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1. Science is the search for answers to questions.
2. Observations are made using the five senses or by using mathematical measurements.
3. The scientific method is a systematic approach (find a problem, gather information, form a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, observe, record data and draw a conclusion) to solving problems.
4. A hypothesis is a proposed answer to a question.
5. A theory is a hypothesis that has been tested many times and has evidence to support it.
6. A law is a theory that has been tested many times and is generally accepted as true.
7. Scientists often use experiments to test a hypothesis.
8. A variable is a factor that can affect the outcome of an experiment.
9. The three major fields of science are Life Science (Biology), Physical Science (Chemistry and Physics) and Earth Science.
10. All scientists use the metric system of measurement
11. The gram is the metric unit of mass.
12. The liter is the metric unit of volume.
13. The meter is the metric unit of distance.
14. All metric unit values can be expressed by adding the following prefixes:

    milli (m) 1/1000 or 0.001or 10(-3)   

    centi   (c) 1/100 or 0.01 or 10(-2)                                                                          

    kilo (k) 1 thousand or 1000 or 10(3)

STATE GOAL #12: Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of the life, physical and earth sciences.

A. Know and apply concepts that explain how living things function, adapt and change.

B. Know and apply concepts that describe how living things interact with each other and with their environment.

(LIFE SCIENCE)

15. A membrane that controls what can enter and leave the cell covers all cells.
16. Cells repeatedly divide to make more cells for growth and repair.
17. The same genetic information is copied in each new cell of an organism.
18. In asexual reproduction all genes come from a single parent  
19. In sexual reproduction half of the genes come from each parent.
20. The information passed from parents to offspring is coded in DNA molecules.
21. Some likenesses between children and parents are inherited. Other likenesses are learned.
22. People can control some characteristics of plants and animals they raise by selective breeding.
23. Carbon and hydrogen are common elements of living matter.
24. Plants use the energy from light to make sugars from carbon dioxide, nutrients and water (photosynthesis).
25. Plants produce their own food through photosynthesis and are called producers.
26. Organisms that cannot produce their own food and must rely on other food sources are called consumers.
27. Plants are consumed by other organisms, which are, in turn, consumed by other organisms. This system is called a food chain.
28. All food chains begin with plants and end with an apex predator.
29. When food chains overlap it is called a food web.
30. There are two interconnected global food webs. One based in water and one based on land.
31. Decomposers break down dead and decaying organisms and return food materials to the environment.
32. Food provides molecules that serve as fuel and building materials for all organisms.
33. Almost all food energy comes originally from sunlight.
34. Plants alter the Earth’s atmosphere by removing carbon dioxide from it, using the carbon to make sugars and releasing oxygen.
35. At times, environmental conditions are such that plants and marine organisms grow faster than decomposers can recycle them back to the environment.
36. Layers of energy-rich organic material have been gradually turned into great coal beds and oil pools.
37. Fossils are formed when an organism dies, is covered by sediment and over time turns into rock.
38. More recently deposited rock layers are more likely to contain fossils resembling existing species.
39. Scientists classify living things by using a system called taxonomy.
40. Living things are classified by their physical characteristics.
41. All organisms have a scientific name consisting of its genus and species.
42. Scientists use a “two-name” naming system called binomial nomenclature.
43. Life is classified into five kingdoms: Protista, Monera, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.
44. In all environments, organisms with similar needs may compete with one another for resources, including food, space, water, air and shelter.  
45. A change in the characteristics or behavior of an organism in response to environmental pressures is called an adaptation.
46. Natural selection leads to organisms well suited for survival in particular environments.

C. Know and apply concepts that describe properties of matter and energy and the interaction between them

(CHEMISTRY)

47. Mass is the measure of the amount of matter in an object
48. Volume is the amount of space an object takes up
49. The density of an object is determined by dividing the mass of an object by its volume
50. Weight is a measure of the force of gravity acting on an object
51. All matter has mass, weight, volume, and density.
52. Matter is found on Earth in three states dependent upon the motion of its molecules: solids (slow), liquids (medium) and gasses (fast).
53. In solids, the atoms or molecules are closely locked in position and can only vibrate.
54. In liquids, atoms or molecules have higher energy, are more loosely connected, and can slide past one another.
55. In gases, the atoms or molecules have still more energy and are free of one another except during occasional collisions.
56. Changes of state occur when there is a change of heat energy or pressure.
57. The freezing point is the temperature where a liquid turns into a solid.
58. The melting point is the temperature where a solid turns to a liquid.
59. Vaporization occurs when a substance changes from a liquid to a gas.
60. Condensation occurs when a substance changes from a gas to a liquid.
61. Sublimation occurs when a substance changes from a solid directly to a gas.
62. Boiling occurs when the internal pressure of a substance equals the external pressure being applied to it.
63. Matter can be identified by its physical and chemical properties.
64. Some physical properties are color, shape, texture, odor, density, ductility, viscosity, malleability, brittleness and luster.
65. The chemical properties of matter are the ways in which a substance reacts with other substances.
66. Atoms are made of a positive nucleus surrounded by negative electrons.
67. The three main subatomic particles of an atom are the proton (p+), the neutron (n+-) and the electron (e-).
68. The proton(s) and neutron(s) are found in the nucleus of an atom.
69. Electrons are found in the energy levels of an electron cloud surrounding the nucleus of an atom.
70. Valence electrons are those that are found in the outermost energy level.
71. The number of protons found in an atom is called the atomic number.
72. The atomic mass of an element is equal to the average sum of the protons and neutrons.
73. A stable atom has an equal number of protons and electrons.
74. An ion is a charged atom that has an unequal number of protons and electrons.
75. An element is the simplest pure substance.
76. A molecule is made up of two or more atoms.
77. A compound is two or more elements chemically combined.
78. Chemical bonds are formed between valence electrons of reacting atoms.
79. The chemical bond that is formed by the transfer of electrons is called an "ionic bond."
80. A chemical bond where valence electrons are shared is called a "covalent bond."
81. The horizontal rows on a periodic table are called periods.
82. The period # is correspondent to the # of energy levels the element has.
83. Elements with similar properties are grouped in vertical columns called groups or families.
84. The atomic symbol, atomic number and atomic mass for each element can be found in the squares of the periodic table.
85. There are four sections of elements on the periodic table: the highly reactive metals (metals), the less-reactive metals (metalloids), the highly reactive non-metals (non-metals), and some almost completely non-reactive gases (inert or noble gases).
86. A chemical reaction occurs when two or more substances combine forming a new substance with different chemical and physical properties.
87. Equal volumes of different substances usually have different weights.
88. Energy appears in different forms including heat, light, electricity, motion, etc.
89. The motion of molecules creates heat energy.
90. Cold is the absence of heat energy.
91. Atoms and molecules are perpetually in motion.
92. Increased temperature means greater average energy of motion, so most substances expand when heated and contract when cooled.
93. A chemical reaction produces a change in energy.
94. A reaction that releases energy is called an exothermic reaction.
95. A reaction that absorbs energy is called an endothermic reaction.
96. Heat moves from warmer objects to cooler objects until equilibrium is established.
97. Heat moves by conduction (direct particle contact), convection (transfer via density changes in a substance) and radiation (waves).
98. Substances that transfer heat or electricity easily are called conductors and those that don't transfer heat or electricity easily are called insulators.
99. A solution is a mixture in which one substance is dissolved in another substance.
100. A solute is a substance that is dissolved and a solvent does the dissolving.

E. Know and apply concepts that describe the features of the Earth and its resources.

F. Know and apply concepts that explain the composition and structure of the universe and earth’s place in it.

101. The earth first formed in a molten state and then the surface cooled into solid rock.
102. Pangaea (meaning "all lands" in Greek) is the name given to the supercontinent that contained all of earth's landmasses during the Permian period 225 million years ago.
103. The Uniformitarian Principle states that the geologic forces and processes, gradual as well as catastrophic, acting on the Earth today are the same as those that have acted in the geologic past.
104. Our planet is made up of three main layers: crust, mantle, and core.
105. The crust, the outermost layer, is rigid and very thin.
106. Beneath the crust is the mantle, a dense, hot layer of semi-solid rock approximately 2,900 km thick.
107. The mantle is hotter and denser because temperature and pressure inside the Earth increase with depth.
108. At the center of the Earth lies the core, which is nearly twice as dense as the mantle because its composition is metallic (iron-nickel alloy) rather than stony.
109. The Earth's core is actually made up of two distinct parts: a 2,200 km-thick liquid outer core and a 1,250 km-thick solid inner core.
110. As the Earth rotates, the liquid outer core spins, creating the Earth's magnetic field.
111. The theory of plate tectonics states that the Earth's crust is fragmented into a dozen or more large and small plates that are floating on the semi- molten mantle.
112. The theory of continental drift states that the present-day continents are the fragmented pieces of preexisting larger landmasses called supercontinent.
113. The earth's surface is dynamic (constantly changing) due to the natural forces being applied to it.
114. New land is formed by volcanic activity (sea floor spreading, island building, eruptions, etc.) and colliding tectonic plates (uplift).
115.   Earthquakes often occur along the boundaries between colliding plates.
116. Erosion is the wearing away of the Earth’s crust by natural forces.
117. Erosion has a variety of causes including wind, precipitation, ice, temperature, sunlight, and gravity.
118. Eroded particles eventually come to rest in areas called deposits. This process is known as deposition.
119. Sediments of sand and smaller particles (sometimes containing the remains of organisms) are gradually buried and cemented together by dissolved minerals to form sedimentary rock.
120. Molten rock may be extruded through cracks and openings in Earth’s crust where it cools into a solid called igneous rock.
121. Sedimentary rock and igneous rock buried deep enough, perhaps melting under the pressure and heat, may recrystalize into a different form called metamorphic rock.
122. Rock bears evidence of the minerals, temperatures and forces that created it.
123. The history of Earth and its life forms can be studied in layers of sedimentary rock.

(ASTRONOMY)

124. Most astronomers accept the "Big Bang" theory of the universe, which states that the universe began with a great explosion of matter and energy and has been expanding ever since.
125. The universe is composed of an infinite number of galaxies.
126. A galaxy is composed of billions of stars held together by gravitational attraction.
127. Earth is found in the Milky Way galaxy.
128. There are two major types of galaxies. Spiral galaxies are pinwheel shaped and have spiral arms radiating from the center. Elliptical galaxies are oval in shape and have no arms.
129. Andromeda is the closest galaxy, 2 million light years away to the Milky Way.
130. A light year is the distance that it takes light to travel in a year.
131. Light travels at 300,000 km/s.
132. A star is formed by the gravitational attraction of gases in a nebula.
133. A nebula is a cloud in space made of gas and dust.
134. The sun is many thousands of times closer to the earth than any other star. Light from the sun only takes a few minutes to reach earth.
135. Light from the nearest star (besides the sun) takes a few years to arrive. The trip to that star would take the fastest rocket thousands of years.
136. The universe contains many billions of galaxies and each galaxy contains billions of stars.
137. Some distant galaxies are so far away that their light takes several millions of years to reach the earth. People on earth, therefore, see them, as they were millions of years ago.
138. The sun is a medium-sized star located near the edge of a disc-shaped galaxy of stars.
139. The stars differ from each other in size, temperature and age, but they appear to be made up of the same elements found on earth and behave according to the same physical properties.
140. Stars condensed by gravity out of clouds of molecules of the lightest elements until nuclear fusion of the light elements into heavier ones began to occur.
141. Unlike the sun, most stars are in systems of two or more stars orbiting each other.
142. When a star explodes it is called a supernova.
143. Supernovas produce nebulas containing heavy elements, which can condense into new stars and planets.
144. The process of star formation and destruction continues.