Name____________________________
Block______
Homeroom_____
SCA Review
The following review is a brief outline of the major objectives learned this year. It
provides some tips to avoid common mistakes as well as recommended test strategies.
Week 1- Feb 23-27
Know that an element is a pure substance.
 Pure substances- no other elements at all (Ex: Hg, C, O2)
 There may be one atom (Ex: Hg)
 There could also be more than one atom (Ex: H2)
Recognize that a limited number of elements make up most of Earth.
 6 most common elements- Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus,
Sulfur
 Nitrogen is most common element of all on planet Earth
 Nitrogen in most common in the atmosphere
 Oxygen is most common element in the crust, oceans, and living matter
Differentiate between elements and compounds.
 Chemical symbols- find on periodic table, can be one or two letters, only first
letter a capital letter
 Compounds are 2 or more elements (Ex: H2O, NaCl)
 Mixtures are more than one molecule that have not been chemically combined
 Test Strategy- underline all capital letters in a chemical formula. If there is only 1
capital letter it is pure, if there are 2 or more capital letters it is a compound.
Week 2- March 2-6
Compare metals, nonmetals, and metalloids.
 Metal, Nonmetals, Metalloids- know if each is a good conductor or not
Calculate the density of unknown substance.
 Density=m/v
 Density is how compact the molecules are, if you cut an object into pieces those
pieces have the same density at the whole
 Density misconceptions- the bigger the object the more dense(this is wrong!)
 Density changes with temperature- cold causes molecules to come together and
be more dense, warming causes them to spread apart be less dense
Identify the formation of a new substance as a sign of a chemical change.
 4 signs of chemical change = gas, heat, color, precipitate
Name____________________________
Block______
Homeroom_____
SCA Review
Week 3- March 16-20
Compare and contrast potential and kinetic
 Pendulum- at the top the object has the most potential energy, the bottom has
the most kinetic energy until it changes direction
 Kinetic energy is affected by mass and speed
 Potential energy is affected by mass and position
Identify and describe changes in position, direction and speed when acted upon by
unbalanced forces.
 Opposing forces that are balanced = 0N net force
 Acceleration is speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction
Investigate how inclined planes and pulleys can be used to change the amount of force
to move an object.
 Simple machines keep the work the same
 Simple machines require less force to get the same amount of work done
Week 4- March 23-27
Calculate average speed.
 Speed=d/t
 On a graph, look at the last point on the graph and use the distance and time for
that point ONLY
Measure and graph change in motion.
 Change of motion can be shown on a graph
o Straight line = constant motion
o Curve up/down = acceleration
o Flat line = no motion (stopped)

Distance
Graph misconception- the line shows the path the object took- No! Time
This arch does not show an object going up and then down, it shows
accelerating, stopping and then returning in the direction it came from.
Name____________________________
Block______
Homeroom_____
SCA Review
Week 5- 30-April 3
Investigate methods of thermal energy transfer.
 Conduction- heat objects by direct contact, convection- heat rises in air or liquid,
radiation- heat travels through space and only warms the objects not the space
 Heat always moves from warm to cool until temperature is balanced
Verify that thermal energy moves from warm to cool.
 Example: when you sit on a cold chair it will gradually warm up. The thermal
energy from you moves to the colder chair.
Demonstrate energy transformations.
 Types of energy: thermal, radiant, electrical, chemical, mechanical, nuclear
 Power plants transform energy in several steps
o Example: Coal Power Plant
 Chemical energy in coal is burned and turns into thermal energy.
Thermal energy is used to boil water and create steam. Steam
moves and so the thermal energy had changed into mechanical
energy. Moving steam spins the blades of a turbine which are
connected to a generator. A generator changes the mechanical
energy into electrical energy.
 Conversion examples
o Batteries to flashlight (chemical to electrical to radiant)
o Sunlight to photosynthesis (radiant to chemical)
o Food to riding a bike (chemical to mechanical)
o Wind to electricity (mechanical to electrical)
Week 6- April 6-10
Research and debate the advantages and disadvantages.
 Fossil fuels currently the most used energy source in the U.S.
 Renewable: biomass, trees, plants, wind, water, hydroelectric, geothermal
 Nonrenewable: coal, oil, natural gas
Design a logical plan to manage energy sources.
 Ways to conserve electricity: turn off lights, unplug appliances, switch to lower
watt light bulbs, use less AC in the summer and less heat in the winter
Build a model to illustrate the layers of Earth.
 Litho = rock
 The tectonic plates make up the crust and sit on top of the asthenosphere (move)
 Layers of Earth: inner core, outer core, mantle, asthenosphere, lithosphere, crust
Name____________________________
Block______
Homeroom_____
SCA Review
Week 7- Apr 13-17
Identify the major plates.
 6 major plates: African, North American, South American, Eurasian, IndoAustralian, Pacific
Describe hose plate tectonics causes major geological events
 Convergent Boundary- comes together, Divergent Boundary- move apart,
Transform Boundary- slide past
 The tectonic plates move by sitting on convection currents that are in the
asthenosphere
 Geological events are created by plate movement
o Ocean basins- divergent (cont./cont.)
o Earthquakes- transform
o Volcanic eruptions- convergent (subduction), transform
o Mountain building- convergent (cont./cont.)
o Ocean Ridge- divergent (oceanic/oceanic)
o Seafloor spreading- divergent (oceanic/oceanic)
o Island formation- convergent (subduction) (oceanic/oceanic or
oceanic/cont.)
o Trenches- divergent
o Faults- transform
o Rift- divergent (oceanic/oceanic)
o Rift Valley- divergent (cont./cont.)
Name____________________________
Block______
Homeroom_____
SCA Review
Week 8- Apr 20-24
Test the physical properties of minerals.
 Hardness- use scratch test with Moh’s hardness scale
 Streak-color of mineral
 Luster-shine
 Magnetism- is it magnetic
 Cleavage- describes what pattern the mineral breaks in
 Texture-feel
 Color- color when observing
Classify rocks based on the process of their formation.
Rock Types
Processes that Form Rocks
Metamorphic
Melting
Sedimentary
Cooling
igneous
Layering
Compaction
Cementation
Heating
pressure



Metamorphic- heat and pressure
Sedimentary- compaction, cementation, and layering
Igneous- melting and cooling
Week 9- Apr 27- May 1
Describe the physical properties, locations, and movements of planets, moons, starts,
and space objects.
 The Sun is a medium sizes star in the center of solar system
 8 major planets- know order, characteristics, composition, moons
 Rotation is spinning (day), revolution is orbiting (year)
 Asteroid- most found in belt between Mars and Jupiter, they are made of rock
and orbit the Sun
 Comets- made of ice, elliptical orbit, tail points away from Sun
 Meteoroid- rocks traveling in space, burns up in atmosphere-called a meteor,
lands on Earth-called a meteorite
 Larger planets have more gravity because they have more mass
Understand that gravity is the force that controls all movement in the solar system.
 Weight changes when gravity changes, mass of an object stays the same
 Gravity pulls planets toward the Sun, Inertia keeps planets moving in their orbit
(planets would shoot out in a strait line if gravity disappeared)
 Light travels in space since it is energy, sound does not travel in space since it
needs air molecules to vibrate and there is no air in space