Chapter 3– Vocab. Flashcards
(16 cards)
What is a controlled experiment?
An experiment in which all variables are kept constant except for the one variable that is the focus of the experiment.
What is this Cycle of Scientific Enterprise?
The process of forming a theory to account for a body a facts, then formulating testable hypotheses from the theory, then testing the hypotheses experimentally and analyzing the results. If the hypothesis is confirmed, the theory is strengthened, otherwise the theory is weakened.
What is an experiment?
A scientific test on a hypothesis.
What is experimental science?
Science that tests hypotheses by conducting planned, repeatable, well controlled experiments.
What is the greenhouse effect?
The heating of a planet’s atmosphere by gases that trap heat in the atmosphere.
What is historical science?
A scientific investigation about events that happened in the past. These events can be modeled in a laboratory or on a computer, but cannot be repeated.
What is a hypothesis?
A proposed answer to a scientific question, often stated in the form of a prediction of what a scientist expects to find as the result of further investigation.
What is a natural resource?
Any material or substance provided by earth that human beings can use.
What is a nonrenewable natural resource?
A natural resource that is not replaced when it is removed from nature for human use.
What are plate tectonics?
The theory which states that earths entire lithosphere– which includes the crust and uppermost part of the mantle- is composed of tectonic plates that are slowly moving around on Earth’s surface.
What is oceanic circulation?
The global-scale movement of ocean currents, driven by wind, gravity, differences in seawater density, and the Coriolis effect.
What is a renewable natural resource?
A natural resource that can be replaced as it is used.
What is scalability?
The ability of processes in a scale model to work in the same way as processes do in nature.
What is a scientific fact?
A scientific statement that is supported by a large amount of evidence that is correct so far as we know.
What is stewardship?
The wise and prudent management of the things entrusted to us.
What is a theory?
An explanation that seeks to account for all related facts; a mental model that explains how something in the universe works.
