Exam 2: Science, Matter, Energy, and Systems

Scientists can disprove things but they cannot prove anything absolutely, which means there is always some uncertainty in science.

Atoms have a net positive electrical charge.

Most of the energy from burning a gallon of gasoline is lost as ____________________ energy called heat.

Radioactive decay is best characterized as a type of ____.

What is the point of a fundamental shift in the behavior of a system?

Heat is best characterized as a kind of ____ energy.

What is an example of low-quality energy?

A molecule is a combination of two or more atoms held together by forces called _______________.

What percentage of the energy used to produce food for living organisms, and to heat the earth, comes from the sun?

Nuclear ____ occurs when two nuclei are forced together.

Feedback causes ____ in a system.

Human events that affect the environment are generally characterized by ____.

With reference to the accompanying figure, explain the significant difference that occurred between 1966 and 1970 in terms of the two lines representing the control watershed and the experimental watershed.

The atomic number is the number of ____.

There are many types of electromagnetic radiation, each with a different ____________________ and energy content.

Time delays in feedback systems allow changes in the environment to build slowly until the changes reach a(n)____.

Give an example of a positive feedback loop and explain the process.

If a macromolecule was a brick wall it would be called a(n)____________________ made up of repeating units called ____________________.

Any process that increases or decreases a change to a system is called a(n)_______________.

Briefly describe the scientific process outlined in this chapter.