WGU C165 (Integrated Physical Sciences) Exam Questions With 100% Correct Answers | Latest Update 2023/2024 (VERIFIED)

Energy stored in stretched springs, rubber bands, etc. - elastic potential energy Energy carried by electromagnetic waves. Light energy. - electromagnetic energy Energy from the motion of atoms and molecules. Depends on mass and temperature - thermal energy Term for the fact that energy cannot be created/destroyed, only transferred/converted - Law of conservation of energy A repetitive motion that occurs around a center point or equilibrium - oscillation A position or state to which an oscillating object eventually returns to - equilibrium A repeating and periodic disturbance (oscillation) that travels from one point to another, transferring energy - wave Type of waves that require a medium (air, water, etc.) to travel through, cannot travel through a vaccuum - mechanical waves Wave where the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling - transverse wave Wave where the oscillation occurs along the direction the wave is traveling - longitudinal wave Waves with both an electric and magnetic component. Can only be transverse waves and can travel through a vaccuum - electromagnetic waves Region of longitudinal wave where particles are close together - compression Region of longitudinal wave where particles are far apart (aka rarefaction) - expansion The highest point in a wave above equilibrium - crest The lowest point in a wave under equilibrium - trough The distance between a wave's equilibrium and crest/trough in a transverse wave, or how compressed/expanded the medium becomes in a longitudinal wave - amplitude The horizontal distance after which the wave repeats - wavelength The amount of time needed for one full oscillation/one wave to pass - period Number of wave oscillations in a given period of time - frequency A disturbance we can hear that moves through a medium away from the source - sound wave Anything that takes up space and has mass - Matter The basic building block of matter - Atom The electrons in the outer most shell of an atom - valence electrons A pure substance made of only one kind of atom, defined by its proton count - Element The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom - atomic number Any substance that has a definite, fixed composition - Chemical a chemical combination of two or more different elements in a fixed ratio - Compound the attractive forces that hold atoms together - chemical bonds Compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen - organic compound Compounds that are not organic compounds - Inorganic compounds A chemical containing only one type of element or compound - pure substance A combination of two or more substances that are not chemically combined and not present in a specific, fixed ratio - Mixture A mixture in which pure substances are unevenly distributed throughout the mixture - heterogeneous mixture A mixture in which substances are evenly distributed throughout the mixture - homogeneous mixture The properties observed when a large number of particles interact - macroscopic properties Properties at the small scale, such as properties of atoms and molecules - microscopic properties The lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere where weather occurs - Troposphere the layer above the troposphere; the ozone layer is found in this layer, planes fly here - Stratosphere Protective layer in atmosphere that shields earth from UV radiation. - ozone layer The layer of Earth's atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere, where meteors burn up - Mesosphere The atmospheric layer above the mesosphere where auroras occur, ISS orbits here - Thermosphere The outer layer of the atmosphere - Exosphere When matter changes in appearance without changing in chemical composition - physical change When matter changes in chemical composition - chemical change When chemical bonds are formed/broken in a chemical change - chemical reaction The substances present before a chemical reaction begins - Reactants The substances formed during a chemical reaction - Products An atom with a net electric charge (i.e., not neutral) - Ion Chemical bond formed between a positively charged atom and a negatively charged atom, where a valence electron is given from one to the other - ionic bond Compounds formed via ionic bonds, usually a combination of a metal and one or more nonmetals - ionic compound Bond formed between atoms that share valence electrons - covalent bond Bond formed between atoms of metals using an electron sea where valence electrons move about freely - metallic bond Name for a row in the periodic table - period Name for a column in the periodic table - group Name for elements in the same group of the periodic table that have the same number of valence electrons - family Term for elements that tend to lose electrons - metals The ability to be shaped by pounding without breaking apart - malleability The ability to be stretched into wire - ductility Term for elements with electrons very tightly associated with the nucleus - nonmetals Term for elements that are shiny like metal but have intermediate electrical conductivity (i.e. semiconductors) - metalloids Term for the fact that matter cannot be created/destroyed, but can be converted between forms through physical or chemical changes - law of conservation of matter Number used to indicate the ratio of chemicals in a reaction, written before chemical formula - coefficient Term for the measure of the average kinetic energy per particle - Temperature Term for the total energy in the particles of an object - Thermal energy A cloud of gasses and particles - nebula Process where hydrogen and other nuclei fuse together into larger nuclei - nuclear fusion Celestial body that held together by its own gravity that releases light and other forms of radiant energy generated by nuclear fusion - star A collection of hundreds of billions of stars that are clustered together by gravity - galaxy Very small, rocky bodies that orbit the sun - asteroids A naturally formed object that orbits a planet - moon Relatively small, icy, dusty bodies that travel around the sun in very elliptical orbits - comets Thin, outermost rocky shell at the surface of the earth - crust Thickest layer of the Earth made of hot, solid rock, 84% of volume of the planet - mantle Outer half of the Earth's core. Made of mostly molten iron - outer core Inner half of the Earth's core. Made of solid nickel-iron - inner core The alteration or breakdown of rock or soil - weathering Weathering resulting from mechanical processes - physical weathering Weathering resulting from chemical processes - chemical weathering The mechanism responsible for the transportation or removal of material - erosion A slowly moving mass of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow that flows slowly over time - glacier The process in which soil, sediment, or rocks are added to a landform - deposition Curves in a river formed by eroding the outer bank and depositing sediment on the inner bank - meanders A naturally occurring, solid inorganic element/compound formed by natural processes, with a limited range of possible chemical composition and a definite arrangement of atoms - mineral Rocks made up of weathered particles (sand, silt, clay, gravel, cobbles, or even boulders) that have been cemented together into hard rock - sedimentary rocks Rocks formed by lava or magma - igneous rocks Rocks formed through heat and pressure which causes their minerals to change - metamorphic rocks Name for the various processes that change rocks from one form to another - rock cycle Era consisting of Hadean, Archean, and Proterozoic eons - Precambrian Era Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic - 4 eons Era consisting of greatest diversification of life on earth - Paleozoic era Era when the dinosaurs thrived - Mesozoic era Current era, the age of mammals - Cenozoic era Principle stating in undeformed sedimentary rocks, each bed is younger than the one below it - principle of superposition If a rock, fault, or other feature cuts through a rock layer, that rock layer must have been preexisting in order to have been cut through. Determines relative ages of different rocks - principle of crosscutting relationships A buried erosional surface, suggesting a lack of information - unconformity A tectonic plate boundary where the plates push into each other, causing large quakes - convergent boundary A tectonic plate boundary where the plates are separating, with volcanoes and few, weak quakes - divergent boundary A tectonic plate boundary where the plates are grinding past each other, causing quakes but almost no volcanoes - transform boundary When one tectonic plate sinks into the mantle below another plate - subduction A convergent boundary between a seafloor plate and continental plate, causing deep ocean trenches and continental volcanic mountain ranges, large quakes - oceanic to continental boundary A convergent boundary between two seafloor plates, causing volcanic islands and large earthquakes - oceanic to oceanic boundary A convergent boundary between two continental plates with no subduction, causing tall mountain ranges with no volcanoes but large earthquakes - continental to continental boundary