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scientific study that includes all fields of natural science related to planet Earth.
-includes 4 main categories; geology, astronomy, oceanography, meteorology
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| the science that deals with Earth's physical structure and substance , its history and the processes that act on it |
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| science that studies the materials, structure and surface features of the Earth and the geologic processes that form them. it involves the study of how rocks form and of how erosion and other processes shape the land surface |
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| science that uses the principles and techniques of geology to reconstruct and understand the geological history of Earth. it is also known as paleogeology |
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| the branch of science that deals with thy physical and biological properties of phenomena in the ocean. it includes everything from the composition and movements of sea water to the plants and animals that live in it |
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| the branch of science that studies the composition, process and phenomena of the atmosphere. a primary focus of this science is forecasting the weather |
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| the branch of science that studies celestial objects, space and the physical universe outside of our planet |
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| a large cloud of dust and gas in space |
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| the current theory of how our solar system was formed: the sun and planets condensed out of a large rotating cloud of dust and gas |
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| the rocky (terrestrial) planets that orbit closer to the sun. they include Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars |
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| the continuous flow of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called the corona |
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| the gaseous (jovian) planets composed of liquid and frozen gasses that orbit outside the asteroid belt. this includes Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus |
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| use of the senses to gather and record information about structures or processes in the natural world. they may include the use of sight, hearing or touch to gather information |
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| recorded observations or items of information |
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| data that consists of recorded measurements. these data are always in numeric form |
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| data that is in the form of descriptions. these data describe actions, color, textures and other traits that are not easily measured. these data can also include drawings, photographs or videos |
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| an organized set of investigation procedures used to solve a problem or answer a question |
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| a suggested, testable answer to a well-done scientific question. it must be supported by observations and data |
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| a procedure designed to test the validity of a given hypothesis |
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| a factor or condition which could affect the results of and experiment |
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| a variable that is controlled and changed by the experimenter in order to see how it effects other factors. this is the "cause" in "cause and effect" |
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| a variable that responds to changes in another factor. it is effected by and depends on the independent variable. it is the "effect" in "cause and effect" |
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| an object or group used to represent something that is too complex, difficult or dangerous to observe or test directly. the use of models generally makes things easier to understand |
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| an explanation of things or events that is based on many observations and data from many sources. this is what a scientist believes is most likely true |
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| a statement about what happens in nature that seems to be true 100% of the time |
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| a group of stars that form a pattern when viewed from Earth. these stars are not physically close or related to each other |
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| a pair of stars that are bound together by gravity and orbit around a natural fixed point in space. the fixed point is called the center of mass |
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| a unit of distance used in astronomy that is equal to the distance a beam of light would cover in one year. it is only used for things that are relatively close |
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| a measure of a star's brightness based on how bright the star looks from Earth |
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| a measure of the amount of light that a star actually emits. it compares the brightness of a star at a standard distance of 32.6 light years away |
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| H-R/Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram |
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| a graph that shows the relationship between a star's magnitude and it's temperature |
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| star with characteristics that place it within a band running through the H-R Diagram. most stars of average mass are main sequence |
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| a very large, cool bright star |
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| a very bright star that is 100 to 1000 times larger than the sun. it forms when a star with a very high mass reaches the end of it's life and begins to expand |
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| a star that brightens and fades in a regular repeating pattern over time |
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| a very dim star that gets several thousand times brighter in a few days, and then fades into it's original magnitude over several months. the word "nova" means "new star" |
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| a large cloud of dust and gas in space where new stars form |
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| a region within a nebula where dust and gas are being accumulated by gravity. this region is hot for fusion to begin |
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| a hollow or ring-shaped cloud of gas that forms when a white dwarf is created. it forms when a red giant expands rapidly then blows off it outer layer |
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| an exploding red giant or white dwarf that brightens and then slowly fades over time |
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| formed by an exploding supergiant star when it's iron core collapses. it is much brighter than a nova |
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