MTTC Earth/Space Science (020) flashcards
MTTC Earth/Space Science (020) · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Hypothesis
- A testable, falsifiable proposed explanation for an observation. It must generate predictions that can be confirmed or refuted by evidence, and it is never proven absolutely true.
- Independent variable
- The factor deliberately manipulated by the experimenter. Changes in the dependent variable are measured to determine whether the manipulation produced an effect.
- Control group
- The comparison group that receives no treatment or an inactive placebo. It establishes a baseline against which the experimental group's results are judged.
- Accuracy versus precision
- Accuracy describes how close a measurement is to the true value; precision describes how closely repeated measurements agree with each other. A set can be precise yet inaccurate.
- Density
- Mass per unit volume, calculated as D = m/V and expressed in g/cm³ or g/mL. It is an intensive property, so sample size does not change it.
- Percent error
- The absolute difference between a measured value and an accepted value, divided by the accepted value and multiplied by 100. It quantifies measurement deviation.
- Scientific theory
- A well-supported explanatory framework that accounts for many observations and has survived repeated testing, such as plate tectonics or evolution. It is not a guess.
- Significant figures
- Digits in a measurement that carry meaning about precision. Rules govern which zeros count, and calculated answers are rounded to match the least precise input.
- Asthenosphere
- The plastic, partially molten layer of the upper mantle beneath the lithosphere. It flows slowly and allows rigid tectonic plates to move over it.
- Divergent boundary
- A plate boundary where two plates move apart. Magma rises to fill the gap, forming mid-ocean ridges and new oceanic crust through seafloor spreading.
- Subduction zone
- A convergent boundary where a denser oceanic plate sinks beneath another plate. It produces deep trenches, earthquakes, and chains of volcanic arcs.
- Law of superposition
- A relative dating principle stating that in undisturbed sedimentary layers, the oldest rock lies at the bottom and the youngest at the top.
- Rock cycle
- The continuous set of processes that transform igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks into one another through melting, cooling, weathering, erosion, deposition, compaction, and metamorphism.
- Half-life
- The time required for half the atoms of a radioactive isotope to decay. Carbon-14 has a half-life of about 5,730 years, useful for dating recent organic material.
- Porosity and permeability
- Porosity is the fraction of a material that is void space; permeability is how readily fluids flow through connected pores. High porosity does not guarantee high permeability.
- Nitrogen fixation
- The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonia or other usable compounds by bacteria or lightning. It is the entry point of nitrogen into living systems.
- Greenhouse effect
- Atmospheric gases absorb outgoing infrared radiation and re-emit it, warming the surface. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are major contributors.
- P waves versus S waves
- P waves are compressional and travel fastest through solids and liquids. S waves are shear waves that travel only through solids and arrive later.
- Kepler's third law
- The square of a planet's orbital period is proportional to the cube of its semi-major axis (P² ∝ a³). It links orbital size to orbital speed.
- Terrestrial versus Jovian planets
- Terrestrial planets are small, dense, rocky, and near the Sun; Jovian planets are large, low-density gas or ice giants with rings and many moons.
- Cause of seasons
- Earth's approximately 23.5-degree axial tilt changes the angle of sunlight and length of daylight through the year, producing seasons. Distance from the Sun is not the cause.
- Lunar phases
- The changing portion of the Moon's sunlit half visible from Earth, caused by the Moon's orbital position relative to Earth and the Sun.
- Solar eclipse
- An alignment in which the Moon passes directly between Earth and the Sun, blocking sunlight. It can occur only at new moon, near an orbital node.
- Spring tide
- An unusually large tidal range occurring at new and full moons, when the Sun and Moon align and their gravitational effects reinforce each other.
- Doppler shift
- The change in observed wavelength caused by relative motion. Redshift indicates a receding source; blueshift indicates an approaching source.
- Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
- A graph plotting stellar luminosity against temperature or spectral class. Most stars fall on the main sequence; giants and white dwarfs occupy other regions.
- Hubble's law
- Recessional velocity of a galaxy is proportional to its distance (v = H₀d). It provides evidence that the universe is expanding.
- 5E instructional model
- A lesson sequence of Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. Students investigate phenomena before formal explanation, building concepts from evidence.
- Formative assessment
- Ongoing, low-stakes checks during instruction, such as exit tickets or questioning, used to adjust teaching while learning is still developing.
- Summative assessment
- Evaluation of student learning at the end of a unit or course, such as a test, project, or performance task, used to judge achievement against standards.
- Crosscutting concepts
- Themes that span all science disciplines, including patterns, cause and effect, scale, systems, energy and matter, structure and function, and stability and change.
- Misconception: seasons
- The incorrect belief that seasons are caused by Earth's changing distance from the Sun. Instruction should target axial tilt and solar angle instead.