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. Make sure you read the related notes I've posted and the appropriate sections in the texts and your own notes.

Topics to study include:

  1. A general understanding of the scale of our solar system and the immense distances to stars (A Sense of Place presentation 2.1 MB pdf)
  2. Basic distance definitions (the astronomical unit, light-year and parsec)
  3. The celestial sphere
    1. Basic definitions (north celestial pole, Vernal equinox, ecliptic, zenith, circumpolar, etc.)
    2. The orientation of Earth’s axis and the cause of the seasons
    3. Important latitudes on Earth (Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the arctic and antarctic circles, etc.)
    4. Cause of the precession of Earth's axis
  4. Phases of the Moon (33kB pdf)
  5. The birth of science or (Ancient Astronomies Presentation 2.1 MB pdf and notes in Word format 352 kB )
  6. Ptolemy's geocentric model of the Universe
    1. Retrograde motion
    2. Equant
    3. "Saving the appearances"
  7. Copernicus' heliocentric model of the Universe (Slides 70 kB pdf)
    1. Simplified explanation of retrograde motion
    2. Rationale for preferring a sun-centered universe
    3. Signficant planetary alignments and determination of planetary distances
  8. Understanding of synodic and sidereal periods
  9. Observations and historical significance of Tycho Brahe
  10. Johannes Kepler and the laws of planetary motion (practice problems 70kB pdf)
  11. Galileo's telescopic observations of 1609-10 and later experiments on motion and inertia (movie of rotating sun 205 kB Quicktime mov)
  12. The Shoulders of Giants, part 1, presentation (2.2 MB pdf)
  13. The Scientific Method (537kB pdf)
  14. Definitions of speed, velocity, acceleration and mass
  15. Isaac Newton (see The Shoulders of Giants part 2, 1.8 MB pdf)
    1. Newton's laws of motion
    2. Newton's law of universal gravitation
  16. Einstein's special theory of relativity (Special Relativity 1.8 MB pdf)
    1. Postulates
    2. Length contraction, mass and time dilation
    3. The twin paradox
    4. Concept of spacetime
  17. Nine Things You Need to Know About Special Relativity (3.2 MB pdf)
  18. Einstein's general theory of relativity (1.3 MB pdf)
    1. Principle of equivalence
    2. Curvature of spacetime
    3. Gravitational waves
    4. Time dilation
  19. The Doppler Effect (Amtrak Texas Eagle on YouTube)
  20. The Electromagnetic Spectrum
    1. Wave-particle duality of EM radiation
    2. The relationship between energy, wavelength, and frequency of EM radiation
    3. The Doppler effect
  21. Blackbodies
    1. Wien's displacement 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 effective (i.e. surface) temperature of stars
    5. The spectrum of hydrogen (specifically, the Balmer series) and how it is produced
  22. Distance determinations
    1. Apparent magnitude vs. absolute magnitude
    2. Trigonometric parallax
  23. The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
  24. Basic Properties of the Stars (The Secret Lives of Stars, part 1 huge 12.4 MB pdf!)
  25. The Sun
    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. Properties of the solar atmosphere: photosphere, chomrosphere, transition region and corona
  26. 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
  27. Evolution of Massive Stars (The Secret Lives of Stars, part 2 big 8.2 MB pdf)
  28. 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
  29. The Milky Way (A Universe of Galaxies presentation (4.9 MB pdf)
    1. General structure and our location in it
    2. Comparison between the Milky Way and other types of galaxies
    3. Quasars and galaxy formation
  30. 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
  31. 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
    5. Birth of Cosmology presentation (Huge 13.2 MB pdf)
  32. Formation of the Solar System
    1. The solar nebula
    2. Homogeneous accretion
    3. Heterogeneous accretion
    4. Chemical differentiation
  33. The Moon
    1. Type of eclipses: solar and lunar
    2. Geologic features
    3. Leading theory of formation: The collision-ejection theory
  34. The Jovian planets
    1. Atmospheric composition and structure
    2. Roche limit and formation of ring system
  35. 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