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Close your eyes and imagine a brick wall. What is the most basic building unit of that wall? Well, it's a single brick. Everything in the universe is built up of littlebuilding blocks, much like a brick wall. So let's gather the necessary blocks to construct the building ofsciencetogether.
In our everyday life, we are surrounded by objects we can touch and feel. In science, all thesebuilding blocks基于“增大化现实”技术e consideredmatter.
Matteris any material that has mass and takes up space by having volume.
But the universe is not just made up of matter. Matter, together with energy, are themain components of the universe. In physics,energyis defined as theability to do work. It can be potential, kinetic, thermal, electrical, chemical, radioactive, or other forms. Energy isconserved, meaning that it isneither produced nor destroyed. It can only convert from one state to another.
In certain forms, such as thermal and radioactive, energy can be carried by waves.
It is essential to understand what makes up the matter around us. Hundreds ofchemical and physical reactionsoccur around us in our everyday life, most of which involvetheinteraction of matterparticlesat achemical or physical level.
For example, when you put the kettle on to make tea, the water boils and changes from aliquid state to a gaseous state. This is an example of aphysical reaction. Or when you turn on a gas stove to cook something, the methane (CH4) gas (i.e., natural gas) undergoescombustion and releases heat. The combustion of methane is achemical reactionin which methane particles react with the oxygen (O2) in the air to create carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapour (H2O) and release a substantial amount of energy.
Living organisms基于“增大化现实”技术e made of living building blocks calledcells. These cells are made of matter particles that constantly interact to keep the cells and the organism alive.
Having a good understanding of how particles behave and react is imperative forlearning scienceand being able tounderstand and predict scientific phenomena in the universe.
Atoms基于“增大化现实”技术e thebasic building blocks of matter. Whentwo or more atoms基于“增大化现实”技术ejoined, theyform a molecule. The majority of matter that exists in the physical world is made up of large clusters of atoms and molecules. Theperiodic tablehas 118 different types of atoms that have been discovered to this day, each representing adistinct chemical element.
Atoms are composed ofsubatomic particlescalledprotons, neutrons, and electrons. Thenucleus, which lies in an atom's heart, containsprotonsandneutrons. Protons have apositive charge, whereas neutrons areneutral. Electrons have anegative chargeand reside inorbitals基于“增大化现实”技术ound the nucleus.
Dive into the world of Particle Model of Matter and Atomic Structure by checking out our articles!
Protonsandneutrons基于“增大化现实”技术e made up ofelementary particlesknown asquarks, considered elementary particles since theycannot be broken downinto smaller units of matter.
Acompoundis created whenatomsandmoleculesfromtwo or more elements come togetherin achemical reaction.
This newly formed compound may have characteristics that bear no resemblance to that of the original elements.
Matter around us may exist inthree different statesdepending on temperature and other variables. These aresolid, liquid, and gas.
Learn more about the States of Matter by checking out our article!
Depending on thetemperatureandpressurein the system, a single element or compound of matter may live inmore than one state.
Water (H2O), for example, exists in solid, liquid, and gaseous forms and can be easily observed in any of these states.
Atoms and molecules insolidmaterials aredensely packed. Thisrestricts the movementof these particles. All solids have anestablished shape, mass, and volumethatprohibitsthem fromchanging formto the shape and volume of the container in which they are stored.
This is one of the characteristics that distinguish solid materials from liquids.Learn more about Solids by checking out our article!
Contrary to solids,liquidparticles aremore loosely packed. This allows them tomove around and flowover each other, giving the liquid an基于“增大化现实”技术bitrary form. As a result, liquids canadaptto thegeometry of the containersthey are poured into.
Want to know more about Liquids?! Be sure to check out our article!
Particles in thegaseous state基于“增大化现实”技术e展开since there is so muchspacebetween them. This property gives the gaseous particlesgreater mobilityandhigher kinetic energy. Gases can becontained, and they, too, canconformto thevolumeandshapeof their container. But unlike liquids and solids, gases arecompressibleby shrinking the container and reducing the distance between the particles.
Gases have some unique properties, check out our article to learn more!
The term 'wave' refers tovarious specific methodsby whichenergy can be shared. For instance, energy can be transferred viaelectromagnetic wavesby vibrations of electric and magnetic fields.Sound wavestransfer energy via thevibration of air particles or solid particlesthrough which the sound passes.
Do Waves sound groovy? Learn more about them by checking out our article!
Theamount of energycarried by a wave isproportionalto itsfrequencyandamplitude. The greater the frequency, the greater the energy, and the greater the amplitude, the greater the energy.
A wave'samplitudeis the distance between the centre line (or static position) and the peak of a crest or the bottom of a trough.
The number of waves that travel through a particular point in a given time is described byfrequency. So, if a wave takes 0.25 seconds to pass, the frequency is 4 per second.
There aretwo typesof waves,纵向andtransverse. Thevibrationsin longitudinal waves areparallelto the direction of wave travel. In transverse waves, however, thevibrations基于“增大化现实”技术eperpendicularto the direction of wave flow.
Cells基于“增大化现实”技术e thebuilding blocks of all living things. Some organisms are made up of simplyone cell, while others comprisemany cells.
Learn more about Cell Structure and how cells are formed via our Cell Division articles!
For example, a typical adult human body is composed of 37.2 trillion cells!
Thecellis the fundamental structural and functional unit of all living things.
Cells support theorganism's structure,absorb nutrientsfrom their surrounding,transform those nutrients成可用能量,perform specific activities. Cells also carry thebody's genetic materialand canreplicate themselves. Each cell has manydifferent parts and structuresthat each serve aparticular function. These parts are calledorganelles. The table below shows a list of organelles found in various cells and their functions.
Delve into the world of Transport in Cells to see how nutrients become usable energy andCell Differentiationto learn more about how different cells end up with specific functions!
Name |
Type of Cell |
Description |
Function |
Thecell membrane(plasma membrane) |
Bacteria Animals Plants |
Phospholipid and proteins bilayer |
Selective barrier, separating the cell from the external environment |
Cell wall |
Bacteria Plants |
Rigid structure outside the plasma membrane |
Giving the cell itsshapeand providing additional support and protection |
Nucleus |
Animals Plants |
Stores DNA, the genetic material |
Determines thecell's functionand controls all activities |
Golgi apparatus |
Animals Plants |
Found in the cytoplasm |
Modifiesnewly made proteins |
Mitochondria |
Animals Plants |
The powerhouse of the cell |
Site ofaerobic respiration |
Chloroplast |
Plants |
Contains greenchlorophyllpigments |
Site ofphotosynthesis |
Ribosomes |
Bacteria Animals Plants |
Found floating in the cytoplasm or bound to the rough endoplasmic reticulum |
Involved inprotein synthesis |
Multiple cellscome together andform tissues. Different tissues with related functions come together to create anorgan, and numerous organs comprise anorgan system. These organ systems together toform the body.
Inmulticellular organisms, most cells arespecialisedand haveadaptationsthat make thembetter suitedandmore efficientin their roles.
As an example, we will look at neurons and how they form part of the nervous system in the next section.
Neurons基于“增大化现实”技术einformation transmittersand are thebuilding blocks of the nervous system. Theytransfer informationbetween various parts of the brain and between the brain and the rest of the nervous system throughelectrical impulsesandchemical signals. To perform their roles, neurons must be able totransferelectrical impulsesquicklyalong their length andcommunicatewith neighbouringneuron synapses把它们分开。
Nerve cellshavevarious adaptationsto help them in their jobs. Each neuron has anaxon,cell body, andprojections coming outof the cell body calleddendrites. The axon is a long, thin section through which theelectrical impulse travels, and it is surrounded by afatty myelin coatingthat functions as anelectrical insulator. Thisenhances the rate of impulse conductance.
Dendritesprovide alarge surface area, allowing the neuron tocommunicatewith manyother neuronsorsensory cells. In addition, manymitochondria基于“增大化现实”技术e found in the cell body of a neuron. These mitochondria supply theenergy neededtoproduce electrical and chemical signals.
Atoms are the fundamental building components of matter. When two or more atoms are joined, they form a molecule. The majority of matter that exists in our everyday life in the physical world is made up of large clusters of atoms and molecules.
The majority of matter that exists in our everyday life in the physical world is formed of atoms. But atoms themselves are composed of subatomic particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Matter, together with energy, are the main components of the universe.
Atoms are the basic building components of matter. When two or more atoms are joined, they form a molecule. The majority of matter that exists in our everyday life in the physical world is made up of large clusters of atoms and molecules.
Atoms themselves are composed of subatomic particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons and neutrons themselves are made up of elementary particles known as quarks. So the 4 fundamental building blocks are protons, neutrons, electrons, and quarks.
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