The Living Earth Exam 1 Vocab

Earth Science

includes all sciences that collectively seek to understand Earth and its neighbors in space

System

an ordered interrelated set of things linked together by flows of matter and energy

Open systems

things that are going in and out

Closed system

Shut off from the outside environment

Positive feedback

when a system’s output makes the whole process go faster (e.g. more sea ice is melting because the ocean absorbs the increasing amount of sunlight)

Negative feedback

when a system’s output tends to keep a system within a certain range

Science

a body of knowledge and a process; falsifiable and without base

Scientific method

an approach geologists use to answer questions through observation, hypothesis, experiment, and analysis

Theory

a well-tested and accepted explanation for a natural phenomenon and provides a basis for further investigation

Geology

asks questions over large scales and over long periods of time

The Big Bang Theory

• All matter in the Universe was confined to a single point

• The Universe is considerably older than the Earth

Differentiation

Terrestrial protoplanets developed internal layering (e.g. core and mantle formed because of it)

First step in creation of Solar System

An accretionary disk formed

Second step in creation of Solar System

A protosun formed

Third step in creation of Solar System

Rings formed in the protoplanetary disk

Fourth step in creation of Solar System

Planetismals collected to form protoplanets