Transect — Science definition
A line across an area with samples taken at intervals, used when the question is about change along a gradient rather than an average.
Where it is taught
- Sampling Ecosystems & Comparing Evidence — Ecological Evidence & Environmental Design, Life Science & Scientific Inquiry, Grade 7
In use
A transect is a line across an area along which samples are taken at intervals, and it is the tool for a question about change across a gradient — up a shore, out from a path, down a hillside — where an average over the whole area would hide exactly what you want to see.
Sampling Ecosystems & Comparing Evidence