science

Richard Pickersgill

Richard Pickersgill is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Richard Pickersgill rather than just read about it. In short: Lieutenant Richard Pickersgill (18 April 1749 – July 1779) was an English Royal Navy officer who accompanied the sailor and explorer James Cook on two of his Pacific voyages. Richard Pickersgill was born in 1749 in West Tanfield, near Ripon, to Richard and Ann Pickersgill (née Lee).

Key takeaways

Richard Pickersgill belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Richard Pickersgill to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Richard Pickersgill from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lieutenant Richard Pickersgill (18 April 1749 – July 1779) was an English Royal Navy officer who accompanied the sailor and explorer James Cook on two of his Pacific voyages. Richard Pickersgill was born in 1749 in West Tanfield, near Ripon, to Richard and Ann Pickersgill (née Lee). Pickersgill was the nephew of John Lee, the servant of George Jackson, a senior officer in the Admiralty. It is believed that his uncle managed to position him through his relationships on his first ships. In 1766, at the age of 17, he participated in the circumnavigation of the world under Captain Samuel Wallis on HMS Dolphin. Two years later, on 26 August 1768, Pickersgill belonged as a Master's mate on HMS Endeavour, which set off with James Cook to its first South Sea voyage. On this trip he also impressed Cook, who had a high opinion of his skills as a surveyor, his dealings with the indigenous peoples they encountered, and his judgment. When Robert Molineux, the Master of the Endeavour, died on the return journey to England, Pickersgill was promoted to Master on 16 April 1771. After his return to London, Pickersgill was promoted on Cook's recommendation to Lieutenant. On 13 July 1772, Cook began his second expedition with HMS Resolution, and Richard Pickersgill joined as the Third Lieutenant. He did not accompany Cook on his third voyage, but in April 1776 took command of the ship Lyon and was sent to Baffin Bay on the east coast of Canada. Richard Pickersgill died in 1779 at the age of 30, when he accidentally fell into the Thames River when boarding a ship and drowned. According to Richard Pickersgill, the Pickersgill Islands off South Georgia in the South Atlantic and Pickersgill Harbour, a natural harbour in New Zealand, were named after him.

References

External links Journal of Richard Pickersgill, Third Lieutenant of the Resolution

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard Pickersgill

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard Pickersgill claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Richard Pickersgill before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Richard Pickersgill ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Richard Pickersgill

In research: Richard Pickersgill appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Richard Pickersgill in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Richard Pickersgill is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1749 births, 1779 deaths, 18th-century English explorers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard Pickersgill outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Richard Pickersgill in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Richard Pickersgill means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Richard Pickersgill out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard Pickersgill in simple terms?

Why does Richard Pickersgill matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Richard Pickersgill?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Richard Pickersgill.