Test 1 Study Guide; this test will cover the material in chapters 1 and 2 of your text and the accompanying classnotes.

Chapter1;

light year - define

constellations

- what they are, what they're used for

- whether or not what constellations you can see depends on the season

- whether or not people in the northern hemisphere see the same constellations as people in the southern hemispere

synodic vs. sidereal period, definitions

rotation of the Earth

- sidereal and synodic day length

- consequences of the two being different (how much earlier or later to stars rise each day)

Who is noted for his calculation of the size of the Earth (about 2200 years ago) and how he went about doing so.

celestial sphere

- coordinate system, diagram from my website, zenith, celestial meridian, celestial equator.

- How to find the altitude of the North Star and the distance between the celestial equator and the horizon based on the observer's latitude.

revolution of the Earth - synodic and sidereal day length, how this affects what constellations we see.

ecliptic - define. what constellations lie along the ecliptic.

seasons - why they occur, summer & winter solstices, fall & spring equinoxes.

tropical year - define

phases of the moon

- diagram from website. solving problems dealing with phase, time of day, and moon's location in sky (given two, determine the third)

- why do they occur

- length of synodic and sidereal revolution period

- synchronized orbit with Earth -> rotation period = sidereal revolution period

- how much earlier or later does the moon rise each day

precession of Earth's rotation axis - define, what is the period of precession.

lunar eclipses

- conditions for these to occur, what phase moon is required

- total vs. partial

- umbra & penumbra - define these

solar eclipses

- conditions for these to occur, what phase of moon is required

- total vs. annular eclipse

parallax

- define

- work problems based on equation relating distance in pc and parallax in arcsec

scientific notation - how to convert numbers to and from scientific notation.

Chapter 2:

ancient astronomy

- monuments built, what these monuments could predict

- what events Chinese astronomers are known for recording

- contributions of Arab astronomers

what was observed in ancient times

- which planets were known

- where/when to look for Venus and Mercury

- retrograde motion (define)

- where the term "planet" comes from

- what path the planets seem to travel along

geocentric model

- define this term

- what two Greek philosophers where the chief supporters

- Ptolemaic model - epicycles, deferents, which bodies did and didn't require epicycles

- what observations supported this model

- Aristarchus - what kind of model he proposed, why it wasn't accepted

heliocentric model, Copernicus

- define "heliocentric"

- what observations his model could explain

- the Copernican Revolution

- what did Copernicus keep from the Ptolemaic model

- why was Copernicus unable to convince the world to totally drop the Ptolemaic model

heliocentric model, Galileo

- the Scientific Method

- what Galileo observed through a telescope when he looked at the Sun, Jupiter and Venus, what were the consequences of these observations.

- what works Galileo published, why he angered the church (as opposed to Copernicus, who did not anger the church), what were the consequences of Galileo's work and his popularization of it.

- what later observations provided absolute proof of the heliocentric model

Tycho Brahe

- what he's known for

- who utliized his work

- which model he believed in (heliocentric or geocentric)

Johannes Kepler

- whose data he worked with

- which model he believed in

- Kepler's 3 laws of planetary motion

- features of an ellipse

- definition of eccentricity (what it measures, how to calculate it)

- what solar system objcets have high eccentricities.

- what solar system objects have low eccentricities.

- work problems using Kepler's 3rd law

- define "astronomical unit" (AU)

Newton

- Newton's 3 laws of motion

- define force, mass, acceleration. what units are these things measured in.

- what is the acceleration due to Earth's gravity

- define inertia

- work problems with Newton's 2nd law

- what is a gravitational force, what causes it.

- work problems with the gravitational force equation

- how the Sun's gravitational force affects planetary motion

- Newton's correction to Kepler's 3rd law. Why this is not a large correction.

Escape velocity

- define

- work problems with the equation for escape velocity

Other notes:

1. You WILL NOT be allowed to use any previously prepared notes or equation sheets during the test. You WILL be allowed to use a calculater.

2. I will provide the values of the gravitational constant (G) for you and the acceleration due to Earth's gravity (g). You WILL NOT have to memorize these numbers.

3. You WILL have to memorize the equations for gravitational force (F_G), parallax, Kepler's 3rd Law, escape velocity and Newton's 2nd Law.

4. To assist you with the Phases of the Moon problems, I will provide you with a diagram showing the Earth, four Moons at the locations of new, 1st quarter, full, and 3rd quarter, and what direction the Sun's light is coming from. This diagram WILL NOT have times on Earth, the direction of Earth's rotation (counterclockwise), or Phases of Moon labeled, you are expected to be able to fill those in yourself.

5. The questions will primarily be multiple choice. There will also be a few T/F questions.