• Unit Zero-Prologue

    What You'll Learn:
    • How Earth Science is a blend of sciences.
    • How Earth's four major systems interact.
    • What is involved in carrying our scientific experiments.
    • Why it is important to communicate scientific methods and results accurately.
    Why It's Important:
    In order to better understand Earth and how its processes affect out lives and the environment, it is necessary to learn about its major systems, the methods used by Earth scientists, and how scientific work is done.

    Key Vocabulary:
    asthenosphere
    		astronomy
    		atmosphere
    biosphere
    		geology
    		hydrosphere
    lithosphere
    		meteorology
    		oceanography
    control
    		dependent variable
    		hypothesis
    independent variable
    		Le Systeme International (SI)
    		scientific notation
    law
    		theory


    Key Concepts/Objectives:
    • Differentiate among the four major branches of science.
    • Contrast the four systems of Earth.
    • Discuss how Earth science affects your daily life.
    • List the steps used in a scientific method.
    • Compare and contrast experimental variables and controls.
    • Identify basic SI units.
    • Explain how to write numbers using scientific notation.
    • List several ways in which scientific information is communicated.
    • Differentiate between a scientific theory and a scientific law.
Last Modified on February 23, 2015