Earth Science 1086: Chapters 1 - 3

Hypothesis - Answer - educated guess based upon observation, or an idea that helps explain one or more observation. Because of the limited observations, it can be easily changed but can never be proven true. Celsius is used.. - Answer - in more or less everyday environments Kelvin - Answer - tends to be more useful in very, very low temperature situations (such as the surface of planets) Theory - Answer - summarizes a hypothesis, or a group of hypotheses that is supported by repeated testing and observation. Used to explain why something happens, the reason behind it. (must be testable) When is a theory considered valid? - Answer - When there is no firm evidence to dispute it. Characteristic of Theory - Answer - Falsifiable, predictive, parsimonious Law - Answer - explanation of a body of observation, used to explain things, not to describe them. The Big Bang Theory - Answer - an effort to explain exactly what happened at the very beginning of the universe. Before this, the universe did not exist. Singularity - Answer - an area in space-time where gravitational force is so high that all known laws of physics break down and do not apply. Significance of Singularity? - Answer - Matter was confined to a one-dimensional point before the beginning of time. It is hypothesized that the universe originated from a singularity, a point of infinite density which contained everything necessary for the universe. Due t