100 Facts for 6th Grade Science: 2009-2010
Matter & Energy Facts:
Potential & Kinetic Energy
1. Energy is the ability to do work or the ability to move an object.
2. There are two primary types of energy: potential and kinetic
3. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion found in objects or substances.
Only moving objects have kinetic energy.
4. Potential energy is the energy an object has as a result of its position
or height above the ground.
5. The amount of potential energy depends upon its mass and height.
6. Potential energy changes into kinetic energy and back again.
7. The transformation from potential energy to kinetic energy occurs when an
object is in motion. (Example: A roller coaster car has P energy at the top
of each rise in the track and changes to K energy as the car moves down the
track. The higher the car, the greater the P energy.)
8. The transformation from kinetic energy to potential energy occurs when an
object transfers from a moving object to an object in a position with
potential energy.
9. A simple mechanical system, like a roller coaster or pendulum, shows that
potential energy changes into kinetic energy and back again.
10. Energy is not lost or gained when energy is moved from potential to
kinetic energy.
11. As an object falls, potential energy decreases and kinetic energy
increases.
12. As an object is raised (elevated), kinetic energy decreases and potential
energy increases.
13. Energy can travel from place to place.
14. Radiation is the transfer of energy by waves.
15. Conduction is the transfer of energy by direct contact between particles.
16. Convection is the transfer of heat energy through liquids and gases by
moving particles.
17. The states of matter include solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
18. A material will change from one state to another at specific
combinations of temperature and surrounding pressure.
19. Processes, such as freezing, melting, evaporation (boiling point), and
condensation, are various changes in states of matter.
20. The temperature of a material will increase or decrease until it reaches
the point where the change takes place. It will stay at that temperature
until the change is completed.
21. The motion of molecules or atoms will increase or decrease as temperature
increases or decreases.
22. Atoms are the smallest particles that make up all matter.
23. Molecules are a combination of two or more atoms.
24. When mass is conserved, it stays the same.
25. A closed system is a contained or isolated environment that is separate
from outside environments. (Example: The mass of an ice cube that is allowed
to melt in a closed glass jar or sealed plastic bag does not change. The mass
before and after the change is the same.)
COMPOSITION, PROPERTIES, AND CHANGES OF THE EARTH FACTS:
26. All rocks are similar, because they are composed of minerals.
27. There are three types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary.
They are different in the way in which they are formed.
28. Igneous rocks were formed from melted minerals that have cooled and
hardened.
29. Metamorphic rocks were formed by intense heat, pressure, and chemical
reactions.
30. Sedimentary rocks were formed from rocks and soil that have been pressed
and cemented together.
31. The rock cycle is a process of natural changes that cause one type of
rock to become another type of rock.
32. Weathering breaks down rock.
33. Physical weathering occurs from abrasion, freeze-thaw, thermal
expansion/contraction, pressure unloading, and plants or other organisms.
34. Plant roots can break down rock.
35. Freeze/thaw occurs when water is trapped in the spaces of rocks and is
frozen and thaws over and over again.
36. Abrasion occurs when water or wind carrying debris acts with a scouring
action on rock surfaces.
37. Thermal expansion/Contraction occurs when solar radiation causes minerals
to heat and cool at various speeds producing stresses in rock over time.
38. Chemical weathering is caused by chemical processes. Water is the main
agent at work and causes the composition of the rock to change and to break
primary minerals down into secondary minerals. (Example: Iron in rock becomes
rust and washes away)
39. As soon as a rock particle is loosened by weathering and moves, it is
called erosion.
40. Eroded rock is one of the main components of soil.
41. Rock can be eroded by wind, water (including waves), and glacial movement.
42. The shape of landforms are partially determined by the type of erosion.
43. Fragments of rock that are produced by erosion and are transported are
called sediment.
44. Sediment that is transported by the energy of wind or water is deposited
when that energy level decreases.
45. The components of soil are: pieces of eroded rock, organic material from
decaying plants and animals, air, and water. (Eroded rock and organic
material make up about ½ of the soil, the other ½ is air and water.)
46. The earth acts as a giant magnet.
47. The earth, like any natural or manufactured magnet, exhibits a north and
south magnetic pole.
48. A compass is composed of a small, lightweight magnet, called a needle
that is balanced on a point.
49. The earth exhibit’s a north and a south magnetic pole. One pole of the
magnet with be attracted and point toward the North Pole. This is called the
north pole of the magnet.
50. Compasses can be used for navigation from any point on the Earth, due to
the Earth’s magnetic field.
PLATE TECTONICS AND FOSSILS FACTS:
51. The Earth’s crust is composed of seven major semi-rigid plates that move
in various directions. The plates are called lithospheric plates.
52. The lithosphere is the solid most outer part of the Earth; the part of
the Earth’s surface that is made up of land, including the ocean’s floor.
53. The crust of the Earth is the outside (exterior) of the Earth.
54. The mantle is the layer of the Earth between the core and the crust. It
is made of partially melted rock.
55. The core of the Earth is the center of the Earth, found below the mantle.
56. The core of the Earth has a liquid outer core and a solid inner core. It
is made of iron and nickel.
57. The core of the Earth heats the mantle.
58. Lithospheric plates only move centimeters per year.
59. As the plates move, they interact with one another at their boundaries,
where they are separating, converging, or sliding past each other.
60. One theory for the movement of the plates is that the mantle pushes the
plates by a process called convection. When a gas or liquid is heated
unevenly, the part that is heated rises (convection current)
61. Another theory is that gravity pulls the older, heaving ocean floor more
force than the newer, lighter sea floor.
62. Earthquakes are formed when the boundaries of the lithospheric plates
move against each other, building up pressure, and then causing a sudden and
often violent shift. The movement causes an earthquake.
63. One way a volcano is formed is when two plates collide. One plate is
pushed up and one slides under. The one that slides under is melted, forming
magma that can be forced through vents to form volcanic mountains.
64. Another way a volcano is formed is when a plate moves over a hot spot in
the mantle and exposes a vent. Fountains of magma or hot rock punch through
the crust.
65. Volcanoes can also be formed when the plates beneath the ocean move
apart. A vent is exposed , and magma slowly rises to the surface, forming a
new ocean floor.
66. Mountains form when two plates collide. The two plates crush together
causing land to be pushed up. This results in the folding and breaking of the
Earth’s crust. Mountain building changes the shape of the Earth.
67. Erosion (the wearing away of material through wind and water) can expose
layers of rock.
68. Glaciers are slow moving masses of ice formed from compacted layers of
snow. Glaciers move and change with temperature change, gravity, and high
pressure.
69. Erosion, mountain building, and glacier movement change the surface of
the Earth and earth materials to from layers. These rock layers are used to
show the geologic time and history of the Earth.
70. A fossil is an imprint, replacement, or remains of an organism from
ancient times.
71. Fossils give us a historical view of how the Earth has changed over time.
72. Fossils give us a biological record of life and how organisms have
changed over time.
73. Fossils can be aligned with major environmental changes on Earth and show
how organisms responded to those changes.
ECOSYSTEMS FACTS:
74. Producers obtain food by trapping light energy to make food and supply
their energy needs (example-plants).
75. Consumers obtain their food from another organism by eating it or being a
parasite on it. (example-animals)
76. Decomposers use plants and animals as well as animal waste products as
their food source. (examples--bacteria and fungi)
77. Decomposers release chemicals and water into the soil to break down these
materials. The decomposers take in small particles and give minerals back to
the soil for plant growth.
78. A population is a group of organisms of the same species living in a
particular area at a particular time. (Plants or animals)
79. A community is made of different populations of organisms living in a
general area. (Includes both plants and animals)
80. An ecosystem is an area whose communities are determined by the
environment of the area.
81. The earth has many different kinds of populations, communities, and
ecosystems.
82. Forests, wetlands, and lakes are examples of ecosystems in Michigan.
83. Symbiosis describes organisms living together that benefit one or both.
An example would be lichens.
84. Parasitism describes organisms living together where one benefits from
living on the other. The host organism is harmed in some way. (Examples:
lamprey & fish; brown-headed cowbird & another bird’s nest)
85. Examples of predator-prey relationships in Michigan are: robin-worm,
human-deer, coyote-mice, spider-fly, frog-insect, bat-moth.
86. Examples of competition between species are: gray squirrels and fox
squirrels, forest trees competing for light.
87. Predator populations are limited by the size of the population of the
prey on which they feed.
88. Prey populations are limited in sized by the population of their
predators.
89. Predator populations benefit; prey populations are harmed.
90. Two populations may develop a mutually beneficial relationship, meaning
that they come to depend on each other and benefit from each other. (Example--
bees and flowers; lichens with algae and fungi)
91. An increase in a population of predators will decrease the population of
its prey. (Example: An increasing fox population causes mouse and grasshopper
populations to decrease.)
92. A decrease in a population of predators will increase the population of
their prey--or of what they feed upon. (Example: A decrease in plant-eaters
would increase the number of plants.)
93. Biotic (living) components of an ecosystem include all forms of life--
plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi.
94. Abiotic (non-living) components of an ecosystem include all non-living
things--sunlight, air, water, heat, soil, etc.
95. Things that influence population size in an ecosystem: food, temperature,
rainfall, disease, pollution, invasive species, and human development.
96. Introducing new species (biotic) to an ecosystem can cause population
changes. Invasive species (zebra mussels, purple loosestrife) cause changes
in the populations of the native species.
97. Human activity may intentionally destroy ecosystems. (Example: As cities
are built, wetlands are filled in; forests are removed.)
98. Human activity may accidentally alter ecosystems. (Example: raising
global temperatures)
99. As human population has increased, habitat destruction has led to species
extinction, resource depletion, climate change, and pollution.
100. Overpopulation of an invasive species can threaten the survival of
native species, possible leading to localized extinction.
