hands after any experiments.

Listen to and follow the teachers instructions.

Bunsen burners with matches, never with paper or other materials.
Wear gloves when your teacher instructs you to.
Define what a qualitative observation is and what a quantitative observation is.
-A qualitative observation is one that does not describe an amount.
-A quantitative observation is one that describes an amount usually in numbers. These are
measurements.
What is the trend of a graph?
The trend of a graph is the features or aspects of a graph. For example, if they have asked the
trend for a graph that shows that sand cools faster than , then one example of a trend would be
CELLS
Define what a cell is.
A cell is the smallest structural and functional unit of an organism.
State all three rules of the Cell Theory
-All living things are made up of cells
-Cells are the basic unit and structure of life
-All living cells come from preexisting cells.
State all the parts of an animal cell and their function(s)
-Nucleus. The nucleus is the control centre of the cell. It sends out chemical messages to
every part of the cell, to control all the cell processes.
-Cytoplasm. A jelly like liquid which completely fills the cell. It is mostly water, with thousands
of different kinds of chemicals dissolved in it. Also suspended in the cytoplasm are many small
structures called organelles. Many chemical reactions occur constantly in the cytoplasm
solution, within the organelles. Life is mostly a matter of chemistry.
-Cell Membrane. Surrounding the cell, and containing it, is an extremely thin, flexible layer.
This membrane not only holds all the cell parts together to form a little bag, but it controls all the
chemicals which enter or leave a cell.

State the two/three features that are present in plant cells but never present in animal
cells and their function.
-Chloroplast. These are green-coloured organelles which absorb the suns energy and use it
to make food for the plant by the process of photosynthesis. Not every plant cell has
chloroplasts;only the leaves and sometimes the stem green stem.
-Cell Wall. The cell wall is a tough, fibrous, non-living layer on the outside of the cell. It makes
plant cells stronger and helps to maintain the stiffness and shape of thin leaves, petals and
fragile roots.
State all parts of the cell and their functions.
-Cell Membrane. Controls the entry and exit of things into and out of the cell. Covered in
substances that help cells identify each other.
-Cell Wall. Layer surrounding the cell membrane that provides strength and structure to the
cell. Animal cells do not have a cell wall.
-Nucleus. Control centre. The nucleus contains the codes and instructions in the form of
DNA(deoxyribonucleic acid).
-Vacuoles. Separate storage compartments within the cytoplasm that contain a watery fluid.
They are very important in plant cells because they help provide support and structure to the
cell, which assists the plants in growing upright and displaying their leaves to the sun.
-Ribosomes. Ribosomes are the site of protein production in the cell. There are many different
types of proteins: structural proteins (e.g. hair and nails), globular proteins (e.g. haemoglobin,
which is found in red blood cells and helps transport oxygen through the bloodstream). Other
proteins are involved in chemical reactions and the cells own structure.
-Mitochondria. Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. they supply the cell with with
energy through a process called cellular respiration- breathing inside a cell. The equation for
cellular respiration is oxygen+glucose Enzymes carbon dioxide+water+ENERGY(RTF)
-Chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are found in plant cells and some micro-organisms. These
organelles are like microscopic solar panels. They transform the Suns energy into chemical
energy.
State a few unicellular organisms.

Amoeba, Paramecium, Chlamydomonas and Euglena. Pictures are in respective order.

State all the systems in our body and give a brief summary of what each does and state
all parts of the body involved.
-Skeletal System. The skeletal system includes all bones, including the ribs, pelvis, spine and
skull.
The skeletal system gives the body structure and shape and supports and protects other
organs;provides an attachment for the muscles.
-Digestive System. Mouth, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, anus.
Breaks down food into substances small enough to be absorbed into the bloodstream;separates
some waste.
-Respiratory System. Lungs, windpipe, diaphragm.
Filters oxygen from the air and transfers it to the blood so that it is taken to all other parts of the
body;removes carbon dioxide via cells back to the lungs.
-Excretory System. Kidneys, liver, bladder, urethra, skin, lungs.
Processes and filters out wastes and controls the amount and content of body fluids.
-Circulatory System. Heart, vein, arteries.
Carries oxygen and nutrients to cells and waste materials away from cells via the blood.
-Integumentary System. Skin, hair, nails
Covers and protects the body; helps maintain body temperature.
-Muscular System. Muscles, ligaments, tendons
Attached to the skeleton; allows body to move
-Nervous System Nerves, spinal cord, brain Central nervous system (CNS) includes brain
and spinal cord. Electrical messages are sent to and from all parts of the body by the nerves.
Give the names of all three layers of skin and state their purpose or roles. Also give what
have happens in the layer.
-The epidermis is the outermost layer. Its main role is to protect the inner layers from external
things getting into the body and to help keep body temperature. The bottom layer of the
epidermis is always making new cells to replace the old and dead ones.

-The dermis is a thicker layer underneath the epidermis. The main role of the epidermis is to
support and strengthen the skin. The dermis contains finger-like extensions called papillae.
These papillae hold the epidermis and dermis together and hold the epidermis. The majority of
the dermis is made from collagen, which is a tough fibre. Another fibre, called elastic fibre
assists the skin to return to its normal shape after being stretched. The sensory nerves which
detect heat, pressure and pain are located in the dermis.
-The subcutaneous fat layer is the deepest layer of skin. This layer contains fat. The term
subcutaneous means under the skin. This layer consists of more blood cells, fat and more
nerves. The main roles of this layer of skin is to store energy, cushion the skin and provide
insulation for the body.
State the two types of glands that the skin contains and give their role.
-sweat glands. These glands secrete moisture up through the pores on the skins surface
when the body becomes overheated;the evaporation of this moisture cools the body.
-oil glands. These glands are located in the walls of hair follicles and produce an oil called
sebum which lubricates the skin and hair.
Draw and label a diagram of a compound light microscope then state the function of
each of the parts.

-Ocular Lens. The ocular lens or eyepiece is the lens that the viewer looks through to see the
specimen. The eyepiece usually contains a 10x or a 15x power lens.
-Arm/Neck. Curved or slanted part which is held when carrying the microscope.
-Stage. The platform where objects to be examined are placed. The stage clips on the stage
are used to secure the specimen to the stage.
-Coarse Adjustment Knob. The coarse adjustment knob is used to make the specimen on the
stage approximately focused.

-Fine Adjustment Knob. The fine adjustment knob is used to bring the specimen into delicate
focus.
-Mirror. The mirror is located beneath the stage and has concave and plain surfaces to gather
and direct light in order to illuminate the object.
-Illuminator or electric lamp. A built-in illuminator beneath the stage that may be used if
sunlight is not preferred or is not available.
-Objectives-HPO and LPO. High power(HPO) magnification usually ranges between 40x and
43x.
Low power(LPO) magnification is the lowest magnification and usually ranges between 5x to
15x.
Define what a mixture substance is and what a pure substance is.
-A mixture substance is a substance that has different substances put together.
-A pure substance is one that has not been mixed with another substance.
State the two different types of pure substances.
-An element. An element is a pure substance because every atom within the substance is the
same. For example, gold is considered pure when every atom is a gold atom.
Give the difference between pure water and a mixture.
-Pure or distilled water is only made up of water particles.
-A mixture consists of lots of different particles.
When is a compound found and give one example?
-A compound is found when different atoms are chemically bonded together. One example is
H2O or water.
Define what a solution, a solvent, an insoluble and a solute is.
-A solution is a mixture that does not separate by itself. A solution contains tiny particles that
spread evenly throughout the solution so that it looks transparent.
-A soluble is substance that is able to dissolve in a liquid such as sugar.
-An insoluble is a substance that cannot dissolve in a liquid.
-A solute is the substance that dissolves into the solute.
-A solvent is the liquid into which the solute dissolves.
State several separation techniques and outline their steps.
-Distillation is the term used for a separation technique that separates salt in salt water and
makes the water pure. First salt water is poured into a distillation flask. Then the flask must be
heated. The steam that the water is converted to enters into the condenser. The condenser then
converts the steam into pure water.
-Decanting is a separation method that is used to obtain a solid or water when they are
together. In the scenario of having sand and water, the water will be carefully poured out in
order to leave the sand behind.
-Filtering is a method that requires a membrane with holes punctuated through it. The size of
the hole decides what will pass through and what wont.
-Sieving is a separation method similar to filtering except the holes are bigger in order to sort
out rocks. (Note:The size of the hole, similar to filtering, will decide which rocks will be taken out
and which will be left behind.
Decanting Pic, Filtering Pic,Sieving Pic and Distillation Pic.

State what a suspension and what a colloid is. Then outline the similarities and then the
differences.
-A suspension is a mixture that has large particles that can be evenly distributed by
mechanical means, for example shaking, however they will eventually settle into a sediment at
the bottom of the solution. The particles that are afloat are known as cream. An example is
snow in a snow dome. The dome needs to be shaken in order to make the snow come up
again.
-A colloid is basically a suspension which does not settle. An example is hair gel or hand
cream. They dont need to be shaken or mixed to be used.
State what an emulsion is and state what the role of the emulsifier.
-An emulsion is a colloid of two or more liquids. Usually one liquid is the base and the other is
broken into tiny droplets spread throughout the base liquid. One example of an emulsion is milk.
It has tiny droplets of fat and oil spread throughout the base which is water. In some cases when
the mixture is left to settle, the tiny particles float above the base liquid.
-An emulsifier is a substance added to make the liquids in a mixture remain completely mixed.
Define what concentration is.
-Concentration is how much solute is in a solvent.
Define what a dilute is.
-A dilute is, in basic terms, low concentration. Dilute is a little amount of solute dissolved in the
solution.

Define what saturation is.

-Saturation is what a mixture is called when the solute is totally dissolved in the solvent and
cannot be dissolved in the solvent any more.
Define what a centrifuge is.

Nature of Matter
Define what matter is.
Anything that has mass and volume is considered matter.
Define all four states of matter.
-Solid. Solids are a state of matter that are three-dimensional and are firm and stable in shape.
-Liquid. Liquids are a state of matter that are substances that flow freely but have a consistent
volume and have consistency like that of water or oil.
-Gas. Gases are a state of matter that are air-like fluid substances which expand freely to fill any
space available, irrespective of their quantity.
-Plasma. Plasma is a state of matter that is found very rarely on our planet. This is due to the
fact that plasma is found commonly near lightning strikes, flames and fires.