test 1 Flashcards
what is the purpose of science
unmasks the mysteries of the world, natural phenomena (physical, biological, chemical, geological)
another purpose of science
use the understanding of the world to improve the quality of life
science is a discipline that depends on
observation, experimentation, and analysis
can a scientific experiment prove a fact to be true
they cannot prove facts to be true, but they disprove ideas. we can find things to be untrue and then we settle for best explanation
theory is different from a hypothesis because
an explanation of a variety of natural phenomena that has met many observational and experimental tests
a hypothesis
an educated guess based on available information.
a hypothesis has to be
testable by experiment, and must be falsifiable.
a hypothesis can
be supported or rejected, not proven to be true
would a theory, law, or hypothesis be the easiest to be disproven
a hypothesis
what are the steps of scientific method
hypothesis, study design, data collection, data analysis, conclusion
how many observations
at least three. the higher number the more accurate, but not always practical.
what percent of earth is covered by water
71%
what percent of water are in the oceans
97%
2% of water where
glaciers and polar ice caps
0.1% where
surface water
what are the 5 oceans
arctic, pacific, atlantic, southern, and indian ocean
what is the largest ocean
pacific
what is the smallest ocean
arctic
what is the deepest ocean
pactific
what is the most shallow ocean
arctic ocean
what are some of the influences oceans have
atmospheric gas concentrations, water distribution, heat balance, weather systems and climate, is the mother of life
coast def
where the ocean meets the land
coastal waters
overlie the continental shelf
what influences coastal processes
wave energy, its direction, and its intensity.
what is the general depth limit of coastal waters
generally less than 200 m deep
what is the landward limit
highest point reached by the tide
seaward limit
the point where waves no longer significantly interact with the seabed
trailing edge coasts plates
on the back side of a plate moving towards another plate
collision margin coast plates
when a plate collides with another plate
where are the collision boundary
the northern pacific coast
where is the transform boundary
southern pacific coast
erosional coastlines
when sediment is carried away, more energy
where do erosional coasts occur
west coast of us and maine on east coast, rocky, cliffs
depositional coasts
deposition of sedimentary material, less energy
where do depositional coasts occur
south eastern coast and gulf of new mexico
main type of sand in new england states
high cliffs, rocky beaches, some sandy beaches
what has one of the shortest shorelines in US
new hampshire
mid atlantic states
ny, nj, delaware, maryland, virginia
new england
maine, new hampshire, vermont, massachusettes, rhode island, connecticut
what are mid atlantic beaches like
cold water, sandy beaches, micro-mesotidal
south atlantic states
nc, sc, georgia, florida
what are south atlantic beaches like
sandy beaches, semi and subtropical climate. meso and microtidal
gulf of mexico states
florida, alabama, mississippi, louisiana, texas
what are gulf of mexico shores like
broad continental shelf, sandy shores, diurnal tides, microtidal
pacific coast states
washington, oregon, california
what are pacific coast beaches like
rocky cliffs, bedrock. mixed semidiurnal tides
what states has the longest shoreline
louisiana, florida, cali
which states have the shortest shoreline
new hampshire, alabama,
maine tidal range
macro-mesotidal
south carolina tidal range
micro-mesotidal
florida tidal range
meso-microtidal
gulf states tidal range
microtidal
washingtons tidal range
meso-macrotidal
california tidal range
mesotidal
how are barrier islands of georgia known for
many endangered species
how are maines islands different
knwon for productive fisheries
what states have whitest sand
california
when did the pangea break up
200 million years ago
what is responsible for movement of plates (lithosphere)
convection currents in mantle
plate tectonic theory accounts for
mid ocean ridge, trenches, crustal faults, mountain ranges, islands
convergent
plates move towards each otehr
convergent plates occur near
trenches, islands
divergent
away from each other
divergent occurs where
mid ocean ridges
transform plates
slide by each other
transform boundaries occur where
breaks in ridges
how are oceanic and continental crusts different
oceanic is more dense, lower buoyancy. younger than continental
what is the ring of fire
an area with high and consistent tectonic activity. forms ring of volcanic and earthquake acitivity
