Review Notes for Final Exam

You may use one 8½ x 11" sheet of paper (front and back) for the final exam. No books, old homework assignments, labs, or tests, however. My advice is to study your previous exams, homework questions, and the practice exams for Exam 1 and Exam 2 and make sure you can answer all questions.

Please note that my presentations do not contain all of the information you are expected to know; they are designed to provide a few key details and provide visual impact to the lectures.

Topics to study include:

  1. A general scale of the Solar System and the distances to the nearest stars (A Sense of Place presentation 2.1MB pdf)
  2. Basic distance definitions (the astronomical unit, light-year and parsec)
  3. The celestial sphere
    1. Basic definitions (Vernal equinox, ecliptic, meridian, etc.)
    2. The orientation of the earth’s axis and cause of the seasons (the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the arctic and antarctic circles, etc.)
    3. Precession of Earth's axis
  4. Ptolemy's geocentric model of the Universe: deferents, epicycles, equant, etc. (Ancient Astronomies presenatation 5.8MB pdf)
  5. Copernicus' heliocentric model of the Universe (explanation of retrograde motion, shortcomings, etc.)
  6. Understanding of synodic and sidereal periods
  7. Kepler’s laws of planetary motion (Shoulders of Giants I presentation 2.2MB pdf)
  8. Galileo's telescopic observations and experiments on motion and inertia (Shoulders of Giants II presentation 2.7MB pdf)
  9. Definitions of speed, velocity, acceleration and mass
  10. Newton's laws of motion and universal gravitation
  11. The Special Theory of Relativity (Nine Things You Need to Know handout 3.2MB pdf)
    1. Postulates
    2. Consequences: length contraction, mass and time dilation
    3. The twin paradox
    4. Concept of spacetime
  12. The General Theory of Relativity (General Relativty Presentation 1.3 MB pdf)
    1. The principle of equivalence
    2. The curvature of spacetime and the "illusion" of gravity
    3. Consequences of general relativity on cosmological models
  13. The electromagnetic spectrum
    1. The relationship between energy, wavelength, and frequency of different types of EM radiation
    2. The Doppler effect
  14. Blackbodies
    1. Wien's law and the Stefan-Boltzmann law
    2. Kirchhoff’s laws of spectroscopy
    3. Stellar spectra and their classification
    4. The relationship between luminosity, radius, and surface temperature of stars
    5. The spectrum of hydrogen (i.e., the Balmer series)
  15. Distance determinations
    1. Apparent magnitude vs. absolute magnitude
    2. Trigonometric parallax
    3. The distance modulus (see Variable Stars in M15 lab)
  16. The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (584 kB pdf)
  17. The Sun (Big 9MB pdf)
    1. The solar interior and mechanisms of energy flow transport
    2. The proton-proton cycle
    3. The Sun's visible features: sunspots, flares, prominences, coronal mass ejections
    4. The solar atmosphere: photosphere, chomrosphere, transition region and corona
  18. Post-main sequence evolution of a Sun-like star
    1. Core hydrogen depletion and electron degeneracy
    2. Helium flash, triple alpha process, and red giant phase
    3. Helium depletion, red supergiant phase and helium shell flashes, instability and planetary nebula formation
    4. Chandrasekhar limit, white dwarfs and electron degeneracy
  19. Evolution of Massive Stars (6.1 MB pdf)
  20. Post-main sequence evolution of a very massive star
    1. Production of heavy nuclei (including significance of formation of iron-56)
    2. Core collapse, rebound, shockwave restart and supernova
    3. Neutron degeneracy
    4. Neutron stars and pulsars
    5. Black holes
  21. Secret Lives of Stars presentation
  22. The Milky Way
    1. General structure and our location in it
    2. Comparison between the Milky Way and other types of galaxies
    3. Quasars and galaxy formation
  23. Hubble’s law and the expansion of the universe
    1. Difference betwen Doppler redshift and cosmological redshift
    2. Look-back time
    3. Cosmic horizon
    4. Observational evidence of Dark Energy and the fate of our universe
  24. Early History of the Universe
    1. The Big Bang
    2. The four fundamental forces in nature
    3. The first three minutes and production of heavy nuclei
    4. The 3 K cosmic microwave background (CMB) and formation of hydrogen (Echo of the Big Bang presentation 3.3MB pdf)
  25. The Earth and the Terrestrial Planets
    1. Atmospheres: compositions and surface conditions
    2. Magnetic fields, magnetospheres, radiation belts and aurorae
    3. The greenhouse effect and ozone depletion
    4. Interior structures
  26. The Moon
    1. Phases (33 kB pdf)
    2. Type of eclipses: solar and lunar
    3. Geologic features
    4. Theory of formation: The collision-ejection theory
  27. The Jovian planets
    1. Atmospheric composition and structure
    2. Roche limit and formation of ring system
    3. Magnetospheres and magnetic field
  28. Interplanetary vagabonds (BIG 11.3MB pdf)
    1. Asteroids
    2. Comets
    3. Meteor showers
    4. Meteors and meteorites

Sample Exam Questions

To help you prepare for the style of questions I often ask, here are a few sample questions to solve:

  1. Sketch and label a diagram of our Milky Way galaxy showing how it might appear to an observer in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Be sure to include approximate sizes and the approximate location of our Solar System.
  2. What significant transformation occurred about 400,000 years after the big bang? What evidence of this event do we "see" today?
  3. What is believed to be the source of the earth's immense magnetic field?
  4. Describe one piece of evidence indicating that a cataclysmic impact of an asteroid was at least partially responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
  5. Even on a cold, but sunny winter day the temperature inside a parked car can become quite warm after the car is parked outside for a few hours. Name and describe the phenomenon responsible for this effect.

Solutions to Sample Questions