Mapping Our World

ESCI Vocabulary and Mapping

2021

Scientific Method

• Ask a question.

• Gather information and observe (research)

• Make a hypothesis (guess the answer)

• Experiment and test your hypothesis.

• Analyze your test results.

• Modify your hypothesis, if necessary.

• Present a conclusion.

Graphs

• A graph is a way to look at a lot of data in a short, picture-like way.  

• Graphs make it easy to establish trends or patterns.  

• The type of graph is determined by what type of study is being done.

Independent Variable

• An independent variable is a variable that you can control. 

• For example, in an experiment on the effect of light on plant growth, you can control how much light a plant receives. To measure the change, you can put one plant near a window and another plant in a dark closet.

  
  

Dependent Variable

A dependent variable is the variable that you observe and measure. 

For example, if you are testing the effects of light on plant growth, how much the plant grows after some period of time would be the dependent variable.

Multiple Choice

The first step of the scientific method is ...

• research

• create graphs

• ask a question

• complete the experiment

Multiple Choice

The independent variable is the variable we measure.

• true

• false

Multiple Choice

We can use a graph to show us the results of an experiment.

• True

• false

Multiple Choice

Our "guess" as to what we think will happen in an experiment is called...

• research

• hypothesis

• variable

• data

Maps

• A map is a symbolic representation of selected characteristics of a place, usually drawn on a flat surface.

• Maps present information about the world in a simple, visual way.

Latitude and Longitude

Latitude and longitude make up the grid system that helps us identify absolute, or exact, locations on the Earth’s surface. 

Latitude

• Latitude = distance north or south of the Equator

• Also called Parallels

• The Equator is the line of 0 degrees latitude.

• The latitude of the North Pole is 90 degrees N, and the latitude of the South Pole is 90 degrees S.

Longitude

• Longitude is the measurement east or west of the prime meridian.

• Longitude is measured by imaginary lines that run around the Earth vertically (up and down) and meet at the North and South Poles.

• The meridian that runs through Greenwich, England, is the line of 0 degrees longitude, or prime meridian. 

Multiple Choice

The equator separates the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.

• true

• false

Multiple Choice

The Equator is the zero (0) line of latitude.

• true

• false

Multiple Choice

The Prime Meridian is the zero (0) line of longitude.

• true

• false