Science Exam

Front 1

Ablate

Back 1

to remove or destroy especially by cutting, abrading or evaporating

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Coagulate

Back 2

to cause to become viscous or thickened into a coherent mass : to subject to coagulation

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Cornea

Back 3

the transparent part of the coat of the eyeball that covers the iris and pupil and admits light to the interior

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Diathermy

Back 4

the therapeutic generation of local heat in body tissues by high-frequency electromagnetic radiation, electric currents, or ultrasonic waves

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Dilate

Back 5

to make wider or larger; cause to expand.

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Emission

Back 6

something sent forth by emitting: as (1) : electrons discharged from a surface (2) : electromagnetic waves radiated by an antenna or a celestial body

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Epithelium

Back 7

noun, Biology, any animal tissue that covers a surface, or lines a cavity or the like, and that, in addition, performs any of various secretory, transporting, or regulatory functions.

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Excimer laser

Back 8

a laser that uses a noble-gas halide to generate radiation usually in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum

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Excision

Back 9

the act or procedure of removing by or as if by cutting out

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Focus-

Back 10

A point at which rays of light or other radiation converge or from which they appear to diverge, as after refraction or reflection in an optical system (The American Heritage Medical Dictionary).

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Fovea centralis

Back 11

a small rodless area of the retina that affords acute vision

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Insidious

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Awaiting a chance to entrap; Harmful but enticing; Having a gradual and cumulative effect

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Laser

Back 13

a device that utilizes the natural oscillations of atoms or molecules between energy levels for generating a beam of coherent electromagnetic radiation usually in the ultraviolet, visible, or infrared regions of the spectrum

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Lens

Back 14

“a highly transparent biconvex lens-shaped or nearly spherical body in the eye that focuses light rays (as upon the retina)”

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Optic nerve

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: either one of the second pair of cranial nerves, consisting of sensory fibers that conduct impulses from the retina to the brain (dictionary.com)

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Photoelectric effect

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: the phenomenon in which the absorption of electromagnetic radiation, as light, of sufficiently high frequency by a surface, usually metallic, induces the emission of electrons from the surface (dictionary.com)

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Photons

Back 17

a particle representing a quantum of light or other electromagnetic radiation. A photon carries energy proportional to the radiation frequency but has zero rest mass.

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Population inversion

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: a condition of matter in which more electrons are in a high energy state than in a lower energy state, as is required for the operation of a laser (dictionary.com); the population of atoms must be artificially boosted into an excited state, and this is usually done by exposure to light (p. 4)

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Quanta-

Back 19

a discrete quantity of energy proportional in magnitude to the frequency of the radiation it represents.

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Retina

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“the sensory membrane that lines the eye, is composed of several layers including one containing the rods and cones, and functions as the immediate instrument of vision by receiving the image formed by the lens and converting it into chemical and nervous signals which reach the brain by way of the optic nerve”

Front 21

Serendipity

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the act of accidental discovery. A number of important medications have been created through serendipity, such as the discovery of antidepressant activity in iproniazid, which was originally developed to treat tuberculosis (Mosby’s Medical Dictionary).

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Stimulated emission

Back 22

the process by which an atomic electron (or an excited molecular state) interacting with an electromagnetic wave of a certain frequency may drop to a lower energy level, transferring its energy to that field (from Wikipedia)

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Vitreous humor

Back 23

the clear colorless transparent jelly that fills the eyeball posterior to the lens

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Vitreous

Back 24

like glass in appearance or physical properties.

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Xenon

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“A heavy inert gaseous element present in minute quantity in the atmosphere” (“Oxford”).

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Absorption

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The taking up and storing of energy, such as radiation, light, or sound, without it being reflected or transmitted. During absorption, the energy may change from one form into another. When radiation strikes the electrons in an atom, the electrons move to a higher orbit or state of excitement by absorption of the radiation's energy (The American Heritage Science Dictionary).

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Agate

Back 27

is a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterized by its fineness of grain and brightness of color.

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Alexandrite Effect

Back 28

The Alexandrite Effect refers to the apparent change in color of a gemstone that occurs based on its incident light. The effect often specifically refers to a stone appearing as blue-green or greenish-violet in sunlight, but as red or reddish-violet in candle light or incandescent light. Alexandrite is one of the best examples of a gemstone that illustrates this phenomenon.

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Colloid

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A system in which finely divided particles, which are approximately 10 to 10,000 angstroms in size, are dispersed within a continuous medium in a manner that prevents them from being filtered easily or settled rapidly (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

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colloidal suspension

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a.  a colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid

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Constructive interference

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(physics) the interference of two or more waves of equal frequency and phase, resulting in their mutual reinforcement and producing a single amplitude equal to the sum of the amplitudes of the individual waves. (dictionary.com)

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destructive interference

Back 32

when waves come together in such a way that they completely cancel each other out (from Boston University)

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Diametric

Back 33

completely opposed or being at opposite extremes. It is also defined as being of, relating to, or constituting a diameter, or as being located at the diameter.

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Electron:

Back 34

an elementary particle consisting of a charge of negative electricity equal to about 1.602 × 10−19 coulomb and having a mass when at rest of about 9.109 × 10−31 kilogram or about 1⁄1836 that of a proton

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Excited state

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A state of a physical system (as an atomic nucleus, an atom, or a molecule) that is higher in energy than the ground state. (Merriam Webster).

Front 36

Fluorescence

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luminescence that is caused by the absorption of radiation at one wavelength followed by nearly immediate re-radiation usually at a different wavelength and that ceases almost at once when the incident radiation stops

Front 37

Ground state

Back 37

The state of a physical system (as of an atomic nucleus or an atom) having the least energy of all the possible states. (Merriam Webster).

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Incandescence

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the emission of visible light by a body, caused by its high temperature. The energy from the process of heating electrons to their excited state, and then the release of light as they return to their ground state (“Oxford”)

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Incident Light

Back 39

The direct light that falls on a surface

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Interface

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A surface forming a common boundary of two bodies, spaces, or phases. (Merriam-Webster).

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interference

Back 41

the process in which two or more light, sound, or electromagnetic waves of the same frequency combine to reinforce or cancel each other, the amplitude of the resulting wave being equal to the sum of the amplitudes of the combining waves.

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interstice

Back 42

a : a space that intervenes between things; especially : one between closely spaced things <interstices of a wall> b : a gap or break in something generally continuous  c. a short space of time between events

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iridescence

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a.  a lustrous rainbowlike play of color caused by differential refraction of light waves (as from an oil slick, soap bubble, or fish scales) that tends to change as the angle of view changes b. a lustrous or attractive quality or effect

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Kirchoff’s Law

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Three laws of spectroscopy: 1. A hot solid object produces light with a continuous spectrum. 2. A hot tenuous gas produces light with spectral lines at discrete wavelengths which depend on the energy levels of the atoms in the gas. 3. A hot solid object surrounded by a cool tenuous gas produces light with an almost continuous spectrum which has gaps at discrete wavelengths depending on the energy levels of the atoms in the gas. (Wikipedia)

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Metal oxide

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An oxide is a chemical compound containing at least one oxygen atom as well as at least one other element.

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Metallurgist

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the technique or science of working or heating metals so as to give them certain desired shapes or properties; the technique or science of making and compounding alloys.

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Opacifier

Back 47

(noun) a substance added to a material in order to make the ensuing system opaque

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Opacity

Back 48

the state of being opaque. not transparent or translucent; impenetrable to light; not allowing light to pass through.

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Opalescent

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(adjective) reflecting an iridescent light

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Opaque

Back 50

Impenetrable by light; neither transparent nor translucent (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

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Pigment

Back 51

a. Any material from which a dye, a paint, or the like, may be prepared; particularly, the refined and purified colouring matter ready for mixing with an appropriate vehicle. b. (Science: physiology) Any one of the coloured substances found in animal and vegetable tissues andfluids, as bilirubin, urobilin, chlorophyll, etc.

Front 52

Rayleigh scattering

Back 52

the scattering of light by particles that are very small in relation to the wavelength of the light, and in which the intensity of the scattered light varies inversely with the fourth power of the wavelength.

Front 53

Reflection

Back 53

is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated.

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Refractive Index

Back 54

the ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to that in a medium (Princeton University).

Front 55

spectral energy distribution :

Back 55

the energy (flux, flux density, luminosity) emitted from a source as a function of wavelength/frequency (astro.sunysb.edu)

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spectral sensitivity

Back 56

Spectral sensitivity is the relative efficiency of detection, of light or other signal, as a function of the frequency or wavelength of the signal (Reference.com)

Front 57

Transmission:

Back 57

to send or forward, as to a recipient or destination; dispatch; convey

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Transparency

Back 58

“having the property of transmitting light without appreciable scattering so that bodies lying beyond are seen clearly; allowing the passage of a specified form of radiation (as X-rays or ultraviolet light); fine or sheer enough to be seen through”

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varnish

Back 59

a liquid preparation that when applied to a surface dries to form a hard lustrous typically transparent coating (from Merriam-Webster)

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Wavelength

Back 60

“the distance in the line of advance of a wave from any one point to the next point of corresponding phase”