SOCSCI 9

Vocabulary flashcards covering the religious and scientific theories of the origin of the universe, fossil theories, and grid mapping concepts.

Creationism (Creation Science)

The religious perspective stating that all materials were created out of nothingness by supernatural, theistic, or mythological means, such as the biblical account in Genesis where God created the universe in $6\text{ days}$ around $10,000\text{ years ago}$.

Monotheism

A religious framework that venerates only $1$ god.

James Ussher

Anglican archbishop of Armagh in Ireland who calculated that the creation of the Earth occurred in $4004\text{ BCE}$.

Dr. John Lightfoot

Master of St. Catherine's College in Cambridge who determined that creation occurred on October 23 and stated the Earth was only $6,000\text{ years old}$.

Animism / Paganism

A belief system centered on the presence of spirits, where creation is attributed to a goddess or great mother who divided the oceans to form heaven and earth.

Fossils

Layered rock types containing the preserved remains of prehistoric plants and animals.

Diluvial Theory

A geological theory linked to the discovery and interpretation of fossils buried in rock strata.

Catastrophe Theory

George Cuvier's theory proposing that a successive series of natural calamities wiped away many species of plants and animals found buried in sedimentary rocks.

George Cuvier

Naturalist who proposed Catastrophe Theory to explain the distinct buried fossils discovered within different sedimentary rock layers.

Radiometry

A scientific tool used to determine the age of rocks by measuring electromagnetic radiation.

Line of Latitude

Geographic coordinate lines measuring positions north or south of the equator ($0^\circ$).

Line of Longitude

Geographic coordinate lines measuring positions east or west of the prime meridian.

International Date Line (IDL)

An internationally recognized boundary line on the globe where anyone crossing it gains or loses $1\text{ day}$.

Nebular Hypothesis

A model stating that the sun and planets formed through gravitational contraction of a cloud rich in dust, gas, hydrogen, and helium around $4.576\text{ yrs ago}$.

Leftover Debris (Nebular Hypothesis)

Material from the solar nebula that failed to coalesce into planets, consisting of the Asteroid Belt, Kuiper Belt, and Oort Cloud.

Capture Theory

A theory proposed by Michael Mark Woolfson suggesting that the sun formed independently and drew planetary matter via tidal interaction with a diffusing protostar.

Michael Mark Woolfson

British physicist and planetary scientist who formulated the Capture Theory.

Singularity

The extremely hot and dense initial state from which the universe began expanding in the Big Bang Theory.

Big Bang Theory

The prevailing cosmological model stating the universe evolved from an extremely hot, dense singularity $13.8\text{b years ago}$ and is expanding continuously.

Georges Lemaître

Belgian physicist, mathematician, and Catholic priest who originated the Big Bang Theory and proposed the concept of the primeval atom.

Primeval Atom

Georges Lemaître's hypothesis that the universe originated from a much denser and smaller starting point.

Evidences Supporting the Big Bang Theory

The three major observational proofs: Cosmic Microwave Background, Galactic Redshift, and the Abundance of Light Elements.

Steady State Theory

A cosmological theory developed by British scientists stating that the universe has no beginning or end, is perpetually expanding, and maintains a constant average density.

Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle

The trio of British scientists who proposed and further developed the Steady State Theory.

Main Ideas of the Steady State Theory

The four foundational pillars of the theory: Eternal Universe, Continuous Expansion, Continuous Creation, and Constant Density.