Science
Exam Study Guide
Chemistry
● Classification of matter
○ Particle Theory of Matter
■ All matter is made up of particles that have space
■ Different substances are made of different particles
■ Particles are in constant motion
■ Particles attract each other
■ Particles move faster when heated
○ Pure substances - made up of one kind of particle (will look the same
throughout). 2 types of pure substances.
■ Element - cannot be broken down further, such as gold (Au),
oxygen gas (O2)
■ Compound - made from two or more elements that are combined at
a fixed ratio, such as pure water (H2O), table salt (NaCl)
○ Mixtures - contain at least 2 kinds of particles
■ Solution - contains at least 2 types of particles that are evenly
distributed (will look the same throughout). Saltwater (salt NaCl,
and water H2O) or bronze (copper, Cu, and tin, Sn).
■ Mechanical mixture - contain at least 2 different particles that are
not evenly distributed. Such as salads, pizza or a sandwich
● Physical/chemical properties and changes
○ Physical properties
■ Brittleness (the tendency of a solid material to break when force is
applied - either brittle or flexible)
■ Colour
■ Conductivity (ability to conduct heat or electricity - either a
conductor or insulator)
■ Density (amount of mass in a given volume - measured in g/cm3 or
g/mL)
■ Ductility (ability of a solid to be stretched into a long wire - either
ductile or not)
■ Hardness (ability of a solid to resist being scratched - either hard or
soft)
■ Luster (ability of a solid to reflect light - either lustrous or dull)
■ Malleability (ability of a solid to be pounded into sheets - either
malleable or not)
■ Melting (solid to liquid) and boiling (liquid to gas) points - measured
in oC
■ Optical Clarity (ability to allow light through - either transparent,
translucent, or opaque)
■ Viscosity (degree to which a liquid or gas resists flow - either
viscous or not)
■ Solubility (degree to which a substance (solute) dissolves in water
(solvent) this is a physical change)
■ State (Solid, liquid or gas - change of state is a physical change)
○ Chemical properties - (a chemical property is a property of a substance
that describes its ability to undergo changes)
■ Flammability (ability of a substance to burn)
■ Reactivity (ability of a substance to react with other substances)
○ Chemical changes (chemical properties are observed when a chemical
change occurs)
■ Unexpected change in colour
■ Change in odour
■ Makes bubbles (new gas has been formed)
■ Appearance of solid when 2 liquids are mixed (solid called
“precipitate”)
■ Change in temperature (energy absorbed or release - seen as light
or sound)
■ Change is impossible to reverse
● Periodic table - Groups go up and down, periods go across
○ Metals, Metalloids, Nonmetals
○ Group 1 - Alkali metals (metals)
○ Group 2 - Alkaline earth metals
(metals)
○ Group 17 - Halogens
(nonmetals)
○ Group 18 - Noble gases
(Nonmetals)
● Structure of Atoms
○ Proton - each element is organized by atomic number, which is protons in
an atom’s nucleus. No 2 elements have the same number of protons
○ Electrons - a neutral atom has an equal number of positively charged
protons and negatively charged electrons
■ Valence electrons are the electrons on the outermost shell of an
atom
○ Neutrons - are equal to the number of protons
■ Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different number
of neutrons
● Bohr-Rutherford diagram
○ Protons and neutrons go in the middle (nucleus)
■ Atomic number = protons
■ Atomic mass - protons = neutrons
○ Number of electrons = atomic number
■ 2 electrons in first shell
■ 8 electrons in the \
■ second shell
■ 8 electrons is third shell
Bohr-Rutherford Diagram for a Sodium (Na) atom
● Lewis Dot diagram
○ Write the chemical symbol in
the middle
○ Find the number of valence
electrons
○ Place dots for the electrons
● Compound diagrams
● Ionic Compounds
○ An ionic compound contains one metal
element and one non-metal element.
○ Ionic compounds form when metal atoms
transfer valence electrons to nonmetal
atoms.
■ This forms positively-charged metal
ions (cations) and
negatively-charged nonmetal ions
(anions)
■ This attraction is called an ionic
bond
○ Most ionic compounds are: solid crystals at room temperature, have high
melting and boiling points, and are good conductors when dissolved in
water
● Binary ionic compounds are ionic compounds composed of exactly 2 different
elements: a metal cation, and a nonmetal anion
○ How to find formula for the ionic compound formed by Na and O
■ Write the element symbols, metal first, nonmetal second
Na O
■ Write ionic charge above the watch element
Na (+1) O (-2)
■ Determining how many ions are needed so the sum of the charges
is zero Na (+1) Na(+1) O (-2)
■ Write the formula Na2O
■ The metal name is written first stated in full (charge indication with
roman numerals if multivalent) the nonmetal name is second with
an -ide suffix Sodium oxide
○ Multivalent ionic charges
Copper (Cu) +1 or +2
Iron (Fe) +2 or +3
Nickel (Ni) +2 or +3
Tin (Sn) +2 or +4
Lead (Pb) +2 or +4
Manganese (Mn) +2 or +4
○ If the element is multivalent it needs to be labelled with a roman numeral
(Copper (I) Chloride):
+1 = (I)
+2 = (II)
+3 = (III)
+4 = (IV)
○ To find charges of an element look at bohr-rutherford diagrams
■ If an element has 1 valence electron it is easier to lose 1 electron
then gain 7, therefore it has a +1 charge
■ If an element has 5 valence electrons it is easier to gain 3 electrons
then lose 5, therefore it has a -3 charge
● Polyatomic ionic compounds - is an ion made up of more than one atom, these
atoms remain together and act as a single entity
Polyatomic ion Ion formula Ionic charge
Hydroxide OH -1
Nitrate NO3 -1
Chlorate ClO3 -1
Hydrogen Carbonate HCO3 -1
(Bicarbonate)
Carbonate CO3 -2
Sulfate SO4 -2
Phosphate PO4 -3
Ammonium NH4 +1
○ A polyatomic ionic compound is composed of more than 2 different
elements, usually a metal cation and a polyatomic anion
○ How to find formula for the ionic compound formed by Na and O
■ Write the element symbols, metal cation first, polyatomic anion
second Mg PO4
■ Write ionic charge above watch element Mg (+2) PO4 (-3)
■ Determining how many ions are needed so the sum of the charges
is zero Mg (+2) Mg (+2) Mg (+2) PO4 (-3) PO4 (-3)
■ Write the formula, put brackets around polyatomic ion if there are
more than on polyatomic ion Mg3(PO4)2
■ The metal name is written first stated in full (charge indication with
roman numerals if multivalent) the nonmetal name is second stated
in full Magnesium Phosphate
● Molecular compounds
○ Contains 2 different nonmetal elements
○ Molecular compounds form when nonmetal
atoms share valence electrons to form
molecules - this is called a covalent bond
○ Most molecular compounds have the following
properties: they can be solid, liquid, or gas at
room temp, low melting and boiling points,
poor conductors even when dissolved in water
● Molecular elements - contain more than one of the same nonmetal element
○ Consider elements rather than compounds
○ 7 elements exist as diatomic molecules
■ Hydrogen (H2)
■ Nitrogen (N2)
■ Oxygen (O2)
■ Fluorine (F2)
■ Chlorine (Cl2)
■ Bromine (Br2)
■ Iodine (I2)
● Nomenclature of molecular compounds
○ Name the first nonmetal with its full name
○ Name the second nonmetal with the -ide suffix
○ Use prefixes to indicate the number of each type of atom
Prefix Number of Atoms
Mono 1
Di 2
Tri 3
Tetra 4
Penta 5
Hexa 6
Hepta 7
Octa 8
Nona 9
Deca 10
● Balancing Chemical equations
○ Balance compounds first and elements last
○ If a polyatomic ion appears exactly the same in both the reactant and the
product you can think of it as a single unit
○ Balance hydrogen and oxygen last
○ Do a final check
○ Ensue coefficients are written in lowest ratio
Equation for the combustion of propane
1. Write the unbalanced equatio
C3H8 + O2 → CO2 + H2O
2. Count the atoms
Reactants: C3H8 has 3 C and 8 H atoms, O2 has 2 O atoms
Products: CO2 has 1 C and 2 O atoms, H2O has 2 H and 1 O atom
3. Balance carbon
Since C3H8 has 3 C atoms, we will place a coefficient of 3 in front of CO2
C3H8 + O2 → 3CO2 + H2O
4. Balance hydrogen
Since C3H8 8 H atoms, we will place a coefficient of 4 in front of H2O
C3H8 + O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O
5. Balance oxygen
On the product side we have
● 3CO2 3 x 2 = 6 O atoms
● 4H2O 4 x 1 = 4 O atoms
Total O atoms on product side = 10
On the reactant side, O2 has 2 O atoms. To get 10 O atoms we need a coefficient
of 5 in front of O2
C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4H2O
6. Check
3 carbon on each side
8 hydrogen on each side
10 oxygen on each side
Equation is balanced
Physics
● Conductors vs insulators
○ A conductor is a material that lets electrons move easily through it
■ Good conductors allow electrons to move very easily. Such as
copper, silver, aluminum or iron
■ Fair conductors allow electrons to flow but not very
well. Such as graphite, silicon, or human body
○ An insulator is a material that doesn’t allow the
movement of electrons through it. Such as plastic,
rubber, wood or glass
● Law of electric charges
○ Particles with opposite charges attract each other
○ Particles with like charges repel each other
■ When an object has more protons than electrons
this it is positively charge
■ When an object has more electrons than protons
then it is negatively charged
■ Positively and negatively charged objects attract
neutral objects
● Charging by friction
○ Charging by Friction occurs when two different
materials are rubbed together, causing a transfer of
electrons from one to the other. This happens
Because different materials have different tendencies
to gain or lose electrons
○ The material that gains electrons becomes negatively
Charged. The material that loses electrons becomes
positively charged.
● Charging by conduction
○ Charging by Conduction occurs when a charged object
comes into direct contact with a neutral object, allowing
electrons to transfer between them.
○ If the object is negatively charged, it transfers
some of its excess electrons to the neutral object,
making the neutral object negatively charged.
○ If the object is positively charged, it attracts electrons from the neutral
object, leaving the neutral object positively charged.
● Charging by induction
○ Charging by Induction is a method of charging a neutral object without
direct contact with a charged object. It relies on the movement of
electrons within the neutral object due to the charged object's electric field.
○ If the charged object is positive, it attracts electrons in the neutral object
toward itself. If the charged object is negative, it repels electrons, causing
them to move away.
○ If a ground connection is provided (grounding), excess electrons can
flow in or out of the neutral object, permanently charging it.
● Generating electricity using renewable vs nonrenewable resources
Type Pros Cons
Hydro Dams - uses - No pollution - Ecosystems can be damaged
flowing water to spin - Requires special location
turbines. Renewable - Expensive to build and maintain
Tidal stations - uses - No pollution - Limited by time of day
moving water created - requires special location
by tides. Renewable
Nuclear stations - - lots of energy from minimal - mining ore creates pollution
steam created by the fuel - thermal energy produced can
thermal energy from - no air pollution damage ecosystems
splitting atoms. - radioactive waste
Nonrenewable - expensive to build
Geothermal stations - - no pollution - requires special location
steam created by
thermal energy from
earth. Renewable
Wind farms - wind. - no pollution - limited use
Renewable - can be built closer to - large area needed
residential areas - harms birds
- cheaper than other options - lots of noise
- can be built almost
anywhere
Fossil fuels - steam - can be more cost effective - produces lots of pollution and
created by the burning then other methods greenhouse gas emissions
of fossil fuels. - toxic by-products (mercury)
Nonrenewable - can take away farmland
Photovoltaic (solar) - - no air or water pollution - limited use
uses the sun. - can be used independently - not efficient
Renewable - long lasting with minimal - disposal cases pollution
maintenance
● Circuit diagrams
Series Circuit Parallel Circuit
○ Voltmeter connected in parallel. Ammeter connected in series
● Factors that affect resistance
○ Material - some materials allow electrons to move more freely than others.
(metals have low resistance and nonmetals have high resistance)
○ Cross sectional area - resistance decreases with a thicker wire
○ Length - resistance increases with an increase in length of wire
○ Temperature - resistance increases with an increase in the temperature of
wire. (when the wire gets warms the particles bump into each other
resulting in an increase in resistance)
● Current
○ Is the measure of the rate of electron flow past a point in a circuit
○ Is measured in Amperes (amps) in equations is represented by “I”
○ Formula - I = Q/T I = current Q = coulombs(Charge) T = time
● Voltage
○ Is the difference in electrical potential energy per unit charge measure at 2
different points in a circuit
○ Is measured in Volts in equations represented by “V”
○ Formula - V = E/Q V = volts E = energy (Joules) Q = coulombs
● Resistance
○ The ability of a material to oppose the flow of electrical current (greater
resistance, lower the current
○ Measured in Ohms (Ω) in equations represented by “R”
○ Ohm’s Law - R = V/I
● Electrical power
○ Is the rate which electrical energy is used or created
○ Measured in Watts (W) = to one joule per second
○ P = E/T or P = IV
● Efficiency
○ % efficiency of electrical device = Useful energy output / total energy input
x 100
● Analyzing circuits
○ Series circuit
■ Current is the same throughout
■ Voltage is divided by how many loads there are (Vtotal = V1 + V2 +...)
■ Resistance is Rtotal = R1 + R2 +...
○ Parallel Circuit
■ Current is divided by how many loads there are (Itotal = I1 + I2 + …)
■ Voltage is the same throughout
■ Resistance is 1/Rtotal = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + …
○ Use Ohm’s law to calculate everything (R = V/I)
Biology
● Earth’s spheres
○ Atmosphere - the layer of gases surrounding Earth
○ Lithosphere - the solid outer layer which consists of the rocks and
minerals
○ Hydrosphere - all of Earth’s water in solid, liquid, and gas from
○ Biosphere - all of parts of earth where living things can be found
● Terminology
○ Biotic - living component of an ecosystem
○ Abiotic - non living component of an ecosystem
○ Organism - a single living thing
○ Population - a group of the same species
○ Community - a group of different species living together
○ Ecosystem - the community + abiotic factors
○ Ecological niche - the function a species serves in its ecosystem
○ Producer - an organism that makes its own food
○ Consumer - an organism that obtains energy from consuming other
organisms
○ Decomposer - an organism that breaks down dead organisms
○ Herbivore - an animals that eats plants
○ Carnivore - an animal that eats other animals
○ Omnivore - an animal that eats plants and animals
○ Scavenger - an animal feeds on the remains of another organism
○ Trophic level - the level of an organism in an ecosystem
○ Tolerance range - the temperature range an organism can tolerate to
survive
○ Optimal range - the temperature range an organism prefers to live in
● Cycles
● Food chains and food webs
○ Food chains are a single path of energy.
Whereas a food web is a combination of
different food chains
● Ecological pyramids
○ Show the amount of available energy that organisms contain as energy
flows through a food chain
○ The amount of available energy decreases as you move up the food
chain.
○ The amount of biomass also
decreases as you move up the
trophic levels
● Factors affecting populations (Biotic)
○ Competition
■ The interaction between 2
organisms that rely on the
same resource in a given
habitat (Barnacles and
mussels compete for
space on the ocean floor)
○ Predation
■ The interaction between 2 organisms where one organism hunts
and eats the other in order to obtain food. (great white shark human
and eat seals
○ Symbiosis
■ The close interaction between 2 different species where members
of one species live in, on, or near the other
1. Mutualism - both species benefit
2. Commensalism - 1 species benefits without harming or
helping the other
3. Parasitism - 1 species benefits while harming the other
○ Abiotic: Light, gases, water, temperature, acidity, and salt content
● Succession
○ Primary succession - type of ecological succession (the evolution of a
biological community’s ecological structure) that starts on new ground with
no soil.
○ Secondary succession - is succession in a partially disturbed ecosystem,
like a forest fire.
● How humans negatively impact Earth’s sustainability
1. Habitat loss and fragmentation
○ When native species can no long live in their habitat
○ Habitat fragmentation is when humans divided up a large
ecosystem
2. Invasive species
○ A non-native species that thrives in the new environment and even
harm the new ecosystem
3. Pollution
○ Harmful gases that result from burning fossil fuels can cause acid
rain
○ Oil spills in aquatic ecosystems can cause severe damage
○ Animals can get tangled in plastic garbage
4. Climate change
○ global warming which is due to an increase in CO2 in the
atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels
5. Pesticide use
○ Pesticides sometimes kill non target species
○ Bioamplification - pesticides are stored in the organism's body and
when they get eaten by another organism the pesticides
accumulate
○ Pesticide resistance
Space
● Terminology
○ Planet - a large round celestial object that travels around a star
○ A star - is a massive collection of gases, held together by its own gravity
and emitting huge amounts of energy
○ A galaxy - is a huge, rotating collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars,
planets, and other celestial objects
○ Universe - everything that exists, including all energy-matter, and space
○ Satellite - is a celestial object that travels around a larger celestial object
○ Star cluster - is a group of stars that develop together from the same
nebula, are gravitationally bound and travel together
● Our solar system
○ Sun
○ Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, (Asteroid belt), Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, Neptune
○ Asteroids - celestial objects formed of rock and metal
○ Meteoroids - smaller asteroids
○ Comets - chunks of ice and dust that have very long orbits around the Sun
● Characteristics of Earth
○ Revolution - earth orbits around the Sun every 365.25 days. This is one
revolution
○ Tilt - Earth is tilted 23.5o. This tilt causes the changing seasons as different
parts of Earth receive varying amounts of sunlight throughout the year
○ Rotation - Earth makes 1 rotation on its axis every 24 hours
○ Tides - are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the gravitational pull of
the moon. The side of Earth facing the Moon and the opposite side,
leading to high tides. Areas between these bulges experience low tides.
○ Eclipses
1. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth comes between the Sun and
the Moon, blocking sunlight from reaching the Moon
2. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes between the Sun and
Earth, blocking the Sun’s light partially or completely.
● Artificial satellites
○ These satellites help forecast weather, monitor agriculture, aid in
telecommunication or navigation, assist military activities, and explore the
universe
● Characteristics of stars
○ Size: Stars vary in size, from small dwarf stars to massive supergiants.
○ Temperature: The surface temperature of a star determines its color,
ranging from cooler red stars to hotter blue stars
○ Brightness: A star’s brightness, or luminosity, depends on its size and
temperature
○ Color: A star’s color indicates its temperature, with red being cooler and
blue being hotter
○ Composition: Stars are primarily made of hydrogen and helium, with trace
amounts of heavier elements
○ Life cycle
Nebula: Stars begin as a cloud of gas and dust called a nebula.
Gravity pulls the particles together, causing the formation of a
dense core.
Protostar: As the core condenses, it heats up, forming a protostar. If
the temperature and pressure become high enough, nuclear fusion
begins.
Main Sequence: Once nuclear fusion starts, the star enters the main
sequence stage, where it spends most of its life. It fuses hydrogen
into helium, releasing energy that provides light and heat.
Red Giant/Supergiant: When the hydrogen in the core is depleted,
the star expands and cools, becoming a red giant (low- to
medium-mass stars) or a red supergiant (high-mass stars).
Final Stages:
For low- to medium-mass stars, the outer layers are shed, forming a planetary
nebula, and the core becomes a white dwarf, eventually cooling into a black
dwarf.
The core collapses violently for high-mass stars, leading to a supernova
explosion. The remnants can form either a neutron star or a black hole,
depending on the remaining mass.
● Types of galaxies
○ Spiral, Barred spiral, lenticular, elliptical, and irregular
● Evolution of the universe
○ The Big Bang theory states that all matter and energy
is the universe expanded from a hot, dense mass
approximately 13.8 billion years ago
○ The universe continues to expand as evidenced by a
phenomenon called the “Red Shift”
● Space exploration
○ Telescopes
■ Ground-based telescopes
■ Hubble space telescope
○ Space probes - are robots that are sent into space to explore celestial
objects
○ Astronauts using space crafts
● Challenges
○ Environmental problems with rocket fuel
○ Health problems with microgravity (bone loss and muscle weakness
○ Health problems with radiation
○ Space junk