Oceanography Ch. 1 Flashcards
Ocean
Vast body of saline water that occupies the earth’s surface
World Ocean
All oceans combined
Science
Process of asking questions about the observable world by gathering and then studying information (data)
Hypothesis
A speculation about the natural world that can be tested and verified or disproved by further observations and controlled experiments
Experiment
A test that simplifies observation in nature or in the laboratory by manipulating or controlling the conditions under which the observations are made
Theory
A statement that explains the observations
Laws
Principles explaining events in nature that have been observed to occur with unvarying uniformity under the same conditions
Scientific Method
An orderly process by which theories are verified or rejected
Big Bang
The beginning of the expansion of the universe
Galaxy
A huge, rotating aggregation of stars, dust, gas, and other debris held together by gravity
Milky Way galaxy
Our galaxy
Stars
Massive spheres of incandescent gases
Solar System
The sun and its family of planets
Nebulae
Large, diffuse clouds of dust within galaxies
Condensation Theory
A theory that explains how stars and planets are believed to form
Supernova
A cataclysmic expansion that happens when the hydrogen-depleted core of a dying star collapses in on itself and can no longer be compressed
Solar Nebula
The thin cloud from which our sun and its planets was formed
Planets
The smaller bodies that orbit a star and do not shine by their own light
Accretion
The clumping of small particles into large masses
Density Stratification
The forming of Earth’s layers via heating from impact of asteroids, comets, other falling debris, and decaying radioactive elements from within earth, as well as gravitational compression
Outgassing
Volcanic venting of volatile substances including water vapor
Biosynthesis
The evolution of living organisms from simple organic building blocks
