Science Vocab From Chapter 1

Front 1

earth science

Back 1

the study of the earth and the universe around it.

Front 2

Career Focus

Back 2

A special feature that appears in each unit of the textbook that offers detailed information about careers in earth science.

Front 3

geology

Back 3

study of the origin, history, and structure of the solid earth and the processes that shape it.

Front 4

oceanography

Back 4

the study of the earth's oceans

Front 5

meteorology

Back 5

study of the earth's atmosphere.

Front 6

astronomy

Back 6

the study of the universe beyond the earth.

Front 7

Pioneer, Voyager, Galileo, and Ulysses

Back 7

space probes that have provided much useful data.

Front 8

geosphere

Back 8

the solid earth

Front 9

hydrosphere

Back 9

all the earth's water

Front 10

atmosphere

Back 10

thick blanket of gases surrounding the earth.

Front 11

ecology

Back 11

study of the complex relationships between living things and their environment.

Front 12

ecosystem

Back 12

community of organisms and the environment they inhabit.

Front 13

biosphere

Back 13

ecosystem encompassing all the life on earth and the physical environment that supports it.

Front 14

photosynthesis

Back 14

the process that plants in the rain forest use sunlight to produce food through.

Front 15

pollution

Back 15

contamination of the environment with waste products or impurities.

Front 16

biodegradable

Back 16

able to be broken down into component parts by microorganisms.

Front 17

scientific methods

Back 17

organized, logical approaches to scientific research.

Front 18

observation

Back 18

act of using the senses to gather information

Front 19

measurement

Back 19

comparison of a property of an object or phenomenon with a standard unit.

Front 20

hypothesis

Back 20

possible explanation of a problem that is based on facts.

Front 21

experimentation

Back 21

process by which a scientific procedure is carried out according to certain guidelines.

Front 22

variable

Back 22

factor in an experiment that can be changed.

Front 23

controlled experiment

Back 23

an experiment set up to test a variable

Front 24

theory

Back 24

hypothesis or set of hypotheses supported by the results of experimentation and observation.

Front 25

scientific law

Back 25

rule that correctly describes a natural phenomenon.

Front 26

spectrum

Back 26

band of the various colors of light.

Front 27

wavelength

Back 27

distance between wave crests.

Front 28

elements

Back 28

substance that cannot be broken down into a simpler form by ordinary chemical means.

Front 29

bright-line spectrum

Back 29

the series of colored lines that indicates that the light source is sending out only certain wavelengths of light.

Front 30

Doppler Effect

Back 30

apparent shift in the wavelength of energy, such as a sound wave or a light wave, emitted by a source moving away from or toward an observer.

Front 31

spectroscope

Back 31

instrument that splits white light into a band of colors.

Front 32

galaxies

Back 32

large systems of stars

Front 33

the big bang theory

Back 33

theory that all matter and energy in the universe was compressed into an extremely small volume that suddenly, billions of years ago, began expanding in all directions.

Front 34

background radiation

Back 34

low levels of energy evenly distributed throughout the universe.It is proof for the Doppler Effect.