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science is a process by which we try to understand how the natural world works and how it came to be that way

Cassiar Mountains This part of the Rocky Mountain Range in the Yukon Territory of Canada is an excellent example of mountains on Earth. Due to remote-sensing techniques developed for planetary exploration, many such areas can now be observed and studied from space at much less cost and effort.

Strait of Gibraltar This space shuttle view of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea illustrates an important feature of Earth-a seacoast. Earth is the only planet with borders of land adjacent to bodies of water because it is the only planet where liquid water is stable at the surface. The Strait of Gibraltar is the border between Africa and Europe: Spain, on the left, Africa is on the right

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What Science is NOT 1. Science is not a process which can solve all kinds of problems and questions. 2. It's not a process which can ignore rules. 3. It's not a process which seeks the truth or facts. 4. It's not a process which attempts to prove things. 5. It's not a process which can produce any kind of explanation. 6. It's not a process which produces certainties, or absolute facts. 7. It's not a process which can always be relied upon due to its total objectivity and internal self-correction. 8. It's not a process which is always properly used. 9. It's not a process which is free from values, opinions or bias. 10. It's not a process in which the product (understanding) is based on faith or belief. 11. It's not a process in which one solution is as good as another, or is simply a matter of opinion. 12. Scientific Theories are not "tentative ideas" or "hunches".

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f01_06_pg4 . scientific method : A systematic way to find answers to questions, solutions to problems, and evidence to prove or disprove ideas and beliefs. f01_06_pg4.jpg f01_06_pg4

Hypothesis: is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon

theory : A hypothesis that survives repeated challenges and is supported by accumulating favorable evidence.

Mount Etna – Sicily This active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily is almost always venting steam into the atmosphere. Mount Etna is over 3000 meters (10,000 feet) high, making it the highest peak in Italy south of the Alps.

scientific law : If a theory continues to triumph over every challenge, it can be raised to the level of a scientific law. Gravity the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass

Earth: Planet Profile Mass (kg) 5.98 x 1024 Diameter (km) 12756 Mean density (kg/m3) 5520 Escape velocity (m/s) 11200 Average distance from Sun 1 AU (149,597,890 km) Rotation period (length of day in Earth days) 1 (23.93 hours) Revolution period (length of year in Earth days) 365.26 Obliquity (tilt of axis degrees) 23.4 Orbit inclination (degrees) Orbit eccentricity (deviation from circular) 0.017 Mean surface temperature (K) 281 Mean maximum surface temperature (K) 310 Mean minimum surface temperature (K) 260 Visual geometric albedo (reflectivity) 0.39 Highest point on surface Mount Everest (over 8 km above sea-level) Atmospheric components 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon Surface materials basaltic and granitic rock and altered materials

4.5 billion years

Interconnected

Phases of Water

Energy

Rock Cycle

Table 1 The table below lists the atmospheric factors responsible for the planetary differences. The relative distance from the Sun has some influence on planetary temperature, but the greenhouse gases and atmospheric density have more of an impact on temperature. Venus has an extremely dense atmosphere (with a surface pressure 90 times that relative to Earth's). Conversely, Mars has an extremely thin atmosphere (with a surface pressure less than 1/100th of that relative to Earth's).

Table 2 The chemical composition of the atmospheres are important (at least to the presence of life). The major greenhouse gases (GHG) and their percentages are listed below. Note: In the Earth's dry atmosphere, nitrogen and oxygen comprise almost 99% of the gases. The remaining trace gases (with the exception of water vapor), add up to less than 1% of gases found in Earth's atmosphere. The amounts on the table below do not add up to exactly 100% because not all of the trace gases have been included. The table below includes only the principal gases found in the Earth's dry air. Water vapor, an important greenhouse gas, is not addressed in this activity.

When you're finished with the activity please write ½ page or so in your composition notebook reflecting on what you did. These ideas might help to get you started. Describe the atmospheric conditions you might encounter as an astronaut setting foot on Venus and Mars. Name at least two ways that the atmospheres of Venus and Mars are similar to each other, and one way that both differ from Earth's. What new information did you learn in this lesson? What did you already know? What was the hardest thing about the activity?