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ES ch.1
Vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Astronomy | study of objects beyond Earth's atmosphere |
| Meteorology | the branch of science concerned with the processes and phenomena of the atmosphere, especially as a means of forecasting the weather. |
| Geology | The science that deals with the earth's physical structure and substance, its history, and the processes that act on it. |
| Oceanography | The branch of science that deals with the physical and biological properties and phenomena of the sea. |
| Environmental Science | study of the interactions of humans with environment. |
| Geosphere | The solid mass of earth, as distinct from the atmosphere and hydrosphere. |
| 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 |
| Hydrosphere | All the water in the Earths atmosphere. |
| Biosphere | all of Earth's organisms and the environments in which they live. |
| Scientific methods | a series of problem-solving procedures that help scientist 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 | replacement for the metric system; based on a decimal system 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 to 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 |
| scientific law | a principle that describes the behavior of a natural phenomenon. |