Some of the big names in Earth Sciences Flashcards
Lecture 2
What did Charles Darwin do? (1809-1882)
Made contributions to the science of evolution.
He argued that species descended from common ancestors.
Together with Wallace they published about Natural Selection.
Darwin (1859) published the origins of species using compelling evidence.
What did Alfred Wegner contribute to science? (1880- 1930)
Proposed the Theory of Continental Drift.
Meteorology and Geophysics.
He pioneered the use of balloons to track air circulation, theory of “continental drift”. In 1915 the first edition of The Origin of Continents and Oceans.
Wegener found that large- scale geological features on separated continents often matched very closely when the continents were brought together.
What is Uniformitarianism?
The present is the key to the past.
It is the idea that if we can understand a geological process now and we find evidence of that same process in the past, then we can assume that the process operated the same way in the past.
What is Catastrophism
Holds that geological epochs had ended with violent and sudden natural catastrophes. Catastrophism explains that the Earth has largely been shaped by sudden, short- lived, violent events.
Scientists claim that Earth is much like a slightly flattened ball- an oblate spheroid, how do they know, what evidence that support a scientific belief in a roughly spherical Earth?
Pythagoras (ca 580- 500 B.C.) postulated that Earth is spherical. Ships appear to sink gradually below horizon from bottom up.
Polaris, the North Star is located practically over the North Pole of planet Earth and at the North Pole, Polaris would be almost directly overhead. Why do observations of Polaris help determine Earth’s shape?
The North Star gradually appears lower and lower in the sky as you travel toward the equator. When the North Star is visible at the horizon, you are located at the equator. South of the equator the North Star is not visible at all. These observations are possible only for a roughly spherical Earth.
How do Lunar Eclipses prove the Earth is spherical?
Only a sphere can cast a shadow that always appears round, during lunar eclipses, Earth casts its shadow on the moon and the shadow is always round.
What other evidence is there?
Satellite imagery
Circumnavigation of the globe
Existence of time zones.
Photographs from space
Eyewitness reports of astronauts.
Other objects- sun, moon, planets- are roughly spherical.
What are scientific methods?
Scientific methods are a series of steps that scientists use to answer questions and to solve problems. Although each question is different, scientists can use the same methods to find answers. Scientific methods have several steps, scientists may use all of the steps or just some of them, they may even repeat some of the steps.
What is the goal of scientific methods?
The goal of scientific methods is to produce reliable answers and solutions that must be able to stand up to the test of other scientists.
Why is it important to ask questions?
Questions help scientists focus on the most important things they want to learn. Questions help to guide the research that the scientist do.
What is the scientific research process?
Observe nature
Pose questions
Develop hypothesis
Plan investigation
Assemble data
Analyze data
Document conclusions
Present findings
Pose new questions
What is testing a hypothesis?
An idea is proven scientifically by testing the hypothesis. They do this by gathering data.
Define data.
Pieces of information gathered through observations or experimentations. Scientists use data to learn if their hypotheses are correct.
What are models?
A model is a representation of a planned or existing object, phenomena and physical processes in a consistent and logical way.
