science

Wildcatter

Wildcatter 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 Wildcatter rather than just read about it. In short: A wildcatter is an individual who drills wildcat wells, which are exploration oil wells drilled in areas not known to be oil fields. The term was used in the early oil industry in western Pennsylvania.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

A wildcatter is an individual who drills wildcat wells, which are exploration oil wells drilled in areas not known to be oil fields. The term was used in the early oil industry in western Pennsylvania. Oil wells in unproven territory were called "wild cat" wells from mid-1870, and those who drilled them were called "wild-catters" by 1876. For instance, the Titusville Herald noted in 1880: "The discovery of the fluid in New York State was the signal for a general exodus of wildcatters from all parts of the oil country ..."

Etymology According to tradition, the origin of the term in the petroleum industry comes from Wildcat Hollow, now in Oil Creek State Park near Titusville, Pennsylvania. Wildcat Hollow was one of the many productive fields in the early oil era. An old story claims that a speculator who was drilling in this narrow valley shot a wildcat, had it stuffed, and set it atop his derrick, and that the mounted cat gave its name to the hollow. The same story claims that because the area was largely untested and somewhat away from Oil Creek Flats, the term "wildcatter" was coined to refer to a person who risked drilling for oil in any unproven area. Wildcat was American slang for any risky business venture by 1838, long before the rise of the petroleum industry. An example was the wildcat banking of the 1850s. Directors of wildcat banks in the Midwest were known as "wild-catters" before Edwin Drake's discovery of oil in Pennsylvania.

Notable wildcatters Glenn McCarthy Thomas Baker Slick Sr. Mike Benedum Joe Trees Columbus Marion Joiner

See also Hydrocarbon exploration William M. Keck

References

External links [httpd://www.raken.com/american_wealth/Wildcatter_Oil_Barons/oil_barons_index.asp Wildcatters and oil barons of America]

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wildcatter

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wildcatter 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 Wildcatter 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 Wildcatter 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 Wildcatter

In research: Wildcatter 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 Wildcatter 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: Wildcatter is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics History of the petroleum industry in the United States, Oil exploration, Petroleum production, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wildcatter 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 Wildcatter in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wildcatter 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 Wildcatter out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wildcatter in simple terms?

Why does Wildcatter 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 Wildcatter?

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 Wildcatter.