Main Entry: natural science
Function: noun
Date: 14th century : any of the sciences (as physics, chemistry, or biology) that deal with
matter, energy, and their interrelations and transformations or with objectively
measurable phenomena
- natural scientistnoun
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Natural sciences
Any of several sciences that deal with non-human nature and its laws, as
distinct from the "social sciences" which deal with humans. This
distinction is not absolute; archeology is one of several fields with a foot
in both camps.
"The sciences" are usually distinguished from "the
humanities," but this is a false dichotomy. Science can be beautiful
and uplifting in both theory and practice, and the humanities often involve
detailed technical analysis.
As you can see, everything in your question falls under the heading of
"natural science." Natural sciences are often divided into two
categories:
Physical sciences
The study of the non-living world; normally said to include physics,
chemistry, astronomy, oceanography and geology.
Biological sciences
The study of living things. However, this is quite fluid, and includes all
sorts of stuff from the physical sciences. For example, there are fields
such as biophysics, biochemistry, and environmental science, which take
techniques and theories from physics, chemistry and geology.
Then there are the sub-specialties, which are not terribly well-defined
except by their subject matter. For example,
Earth sciences
The study of the Earth (this sometimes includes planetology, the study of
the other worlds of our Solar System). One can specialize in geophysics or
geochemistry as well as in geology in general, and more recent research even
comes under the heading of "biogeology," the influence of living
things upon geological processes.
Environmental sciences
The study of the "natural" environment. Specialties under this
heading include analytical chemistry, ecology (the study of the interactions
of living things with each other and their environments), atmospheric
chemistry and physics as well as meteorology, and so forth.
A word of warning: "Environmental science" is
sometimes just a catchy buzz-phrase used by colleges to recruit students. I
would be very wary of "environmental science" majors unless they are
add-ons to a more traditional physics, chemistry, geology or biology major.
