[Science Form 3] Electricity

Electrical energy

• Definition: Energy produced when an electric current flows.

• The source of electrical energy is any device that produces electric charges or electric current.

Electricity

• Definition: The flow of electric charges through a conductor.

• Electrons flow in the direction opposite to the electric current. The electric current is the rate
of flow of electric charges passing through a conductor.

• The unit of electric current (I) is ampere.

• The unit of voltage (V) is volt.

• The unit of resistance (R) is ohm.

• Different materials have different resistance to electricity.

• The resistance of a conductor is affected by its length, diameter and temperature.

• A very high resistance allows only a very small amount of current to flow.

Van De Graaff generator

The Van De Graaff generator is a device that can produce electric charges of very high voltage. When
the motor is turned on, the lower roller (charger) begin turning the belt.

As the belt is made of rubber and the lower roller is covered in silicon tape, the lower roller will begin
to build a negative charge while the belt builds a positive charge.

The negative charge on the lower roller is built up by capturing electrons from the belt as it passes
over the roller. This occurs as silicon is more negative than rubber in the triboelectric series.

[Science Form 3] Units of Electricity

Volts (V)

• Voltage can be compared to the pressure of water in a hose. The higher the pressure, the
faster the water will flow through the hose.

Similarly, the higher the voltage of electricity, the faster it will flow from the source of the
electricity to an end user.

A volt, or the unit of voltage, is a common electrical measurement. It is used, for example, to
discuss the transmission of electricity from power plants to end users.

Ohms

• Ohm measure resistance and can be compared to the diameter measurement of a hose. A
smaller diameter hose will allow less water to flow through than a larger diameter hose.

Similarly, a thinner wire increases resistance, causing a lesser amount of electricity to be

transmitted because it is encountering resistance in the wire.

To reduce resistance, certain metals, such as copper, which allows electrons to flow easily, are
used to conduct electricity.

Amperes (A)

• Amperes can be compared to the volume of water that flows through a hose. The volume of
water that flows past a certain point in a specific amount of time can be measured.

Similarly, amperes measure the number of electrons that pass a specific point within a certain
amount of time (rate of current) in a circuit.
 One ampere is equivalent to approximately 6.25 X 1018 electrons passing by a specific point in
one second.

The rate of the electric current is dependent upon the voltage and resistance. A circuit with
high voltage and low resistance will have more amperes (greater number of electrons passing
through the circuit) than a circuit with low voltage and higher resistance. The former example
has more power than the latter.

It is important to measure the amount of amperes in a circuit because it can help calculate the
amount of power consumption or output of a circuit.

Ohm's Law

1. Ohm's Law is used to describe the mathematical relationship between electric current, voltage
and resistance.

2. We can arrange Ohm's Law depending on which component we are trying to find out.

○ I = V/R

○ V=IxR

○ R = V/I

3. All these variations of Ohm's Law are mathematically equal to one another...
Measuring of;

○ Current (I)

 Method: Ammeter
Unit= Amperes (A)
# The ammeter is connected in series to a circuit. The movement of the
ammeter needle shows that current is flowing in the circuit.

○ Voltage (V)

 Method: Voltmeter
Unit: Volts (V)
# The voltmeter is connected in parallel to a circuit when measuring voltage.
 ○ Resistance

 Method: Resistor
Unit: Ohm
# The higher the resistance, the bigger the ohm value in a resistor.

[Science Form 3] Transmission & Distribution

• The electricity distribution system includes:

○ National Grid Network, which carries electricity to the main substation

 Consists of a network of cables that carries electricity with a voltage of 66kV,

132kV or 275kV

 It connects all the power stations in our country.

○ Transformer station

○ Switch zone, which is located in various places

 It is equipped with circuit breakers to automatically cut off the circuit if a

short circuit occurs.

○ Main substation, where voltage is lowered by a step-down transformer to 33kV

 This high voltage is supplied to heavy industries like vehicle manufacturing

factories.

○ Substation branches, where voltage is lowered by a step-down transformer to 11kV

 This is supplied to light industries like electronic factories.

○ The voltage to housing estates is 240V.

[Science Form 3] The Alternatives
• Electric generators like thermal, diesel, nuclear and gas turbine generators use raw materials
that are non-renewable sources of energy.

• Solar energy is:

○ obtained from the sun

○ an electrical energy

○ used to supply electrical energy to:

 Satellites

 Electronic calculators

 Clocks

 Certain vehicles

• Biomass

○ Organic material that can be charged into energy

○ Energy can be released from biomass through

 Burning

 Fermentation

 Chemical reaction or bacterial action

○ In a fermentation process, the mixture of yeast and sugar is changed into carbon

dioxide and ethanol fuel.

○ Biomass is in large supply and is a renewable source of energy that can be used as a

substitute for fossil fuel.

[Science Form 3] Reactions
Most metals react with oxygen to form metal oxide.

Metal + Oxygen -------> Metal oxide

Eg:

• Zinc + Oxygen -------> Zinc oxide

• Aluminium + Oxygen -------> Aluminium oxide

Most metals react with sulphur to form metal sulphide

Metal + Sulphur -------> Metal sulphide

Eg:

• Zinc + Sulphur -------> Zinc sulphide

• Iron + Sulphur -------> Iron sulphide

Metal + sulphide -------> Final product

1. Magnesium + Sulphur ----heat---> Magnesium sulphide

2. Aluminium + Sulphur ----heat---> Aluminium sulphide

3. Zinc + Sulphur ----heat---> Zinc sulphide

4. Iron + Sulphur ----heat---> Iron sulphide

Metal + oxide -------> Final product

 1. Magnesium + Oxygen ----heat---> Magnesium oxide

2. Aluminium + Oxygen ----heat---> Aluminium oxide

3. Zinc + Oxygen ----heat---> Zinc oxide

4. Iron + Oxygen ----heat---> Iron oxide

[Science Form 3] Compounds

Silicon Compounds
1. Silica

○ Components: Silicon, Oxygen.

○ Examples: Sand, Quartz, Flint.

2. Silicate

○ Components: Silicon, Oxygen, Metal.

○ Examples: Mica, Clay, Feldspar, Topaz.

3. properties

○ Very stable.

○ Insoluble in water.

○ Does not react with acids.

○ Does not discompose on heat.

*********************
Calcium Compounds

Some of the properties of calcium compounds include:

• Insoluble in water.

• Reacts with acids to produce salt, carbon dioxide and water.

• Decomposes on strong heating to produce calcium oxide and carbon dioxide.

Uses of calcium compounds

1. Limestone

○ Manufacturer of cement and glass.

○ Extraction of tin and iron.

○ Making quicklime and slaked lime.

2. Marble

○ Making statues and monuments.

○ Cover floors and sides of buildings.

3. Quicklime

○ Neutralise acids in the soil.

○ As a drying agent in the preparation of ammonia gas.

4. Slaked lime

○ Reduce the acidity of soil.

○ Supply calcium to plants.

○ Making caustic soda as a cleaning agent.

*********************

[Science Form 3] Course Of Nature

Menstruation is the blood discharge from the uterus through the vagina of a female every month. A
menstrual cycle takes an average of 28 days, and begins 14 days following ovulation.

Ovulation is the release of a mature ovum from the ovary. The ovum travels into the uterus and is
ready for fertilisation. Usually, ovaries take turns to release the ovum.

The fertile phase is the period in which ovulation occurs.

Changes in the males during puberty

When a baby boy is born, he has all the parts of his reproductive system in place, but it is only when he
reaches puberty that he is able to reproduce.
Puberty usually begins when one is nearing the ages of between 10 and 14. The pituitary gland, which
is located in the central part of the brain, secretes hormones that stimulate the testicles to
produce testosterone.

The production of testosterone brings about several physical changes. During the first stage of male
puberty, the scrotum and testes grow larger.

Then, the penis becomes longer, and the seminal vesicles and prostate gland start to grow. Hair begins
to appear in the pubic are and later, on the face and underarms.

During this time, the voice also deepens. A male who has reached puberty produces millions of sperm
cells every day.

Changes in the females during puberty

When a baby girl is born, her ovaries contain hundreds of thousands of eggs, which remain inactive
until puberty begins.

At puberty, the pituitary gland starts making hormones that stimulate the ovaries to produce female
sex hormones like estrogen.

The secretion of these hormones causes a girl to develop into a sexually mature woman. The hormones
also stimulate physical development, such as growth and breast development.

Usually, a girl gets her first menstrual period about 2 to 2.5 years after her breasts begin to develop.
Menstrual cycle

[Science Form 3] Fertilisation In Plants

Simple/Quick Note

1. Stigma becomes sticky -->

2. Pollen grains are transferred to stigma -->

3. Pollen tube emerges -->

4. Pollen tube penetrates the style into the ovule in the ovary -->

5. Male gamete from pollen tube is released into ovule (female gamete) -->

6. Male gamete and female gamete fuses to form a zygote -->

7. Ovule develops into a seed -->

 8. Ovary develops into a fruit.

Flowering plants
After the pistil is pollinated, the pollen grain germinates in a response to a sugary fluid secreted by the
mature stigma (mainly sucrose). From each pollen grain, a pollen tube grows out that attempts to
travel to the ovary by creating a path through the female tissue.

The vegetative (or tube) and generative nuclei of the pollen grain pass into its respective pollen tube.
The growth of the pollen tube is controlled by the vegetative (or tube) cytoplasm.

Hydrolytic enzymes are secreted by the pollen tube that digest the female tissue as the tube grows
down the stigma and style; the digested tissue is used as a nutrient source for the pollen tube as it
grows.

During pollen tube growth toward the ovary, the generative nucleus divides to produce two separate
sperm nuclei(haploid number of chromosomes) - a growing pollen tube therefore contains three
separate nuclei.

The pollen tube does not directly reach the ovary in a straight line. It travels near the skin of the style
and curls to the bottom of the ovary, then near the receptacle, it breaks through the ovule through the
micropyle (an opening in the ovule wall) and the pollen tube "bursts" into the embryo sac.

After this happens the pollen tube nucleus disintegrates, and one male sperm fuses to the female egg
cell, whilst the other fuses to two polar nuclei(triploid number of chromosones). This is the point when
fertilisation actually occurs.

Note that pollination and fertilisation are two separate processes. After being fertilised, the ovary
starts to swell and will develop a fruit. With multi-seeded fruits, multiple grains of pollen are
necessary for syngamy with each ovule.

The process is easy to visualise if one looks at maize silk, which is the female flower of corn. Pollen
from the tassel (the male flower) falls on the sticky external portion of the silk, and then pollen tubes
grow down the silk to the attached ovule. The dried silk remains inside the husk of the ear as the seeds
mature; if one carefully removes the husk, the floral structures may be seen.

In many plants, the development of the flesh of the fruit is proportional to the percentage of fertilised
ovules. For example, with watermelon, about a thousand grains of pollen must be delivered and spread
evenly on the three lobes of the stigma to make a normal sized and shaped fruit.

Double fertilisation
Double fertilisation is the process in angiosperms (flowering plants) during reproduction, in which two
sperm nuclei from each pollen tube fertilise two cells in an ovary.

The pollen grain adheres to the stigma of the carpel (female reproductive structure) and grows a
pollen tube that penetrates the ovum through a tiny pore called a micropyle.

Two sperm cells are released into the ovary through this tube. One of the two sperm cells fertilises the
egg cell (at the bottom of the ovule near the micropyle), forming a diploid (2n) zygote.

The other sperm cell fuses with two haploid polar nuclei (contained in the central cell) in the centre of
the embryo sac (or ovule). The resulting cell is triploid (3n). This triploid cell divides through mitosis
and forms the endosperm, a nutrient-rich tissue, inside the seed.

The two central cell maternal nuclei (polar nuclei) that contribute to the endosperm arise by mitosis
from a single meiotic product. Therefore, maternal contribution to the genetic constitution of the
triploid endosperm is different from that of the embryo.

One primitive species of flowering plant, Nuphar polysepala, has endosperm that is diploid, resulting
from the fusion of a pollen nucleus with one, rather than two, maternal nuclei.

It is believed that early in the development of angiosperm linages, there was a duplication in this mode
of reproduction, producing seven-celled/eight-nucleate female gametophytes, and triploid endosperms
with a 2:1 maternal to paternal genome ratio.

[Science Form 3] Structure of a seed

Testa
Function: Protect the seed

Micropyle
Function: Seed pore that allows air and water to enter the seed during germination

Hilum
Function: Attaches the seed to the ovary wall
Cotyledon
Function: Stores starch

Seed coat
Function: Protect the inside of the seed

Embryo
Function: The beginning of the new plant

Endosperm
Function: Stored food in a monocotyledon

Stored food
Function: A plant uses stored food until it grows leaves that can make food

Monocot
Function: A type of seed that has only one cotyledon

Dicot
Function: A type of seed that has two cotyledons

Germination
Function: The process of growing a new plant from a seed

[Science Form 3] Sexual or Asexual

When reproduction takes place, new organisms are produced from existing organisms, thus ensuring the
continuity of the organisms on Earth.

The production of offspring is carried out either through an

ASEXUAL PROCESS, which occurs in

• Animal
 • Plants

• Microorganisms

Or a
SEXUAL PROCESS, which occurs in

• Human

• Flowering plants

• Animals

Differences between asexual and sexual reproduction

Asexual reproduction
• The production of a new individual, which involves one organism only
• The new individual has the same characteristics as the parent's

Sexual reproduction
• The production of a new individual, which involves two sexes - a male and a female - through
the fusion of a male gamete and a female gamete.
• The new individual is a unique offspring, who does not have the same characteristics as
parents.
• Contributes to genetic diversity and variation within species.