Honors Earth Science Unit I Flashcards

Vocabulary-based flashcards covering the nature of science, experimental design, metric measurements, and Earth's spheres from the Unit I lecture.

Science

An organized way of using evidence to learn about the natural world through a process of inquiry that searches for explanations.

Technology

The application of scientific discoveries to meet human needs by developing processes and products.

Fact

An objective, verifiable observation, such as water boiling at $100^{\circ}C$.

Principle

A statement based on repeated experimental observation that describes an aspect of the world, such as the Greenhouse effect.

Hypothesis

An educated, testable prediction that functions as a possible answer to a question.

Theory

An explanation based on many observations supported by experimental results and widely accepted; it never becomes a law.

Law

A Rule of Nature that sums up observations and experimental results to describe a pattern found in nature.

Observation

An objective description of something you can see, smell, touch, taste, or hear.

Inference

A guess about an object or outcome based on your observations.

Qualitative Observation

An observation that describes qualities or appearance, such as color or smell.

Quantitative Observation

An observation that uses numbers to measure or describe something, such as $100\,mL$ or $600^{\circ}C$.

Independent Variable

The variable that the experimenter will deliberately change or manipulate in the investigation; usually plotted on the X-Axis.

Dependent Variable

What changes in response to the independent variable or what is being measured; usually plotted on the Y-Axis.

Constants

The aspects of an experiment that are held consistent to ensure that any difference measured in the DV is caused only by the IV.

Precision

How close measurements are to each other, representing a series of measurements grouped together.

Accuracy

How close a measurement is to the correct, accepted, or true value.

Absolute Zero

The temperature at which all molecular motion stops, defined as $0\,K$ or $-273^{\circ}C$.

Density

Mass per unit volume, calculated using the formula $\text{D} = \frac{\text{M}}{\text{V}}$, with units like $g/cm^3$ or $kg/m^3$.

Geosphere

The mostly solid, rocky part of Earth that extends from the center of Earth to the surface.