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| a plausible yet unproven explanation for the way things occur. |
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| a generalization about nature |
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| a theory whose applicability has been decisevely demonstrated, thereby making it a fundamental theory of science. No deviation. |
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| hypothesis -> testing -> theory -> testing -> law/principle -> continual re-testing |
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| how does a hypothesis become a theory? |
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| by surviving a battery of tests |
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| a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. |
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| science that studies the whole planet as a system of innumerable interacting parts and focuses on the changes within and among these parts. |
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| any portion of the universe that can be isolated from the rest of the universe for the purpose of observing + measuring changes. |
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| a representation of something. a simplicifcation of a complex original. |
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a simple, convenient graphical representation of a system.
can be used to show:
- the processes by which matter/energy eneter and leave the system, and the rates at which they do so
- the processes by which matter/energy move among the various parts of the system internally, and the rates at which this happens
- the amount of matter/energy in the system at a given time and its distribution within the system.
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| the amount of matter/energy that is transferred along a process such as exaporation/precipitation and the rate at which it is transferred. |
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| the storage places in which water, energy, etc, is stored for a period of time within a system. |
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| when the flux of matter into a reservoir mathes the flux out of that reservoir. |
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| when the flux of matter into a reservoir is greater than the flux out of that same reservoir. |
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| when more matter is exiting a reservoir than is entering that same reservoir. |
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| the average length of time matter spends in any reservoir. |
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| when material isolated from any contact with the rest of the world. |
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| occurs when the output of the system also serves as an input and leads to changes in the state of the system. |
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| when the system's response is in the opposite direction from the initial input. often self-regulating. |
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| when an increase in output leads to a further increase in the output. a 'vicious cycle.' |
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| the capacity to do work, to move matter, to make things happen. exists in several forms, such as the energy of a moving body and heat energy. |
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| substance that has mass and occupies space. |
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| the addition or subtraction to the internal energy of a system |
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isolated system - the boundary of the system prevents it from exchanging either matter or energy with its surroundings. hypothetical.
closed system - in which the boundary permits the exchange of energy, but not matter, with the surroundings. tightly sealed solar oven.
open system - a system that can exchange both energy and matter across its boundary. an island. |
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| examples of feedback loops |
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| cycles - the state of dynamic equilibrium arising from feedbacks |
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| what type of system is the earth system, and why? |
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| the earth is a closed system, because energy (sunlight) enters the system and energy (longer-wavelenth infrared radiation) exits the system. |
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| what are the five spheres/subsystems in the earth system? |
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- geosphere
- hydrosphere
- atmosphere
- biosphere
- anthroposphere |
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| comprised primarily of rock. |
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| the totality of earth's water, including oceans, lakes, streams, underground water, and all the snow and ice. connected to the atmosphere, as both contain water, but still separate. |
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| the mixture of gases - nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapor - that surrounds the earth. the boundary of the earth system. |
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| the biosphere includes all of earth's organisms, as well as any organic matter not yet decomposed. |
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| what is the anthroposphere? |
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| the 'human sphere.' it comprises people and their intersts, as well as human impacts on the natural earth system. |
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| energy stored in a system. chemical energy, nuclear energy, stored mechanical energy, gravitational energy. |
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| energy that is expressed in the movement of electrons, atoms, molecules, materials, and objects. includes radiant energy, electrical energy, thermal energy, sound, and motion. |
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| three laws of thermodynamics |
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Definition
1. conservation and transformation.
in a system of constant mass, the energy involved in any physical or chemical change is neither created nor destroyed, but merely changed from one form to another.
2. efficiency and entropy.
energy always changes from a more useful, more concentrated form to a less useful, less concentrated form.
3. absolute zero.
postulates the existence of absolute zero K temperature. |
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| the measure of disorder.low entropy, low disorder. |
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| the measure of heat, the vibrational motion of particles. |
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| the energy a body has due to the motions of its atoms. |
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| masses of material that can be separated from one another by a definable boundary. |
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| a unit of power. the power required to do work at the rate of one joule per second. |
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| a basic unit of thermal energy. can be defined in terms of heat (calories) or in the physical terms of work. |
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| the smallest individual particle that retains the distinctive properties of a given chemical element. |
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| protons, neutrons, electrons |
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Definition
together build atoms. protons have positive electrical charges, neutrons have electrically neutral charges, and electrons have negative electrical charges.
protons and neutrons form the nucleus of an atom. electrons revolve around the nucleus. |
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| atoms with the same atomic number but different mass numbers. |
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an atom that has excess positive or negative charges caused by electron transfer.
positive excess charge - cation
negative excess charge - anion |
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| the smallest unit that retains all the properties of a compound |
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| abundant elements in the 4 major spheres in the earth system |
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| O, Si, Al, Fe, Ca (calcium), Mg, Na (sodium), K (potassium), Ti (titanium), H, Mn (manganese), P (phosphorus) |
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