Earth Science Chapter 1 Section 2 Vocabulary

Front 1

scientific method

Back 1

organized, logical approaches to scientific research

Front 2

observation

Back 2

using the senses of sight, touch, taste, hearing, and smell to gather information about the world

Front 3

measurment

Back 3

an important means of gathering information

Front 4

hypothesis

Back 4

a possible explanation or solution to the problem

Front 5

experimentation

Back 5

a scientific procedure carried out according to certain guidlines

Front 6

variable

Back 6

a factor in an experiement that can be changed

Front 7

controlled experiemnt

Back 7

an experiement set up to test a variable

Front 8

earth science

Back 8

the study of the earth and of the universe around it

Front 9

career focus

Back 9

a special feature that appears in such unit of this book, offers detailed information about careers in earth science

Front 10

geology

Back 10

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

Front 11

oceanography

Back 11

the study of the earth's oceans

Front 12

meteorology

Back 12

the study of the earth's atmosphere

Front 13

astronomy

Back 13

the study of the universe beyond the earth

Front 14

space probes

Back 14

Pioneer, Voyager, Galileo, and Ulysses

Front 15

geosphere

Back 15

the solid earth

Front 16

hydrosphere

Back 16

the earth's water

Front 17

atmosphere

Back 17

the gases surrounding the earth

Front 18

ecology

Back 18

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

Front 19

ecosystem

Back 19

a physically distinct, self-supporting system

Front 20

oikos

Back 20

greek word meaning "house"

Front 21

biosphere

Back 21

the largest ecosystem

Front 22

photosynthesis

Back 22

the process in which plants in the rain forest use sunlight to produce food

Front 23

pollution

Back 23

the contamination of the environment with waste products or impurities

Front 24

biodegradable

Back 24

waste products that can be broken down by microrganisms into harmless substances that can be used by other organisms

Front 25

theory

Back 25

a hypothesis or a set of hypotheses that is supported by the results of experimentation and observation

Front 26

scientific law

Back 26

is a rule that correctly describes a natural phenomenon

Front 27

spectrum

Back 27

a display of colors

Front 28

wavelength

Back 28

the distance from the crest of one wave to the crest of the next

Front 29

elements

Back 29

a substance

Front 30

bright-line spectrum

Back 30

the series of colored lines

Front 31

doppler effect

Back 31

the apparent shift of wavelengths of energy emitted by an energy source moving away from or toward an observer

Front 32

spectroscope

Back 32

an instrument that contains a prism which splits starlight into a spectrum of different colors and wavelengths

Front 33

galaxies

Back 33

a large system of stars

Front 34

background radiation

Back 34

low levels of energy

Front 35

big bang theory

Back 35

the explanation of the origin of the universe