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ES Ch. 1
Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
astronomy | study of objects beyond Earth's atmosphere |
meteorology | the study of the atmosphere,which is the air surrounding Earth. |
geology | study of materials that make up Earth and the processes that form and change these materials,and the history of the planet and its life-forms since its origin |
oceanology | study of Earth's oceans including the creatures that inhabit its waters, its physical and chemical properties, and the effects of humans |
environmental science | study of the interactions of humans with environment |
geosphere | the part of Earth from its surface to its center |
atmosphere | blanket of gases surrounding Earth that contains about 78 percent nitrogen,21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent other gases such as argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapor |
biosphere | all of Earth's organisms and the environments in which they live |
scientific methods | a series of problem-solving porcedures that help scientists conduct experiments |
hypothesis | a testable explanation of a situation |
Independent Variable | factor that is manipulated by the experimenter in an experiment |
Dependent Variable | factor in an experiment that can change if the independent variable is changed |
control | standard for comparison in an experiment |
Le Systeme International d'Unites (SI) | replacement for the metric system; based on a decimal systems using the number 10 as the base unit; includes the meter,(m), second(s), and kilogram(kg) |
scientific notation | a method used by scientists to express a number as a value between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of 10 |
scientific model | an idea, a system,or a mathematical expression that represents the idea being explained |
scientific theory | an explanation based on many observations during repeated experiments; valid only if consistent with observation, can be used to make a testable prediction, and is the simplest explanation; can be changed or modified with discovery of new data |
scientific law | a principle that describes the behavior of a natural phenomenon |