Conserved Quantity

Source: Nicholas Timmons, Asantha Cooray, PhD, Department of Physics & Astronomy, School of Physical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA The goal of this experiment is to test the concept of the conservation of momentum. By setting up a surface with very little friction, collisions between moving objects can be studied, including their initial and final momenta. The conservation of momentum is one of the most important laws in physics. When something is conserved in physics, the...

In any system of units, the units for some physical quantities must be specified through a measurement process. These measurements are the base quantities of the system, and their units are the base units of the system. The algebraic combinations of the base values can then be used to express all other physical quantities. Each of these physical quantities is then referred to as a derived quantity, with each unit being referred to as a derived unit. The International Organization for...

Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less likely to...

Conservation biology is a scientific field that focuses on the preservation of biodiversity in order to protect ecosystems while meeting the needs of the human population. Humans require properly functioning ecosystems to maintain our supply of natural resources, including food, medicines, and building materials. Ecosystems also perform critical services, such as purifying our air and water. A large body of evidence indicates that such ecosystem services depend on biodiversity. Furthermore,...

Many proteins’ biological role depends on their interactions with their ligands, small molecules that bind to specific locations on the protein known as ligand-binding sites. Ligand-binding sites are often conserved among homologous proteins as these sites are critical for protein function. Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally analyses the...