Unit 7-chapter 13

criteria /krɑɪt'ɪriə/

Along with Earth, these planets meet the main criteria for supporting life.

Def: a standard by which to form a judgment

E.g.: What are the criteria for deciding who gets the prize?

dismiss /dɪsm'ɪs/

The probability that one of these planets is acually sustaining life seems too high to dismiss.

Def: send away

E.g.: The teacher dismissed the class when the bell rang.

a: dismissal 

extraterrestrial  /,ɛkstrətɚ'ɛstriəl/

The universe is most likely filled with extraterrestrial life, just waiting to be discovered.

Def: outside the Earth

E.g.: In other words, it is extraterrestrial.

mainstream /m'enstr,im/

The mainstream belief was himans would need to travel long distances to find out whether there were planets out side our own solar system.

Def: the chief tendency

E.g.: They came from the political mainstream.

orbit /'ɔrbət/

Planets are big, are their weights affects the stars they orbit.

Def: the path followed by a heavenly body around another satellite

E.g.: Once in space, the spacecraft went into orbit around the earth.

wobble /w'ɑbəl/

This pull causes the stars they orbit to wobble .

Def: move from side to side unsteadily

E.g.: Stop wobbling the table. You'll spill my coffee.

creep /kr'ip/

...compared it to" measuring a flea as it creeps across the headlight of....

Def: move slowly or silently

E.g.: They arrived late and crept into the classroom.

galaxy /g'æləksi/

There are over 100 billions stars in our galaxy, known as the Milky Way.

Def: a large system of stars

E.g.: Each galaxy contains billions of stars.

credible /kr'ɛdəbəl/

I find it credible that every star with a planetary systam has at least one Earth-like planet.

Def: believable

E.g.: It is hardly credible that such a thing could happen without her knowing it.

n:credibility adv: credibly

molecule /m'ɑləkj,ul/

...but not to close as to boil off water of break down the organic molecules on which life depends.

Def: the smallest unit of a substance that can exist

E.g.: A molecule is made up of one of more atoms.

chapter 14

fabric /f'æbrɪk/

In Einstein's theory, space and time is a fabric.

Def: cloth material

E.g.: Some fabrics fade in the wash.

literally /l'ɪtrəli/

...that there is something there, that could literally change the course of human history.

Def: word for word

E.g.: You can't translate this idiom literally.

overestimate /,ovɚ'ɛstəm,et/

It is hard to overestimate the difficulty of  going from star to star.

Def: estimate at too high a value

E.g.: He overestimated the value of the old vase.

planetarium /pl,ænət'ɛriəm/

...,director of the Rose Center's Hayden planetarium at the American Museum of Naural History in New York.

Def: a room designed to show the movement of heavenly bodies

E.g.: The moon rocks are on display at the planetarium.

probe /pr'ob/

...,the scientific probe Helios 2, travel at 2500 miles par second.

Def: an investigation

E.g.: The mayor ordered a probe of sanitary conditions in the slums.

prompt /pr'ɑmpt/

...,but one of the things that prompts skepticism is how they would get here in the first place.

Def: urge

E.g.: What prompted that protest? 

punch /p'ʌntʃ/

You see, if you fold the sheet of paper and punch a hole through it,...

Def: make a hole or holes in...

E.g.: He punched a hole in the ticket.

shortcut /ʃ'ɔrtk,ʌt/

A civilization that could harness the power of stars might be able to use that shotcut through space and time, and perhaps ...

Def: a shorter or a quicker way

E.g.: There's no shortcut to success.

skepticism /sk'ɛptɪs,ɪzəm/

I began this project with a healthy dose of skepticism and as open a mind as possible.

Def: doubt

E.g.: His skepticism of Darwin's theory of evolution was based on his religious belief.

the notes in teh class

transcrip: an exact copy or reproduction, especially one having an official status