chemistry

William Fyfe (geochemist)

William Fyfe (geochemist) is a chemistry 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 William Fyfe (geochemist) rather than just read about it. In short: William Sefton Fyfe, (4 June 1927 – 11 November 2013) was a New Zealand geologist and Professor Emeritus in the department of Earth Sciences at the University of Western Ontario. He is widely considered among the world's most eminent geochemists.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

William Sefton Fyfe, (4 June 1927 – 11 November 2013) was a New Zealand geologist and Professor Emeritus in the department of Earth Sciences at the University of Western Ontario. He is widely considered among the world's most eminent geochemists.

Life Born in Ashburton, New Zealand, he received his BSc degree in 1948, his MSc degree in 1949, and his PhD degree in 1952 all from the University of Otago, where he taught in the Geology department as a lecturer. He performed research at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley. He was a professor at Berkeley, Imperial College London and the University of Manchester before arriving at the University of Western Ontario in 1972. From 1986 until 1990 he was dean of science at the University of Western Ontario.

Honours and awards From 1952 to 1954, Fulbright Scholar (Geology) In 1962 and 1983, he was a Guggenheim Fellow In 1969 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada In 1970 he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. In 1981 he was awarded the Geological Association of Canada's highest honour, the Logan Medal. In 1985 he was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Willet G. Miller Medal. In 1989 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 1989 he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree of science, from the Memorial University. In 1990 he was awarded an "honoris causa" doctoral degree from the University of Lisbon In 1990 he was awarded the Geological Society of America's Arthur L. Day Medal. In 1992 he was awarded the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. In 1994 he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree of science, from the Saint Mary's University, Halifax. In 1995 he was awarded honorary doctoral degrees of science, from the University of Otago and the University of Western Ontario. In 1995, he was awarded the Roebling Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America. In 2000 he was awarded the Geological Society's Wollaston Medal. In 2006 he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree of science, from the University of Alberta Asteroid 15846 Billfyfe is named in his honour

References

External links Biosketch

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William Fyfe (geochemist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William Fyfe (geochemist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, 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 William Fyfe (geochemist) 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 William Fyfe (geochemist) 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 William Fyfe (geochemist)

In research: William Fyfe (geochemist) appears in chemistry 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 William Fyfe (geochemist) 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: William Fyfe (geochemist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1927 births, 2013 deaths, 20th-century Canadian chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William Fyfe (geochemist) 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 William Fyfe (geochemist) in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is William Fyfe (geochemist) in simple terms?

Why does William Fyfe (geochemist) matter?

Because it connects several chemistry 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 William Fyfe (geochemist)?

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 William Fyfe (geochemist).