The A Factor

  Every solid, liquid, and gas around you - from the steel in the Burj Khalifa to the water in your glass - exists because of bonding. When atoms join together, they form the substances that make up everything we see and use. Understanding how and why atoms bond explains not only chemistry, but the structure of the material world itself. THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE ATOM: Atoms consist of three main subatomic particles: The  nucleus  contains protons and neutrons. It’s dense and positively charged. Electrons  move around the nucleus in energy levels (shells). Overall, atoms are  electrically neutral , because they have equal numbers of protons and electrons. This structure is the same for every atom, but the  number of protons  changes — that’s what makes each element unique. ATOMIC AND MASS NUMBERS: Each element on the periodic table is identified by two key numbers: Atomic number (Z)  = the number of  protons  in the nucleus. It also equ...

  Imagine sitting on the Dubai Metro as it speeds out of the station. You feel that gentle push back into your seat - that’s physics at work. Every time something starts moving, slows down, or changes direction,   forces   are behind it. But how exactly do motion and forces connect? BASIC DEFINITIONS YOU NEED TO KNOW: Motion  - when an object changes its position over time. Force  - a push or pull that can change an object’s motion or shape. Speed  - how quickly something moves (distance divided by time). Velocity  - speed  with direction . Acceleration  - how quickly velocity changes. TYPES OF QUANTITIES: There are  two main types  of physical quantities: Scalars  – only have size (magnitude). e.g. distance, speed, mass, temperature. Vectors  – have size  and direction . e.g. displacement, velocity, acceleration, force. Think of it like this: - If you walk 5 metres east and then 5 metres west, your  distanc...

  Imagine you walk into your kitchen and forget why you went there. A few minutes later—bam—it hits you. That’s your memory system in action, playing its little tricks. But how exactly does your brain decide what to forget and what to store forever? First, let's start with some basics. 3 PROCESSES OF MEMORY: Changing information so it can be stored in the brain- known as encoding. Storing it in your brain. Retrieving it again. 5 TYPES OF ENCODING: Visual= based on how something looks Acoustic= based on how something sounds Semantic= based on the meaning of something Tactile= based on how something feels to touch Olfactory= based on how something smells IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS: Retrieval= process of accessing information that has been stored in your brain and being able to use it Free Recall= remembering information without any hints or order. Cued Recall= remembering information with the help of a prompt or hint. Recognition= identifying information when you see or hear it again Enc...

  Our language and the language of computers is quite different. Computers cannot understand our language, however, we can try and understand theirs. Today, we'll be going in a exploring 2 languages that computers use and how we can convert from our language to their language.  DENARY: our number system  it's a base 10 language since it uses 10 numbers: 0-9. BINARY: signifies voltage/current/electricity is on or off . it's a base 2 language since it only uses 2 numbers; 0 and 1. each binary digit is called a bit. 8 bits are called a byte. CONVERTING BETWEEN THE TWO LANGUAGES: This can be done by a simple math concept. This grid below will be used to to convert from denary to binary. Let's observe this carefully. The numbers will always go up from right to left, and you times the number by 2 to get your next value. Do not forget to lay out this grid in your exam. You can keep going and extend this grid by multiplying 128 by 2,  however you only do that if you have a l...

  What exactly makes something alive? Why are cells considered the building blocks of life? In this post, we'll uncover the key characteristics of living organisms and explore the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING ORGANISMS: There are 8 characteristics of living organisms. For this specification, all you need to remember is MRS GRENC. This stands for: M ovement R eproduction S ensitivity G rowth R espiration E xcretion N utrition C ontrol Now, let's explain these key terms. Movement= Every living organism moves their body parts as a part of their normal lives. We need                              movement for getting from and to places, even for the smallest of tasks like picking up                            and dropping a pencil. Reproduction= Producing offspring is necessary and every living...