science

Plaque Attack

Plaque Attack is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Plaque Attack rather than just read about it. In short: Plaque Attack is a 1983 video game for the Atari 2600 that was made by Activision. The player must shoot food to protect teeth inside a person's mouth.

Key takeaways

Plaque Attack belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Plaque Attack to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Plaque Attack from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Plaque Attack is a 1983 video game for the Atari 2600 that was made by Activision. The player must shoot food to protect teeth inside a person's mouth. Steve Cartwright, who designed the game, said that game was meant to help people develop good dental habits.

Gameplay

The player controls a tube of toothpaste, defending teeth against various types of food, such as hamburgers and french fries. The objective is to fire toothpaste at food intent on destroying the teeth. If the food touches a tooth, it begins breaking down the tooth. If the player is fast enough to shoot the piece of food as soon as it starts breaking down the tooth the player will be able to save the tooth. If not, the tooth will decay and disappears from the screen. The food comes in waves, and the movements become more complicated. Destroying the food scores points, as does the number of teeth and the amount of toothpaste left at the end of each wave. After a certain number of points is scored, users gain bonus teeth. Bonus teeth are applied at the end of each wave. If all eight teeth are still present, the additional teeth will be placed on the sides of the mouth. Otherwise the teeth will replace any teeth lost. Play continues until all the teeth are gone, at which point the game is over.

Activision patch

Players who scored more than 35,000 points could send a screenshot of their accomplishment to Activision to receive a "No Plaque Pack" patch and congratulatory letter.

Aquafresh Rebate Program From August through mid-November 1983, a mail-in rebate program ran in newspaper advertisements to cross-promote Aquafresh and Plaque Attack. The ad offered a $3.15 savings in the form of an instant $0.15 credit for any size Aquafresh toothpaste, and a $3.00 rebate from Activation after sending in the Aquafresh and Plaque Attack proof of purchase.

Reception Videogaming Illustrated described the game as "cute and busy, but nothing more" and gave it B-B+ for gameplay. Video Games magazine described it, in their review, as "another slide and shoot".

Illustrations

Plaque Attack: Reward patch — Reward patch

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Plaque Attack

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Plaque Attack claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Plaque Attack before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Plaque Attack ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Plaque Attack

In research: Plaque Attack appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Plaque Attack in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Plaque Attack is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1983 video games, Atari 2600-only games, Atari 2600 games, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Plaque Attack outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Plaque Attack in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Plaque Attack means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Plaque Attack out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Plaque Attack in simple terms?

Plaque Attack is a 1983 video game for the Atari 2600 that was made by Activision. The player must shoot food to protect teeth inside a person's mouth.

Why does Plaque Attack matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Plaque Attack?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Plaque Attack.