Working Scientifically

Validity - Validity relates to the experimental method and how appropriate it is in addressing the
aim of the experiment

Reliability - Reliability is about how close repeated measurements are to each other. You can
consider the reliability of a measurement, or of the entire experiment.

Accuracy - Accuracy is much easier to define: the accuracy of an experiment is how close the final
result is to the correct or accepted value. The closer it is, the more accurate the experiment.

Independent variable – the variable that is altered during a scientific experiment.

Dependent variable – the variable being tested or measured during a scientific experiment.
Controlled variable – a variable that is kept the same during a scientific experiment.

Biology Notes
Definitions
Examples

Types of selection

Artificial Selection
For many centuries, humans have bred different animals to gradually change their features.
Artificial Selection is the process by which we breed animals with desirable features.
An example is the budgerigar, the wild budgerigar is usually green and yellow, while budgerigars
wanted as pets with different colours were made using natural selection.
The Breeders mate the selected parents and then allow the offspring to reach maturity before
selecting which will be bred.

Selective Breeding Methods

There are 2 main ways to use selective breeding.
The first is Crossbreeding. This is where you mate one animal species with another that both
have features you desire. The offspring will combine the feature of both animals.
The second is Inbreeding. This is where related individuals are allowed to mate. This method is
not commonly used as the offspring have defects.

Darwin's Ideas of Natural Selection

Natural selection is the process where an environmental factor acts on a population and
results in some organisms having more offspring than others.
An example of natural selection is as follows
There is a population of owls that prey upon a 50-50 population of dark-brown and light-brown
mice. In a place where the ground is dark, the owls would find it easier to find the light-brown
mouse. This would cut down on the light-brown population allowing the dark-brown mice to survive
and breed.

Sexual Selection is A preference for certain characteristics in the opposite sex.

An example is female birds will often select males with brighter colours to mate with. The
males with produce brighter offspring, while the dark coloured males with die off without
passing on their genes.

Mutations

Mutations are a mistake that occur when the DNA, is copied, causing a change in the base
sequence.
Mutations can happen because of
 UV Radiations
 Nuclear Radiation
 Chemicals - Nicotine, Asbestos

The different mutations include

 Silent Mutations
 Missense Mutations
 Nonsense Mutations
 Frameshift Mutations
Silent mutations occur when only a single base is changed, this does not effect the individual.

Missense mutations are changes that don't stop the gene from making protein, however, the
protein made is a different one. The protein may not function correctly and cause a disease.

Nonsense Mutation is a more significant type of mutation. This mutation causes the cells to
stop reading the information on the gene before it ends. This causes the protein to be made
incomplete and can't function.

Frameshift Mutations occur when a single base is inserted or deleted. The information
becomes jumbled and cannot be read so proteins cannot be made.

Mitosis and Meiosis

There are two types of cell division
 Mitosis - produces two daughter cells that are identical to the parent cell.
This type of division is responsible for the in the growth and repair of the
body
 Meiosis - produces gametes that have half the number of chromosomes
from the parent cell

The stages of mitosis

Phenotypes and Genotypes

RR, Rr, rr are all examples of genotypes. A genotype is the actual genetic information
carried by an individual.
A phenotype are the observable characteristics of the individual. A red rose would have the
phenotype of red, but the genotype of RR or Rr.

Speciation
Speciation is the process where one species split into 2 or more separate species.
Speciation has resulted din a high level of biodiversity. Biodiversity refers to the number and
range of species that exist.
There are 3 steps to speciation
1. Variation
2. Isolation
3. Selection

Variation - There must be variation in the population for speciation to occur. This is due to
mutations.

Isolation - For new species to form they require isolation. This means that different groups of
the population are prevented from interbreeding. This stops any differences from reaching a
new population. Isolation can happen from natural barriers such as rivers, mountains,
gorges, etc.
Selection - Once isolated, natural selection affects the genotype and causes changes that
prevents the groups from breeding. Some changes are
 Breeding seasons - they may breed at a different time
 Sterility - animals can breed but the offspring is sterile
 Chemical barriers - the sperm may be killed by the females chemistry.

In the past the test for a species was to see if the 2 organisms could produce fertile young,
they were only considered the same if they could produce fertile young.

Scientists today use DNA and amino acid arrangements to see if organisms are the same
species.

A pedigree is a chart which shows the inheritance of a trait over several generations.

Genetically Modified Food

Scientist have developed technologies that enable them to genetically modify plants. In
Genetic Modification, new genes are added to change the genetic information. These new
genes are then copied into its daughter cells. You can choose traits you want with Gene
Modification.
Some examples of Gene Modification include canola and rice.

Some Species of Canola were genetically modified to be resistant to herbicides.

Some Species of Rice were genetically modified for people with vitamin A1 deficiency. It
contains 50% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A.

Vaccines

Vaccines work by causing your body to react as if it has been invaded by a pathogen. A
pathogen is a disease causing organism. The traditional way to make a vaccine is to take a
small amount of the pathogen and make it inactive, your body reacts by making antibodies.
Bacteria have many proteins on their surface. Some of these will cause your body to produce
antibodies. Vaccines could be produced using these.
The steps of making vaccines using the genome are as follows
Heredity

Genetics is the study of inherited characteristics called traits.

Alleles are variations of genes. Alleles are in the same position in homologous chromosomes. If
the alleles of a gene are different, the one that is expressed is the dominant allele, while the
other that isn't expressed is called the recessive allele.
The dominant allele is represented by a capital letter related to the name. The recessive allele
is represented by a lowercase letter. When an individual has the same combinations for
alleles, for example, RR, this is called homozygous. These individuals are homozygotes. When
an individual has different combinations for alleles, for example, Rr, this is called
heterozygous. These individuals are heterozygotes.

Sex Determination
Everyone has 2 chromosomes that determine what sex you are. All the eggs produced by the
female will have one X chromosome. Half of the sperm will have an X chromosome, while the
other half will have a Y chromosome.
Genes that are found on sex chromosomes are called sex-linked genes.
The X chromosome has more genes than the Y chromosome.

Evolution
The genetic change of a species' characteristics over generations is called evolution. A
generation is the time between when an individual is born to when that individual produces
offspring.
The fossil history of the horse is a good example of evolution.
Fossils of a horse-like creature called hyracotherium have been found and date back 52 million
years. This creature was about the size of a dog. Many different branches of the horse species
have been found.
One of these branches led to the discovery of an ancestor of the modern horse, Mesohippus.
There have been gradual changes in parts of the horses skeleton, such as
 Increase in size
 Legs become longer
 Number of toes decrease
This is an example of evolution.
The change in the number of toes is interesting to scientists. Hyracotherium ran on 4 toes
while Mesohippus ran on 1 large hoof.

In species that are related, characteristics that have the same basic structure are called
Homologous Structures. These characteristics are controlled by inherited genes. A
homologous structure does not have to have the same function.
Some animals, such as dolphins and sharks have similar fins, however, these are not
homologous structures since different genes are involved in their inheritance.
Structures that look similar but are on genetically different organisms are known as
Analogous Structures.

Evidence for Evolution

Evidence for evolution are as follows
 Fossils
 Comparative Anatomy
 DNA and protein structure
 Embryology

Evidence in Fossils
Increase in Complexity - Early fossils are simple and late ones are more complex.

Increase in Biodiversity - Some animals become extinct, while others split, increasing
biodiversity.

Transitional Forms - Fossils have also shown evidence for transitional forms. A transitional
form is a fossil that shows traits of two species, proving it was transitioning from one to the
other. An example is a dinosaur turning into a bird.
Comparative Anatomy compares the structures of organisms of living species and fossils.
Homologous structures such as the pentadactyl in various species provide evidence for a
single vertebrate ancestor.

The stages of meiosis

Chemistry Notes
Definitions
Examples

Groups and periods and of the periodic table

Periods and Groups

The horizontal rows are called Periods. They are numbered 1 to 7
The vertical columns are called Groups. Groups are numbered from 1 to 18.

The arrangement of the periodic table into columns and rows places elements with
similar physical and chemical properties in the same group.
For example, beryllium, magnesium,
calcium, strontium and barium display all the physical characteristics typical of metals.
They react in much the same way as one another and form very similar compounds. For
these reasons, they are all placed in group 2.
You can use this to predict what an element might do.

Special Blocks

The periodic table has 3 special blocks of elements, these are the Transition elements,
Lanthanides and Actinides

Different Groups

Group 1 - The Alkali Metals

 Form +1 ions
 Are far too reactive to be found naturally in their pure forms
 Have typical metallic properties
 Display similar extreme chemical behaviour
Lithium, sodium, and potassium are examples of group 1 elements

Group 2 - The Alkaline Earths

 Forms +2 ions
 All act like, but slightly less reactive, to group 1 elements
Magnesium, Calcium, Radium are examples of group 2 elements

Groups 3-12 - Transition Metals

 All of them have very similar properties - all are relatively hard with high melting points.
 Likewise, period 4 metals, iron, cobalt and nickel are all magnetic

Group 14
Elements of group 14 display a range of different properties. The Group begins with non-metal
carbon, metalloid silicon and germanium and metals tin and lead.

 Carbon exists in several allotropes including amorphous carbon, diamond, graphite and
Bucky balls. They each have a different molecular structure
 Silicon is found as Silicon Dioxide and metal silicates, which together make up 75% of the
Earth's crust
 Germanium is used as catalyst in fluorescent lights and its oxides are used in production of
lenses. Both silicon and germanium semi-conductors and are widely used in electronic
components
 Tin and lead are metals - have metallic properties: lustrous, ductile, malleable, and
conductors

Group 17 - Halogens
 Form ions with charge of -1(hence, an anion)
 Not naturally found in pure form but instead in salts, like sea salt
 Larger and less reactive as you move down the group
 All form molecules made of two atoms
 Have coloured and poisonous vapours
 All halogens when reacted with hydrogen sulfide create Sulfur and another element

Group 18 - Noble Gases

 Also known as insert gases
  Colourless and occur naturally in the atmosphere
 Incredibly stable and react only under rare or extreme circumstances
 As you move down the group, gases get denser

Trends in Chemical Activity of Metals

 Atoms get progressively larger as you move down the group from period 1 to 7.
 Increase in atom size causes metals to become less stable and more reactive to other
substances.
 Metal atoms have a weak hold on outer electrons and that hold weakens as atoms get
larger
 Period 1 elements have 1 shell, period 2 elements have 2 and so on.

Types of Chemical Reactions, their equations and definitions

Decomposition Reaction
 A single reactant breaks apart to form several products is known as decomposition
 XY --> X + Y
 Hydrogen Peroxide to Water and oxygen

Thermal Decomposition
 Reactions in which the reactant decomposes only when heated is known as thermal
decomposition
 Copper carbonate to Copper Oxide and Carbon Dioxide

Combination Reaction
 When two reactants form one product It is known as a combination reaction.
 X + Y --> XY
 Lithium and Sulphur to lithium sulphide

Precipitation Reactions
 Occurs when two soluble reactants combine to form an insoluble product known as the
precipitate
 Potassium Chloride and Silver Nitrate

Atom Configuration

The number of electrons in each shell is as follows

2, 8, 18, 32, 50, 72, 98, 128
The formula is 2n^2

Electron : -1
Proton : 1
Neutron : 0

The centre of an atom is the nucleus, which is made out of protons and neutrons.
Electrons spin around in the space surrounding the nucleus

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom is known as its atomic number.

The total number of particles in the nucleus (protons +neutrons together) of an atom is
called its
mass number.

Exothermic and Endothermic Reactions

Chemical reactions that release energy are called exothermic - examples include
Flames, Explosions and Fireworks - feel warm or produce light(release of energy)
Chemical reactions that absorb energy are known as endothermic - feel cold because
they absorb energy from skin and surroundings - chemical ice packs use ammonium
chloride and water to make the pack icy cold without refrigeration

Reactivity Trends on the Periodic Table

Reactivity refers to how likely or vigorously an atom is to react with other substances

Reactivity decreases as you go from left to right across a period. The farther to the left
and down the periodic chart you go, the easier it is for electrons to be given or taken
away, resulting in higher reactivity.

Complete and Incomplete Combustion

Combustion Reactions

A Combustion describes any chemical reaction in which a substance burns in oxygen

gas, to produce light and heat - therefore all are exothermic
Lighting a match, igniting an engine, burning a gas top are all combustion reactions

 Hydrocarbons are substances made of only hydrogen and carbon atoms - natural
gas, methane(CH4) octane(C8H18)
 Hydrocarbons make excellent fuels because they burn in oxygen and produce
large amounts of energy
 Combustion of Hydrocarbons produces Carbon Dioxide and Water

Complete Incomplete Combustion

Combustion

 Plenty  Not enough oxygen

of  Produces a soot(sooty carbon or
oxygen carbon monoxide)
 One  Yellow Dirty Flame
Step
Reaction
 Blue
Clean
Flame

Location of Element Types in the Periodic Table

Physics Notes
Definitions
Examples

Average and Instantaneous Velocity

Average Speed is a measure of how fast something moves overall.
Instantaneous speed is your speed at a particular instant.

Law of Conservation of Energy

The law of conservation of energy states that energy can be transferred from one
object to another, but never created nor destroyed.

Gravity and its Effects

Gravitational Potential Energy is the energy stored in an object that is above the
ground. An object that is positioned higher above the ground, has greater potential
energy.

Gravity effects objects at 9.8m/s2

Objects with more mass attract objects with less mass. That's why the moon is in orbit
around the earth.

Newtons Laws
Newton’s first law of motion states that:
 An object at rest will remain at rest unless a force is acted upon it
 An object at motion will remain in motion unless a force is acted upon it

Newton's second law of motion states that:

 An object will accelerate in the direction of an unbalanced force
 The size of this acceleration depends on the mass of the object and the size of
the force

Newton's third law of motion states that:

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction

Inertia
Inertia is the tendency to resist any change in motion
Examples of Law of Inertia in Everyday Life (Inertia of Motion) When the bus stops
suddenly, people fall forward. When the driver of a bus brakes suddenly, the lower part
of the body comes to rest as the bus comes to rest but the upper part of the body
continues to move forward due to inertia of motion

Equations of Motion

Earth and Environmental Science Notes

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagrams
The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram shows the relationship between a star's temperature
and its luminosity. It is also often called the H-R diagram or colour-magnitude diagram.
The chart was created by Ejnar Hertzsprung and Henry Norris Russell in about 1910.

Life Cycle of a Star

The Nitrogen Cycle

The Nitrogen Cycle is a biogeochemical process through which nitrogen is converted
into many forms, consecutively passing from the atmosphere to the soil to organism
and back into the atmosphere.
It involves several processes such as nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification,
decay and putrefaction.
Permafrost
Permafrost is any ground that has been under 0°C for a minimum of 2 years. Fungi and
bacteria that decay organisms cannot grow if the temperature is below 0°C. These
types of grounds are found in regions with high mountains.

Ocean Currents
Ocean currents are the continuous, predictable, directional movement of seawater
driven by gravity, wind (Coriolis Effect), and water density. Ocean water moves in two
directions: horizontally and vertically. Horizontal movements are referred to as
currents, while vertical changes are called upwellings or downwelling’s.

The main cause of currents is

• wind
• temperature
• variations in salinity (salt levels)
• the rotation of Earth on its own axis
• the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon

A gyre is a large system of rotating ocean currents.

Location of Our Earth

Earth is in the universe in the Virgo Supercluster. Within this supercluster we are in a
smaller group of galaxies called the Local Group. Earth is in the Milky Way. Here we are
part of the Solar System - a group of eight planets which orbit the Sun. We are the third
planet from the Sun in the Solar System.

Geological Time Periods

Geological time is split into 4 different time lengths. The Eon, Era, Period and Epoch.

An Eon is 1 billion years

An Era is several hundred million years
A Period is tens of millions of years
An Epoch lasts more than 3 million years

Stratigraphy

Stratigraphy is the branch of geology concerned with the order and relative position of
strata and their relationship to the geological timescale.

Strata are horizontal layers of sedimentary rock

We can use stratigraphy to determine the age of fossils as the lower the stratum is, the
older it is.