Midterm

The textbook has 18 chapters. With this week's lectures we have covered 7 chapters. The last two chapters are going to be covered, if at all, by term papers. Thus, 8 chapters are around half of the course. The Midterm then, is going to be a little less than halfway.

Part I

Developing Perspective

Chapter 1- Our Place in the Universe
Chapter 2 - Discovering the Universe for Yourself
Chapter 3 - The Science of Astronomy

Part II

Key Concepts for Astronomy

Chapter 4 - Making Sense of the Universe: Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity
Chapter 5 - Light: The Cosmic Messenger

Part III

Learning from Other Worlds

Chapter 6 - Formation of Planetary Systems: Our Solar System and Beyond
Chapter 7 - Earth and the Terrestrial Worlds

The study guide for next week Midterm is the following:

Study the following questions:

How many planets are there in the Solar System?

Describe a Terrestrial Planet

Describe a Jovian Planet

What is the difference between an asteroid and a comet?

What is the age of the Solar System?

Define a planet

What is a planetesimal?

Which planet is farther from the Sun, Uranus or Neptune?

Use the conservation of Energy to explain why planetesimals move faster when  gas, and particles, fall towards the center of the Solar System

Why is the Solar System flat like a pizza?

 If     , what is the value of   ? Remember  

State Kepler's Second Law

What is perihelion?

What is aphelion?

If a new planet is found with an aphelion twice as big as the perihelion, what is the velocity ratio between those points?

State Kepler's First Law

Define an ellipse

Which country was Tycho Brahe from?

Who used Tycho Brahe's, data and found the laws of planetary motion?

Who saw Jupiter's satellites with a telescope for the first time?

What does the universe look like from Earth?

Why do stars rise and set?

Why do the constellations we see depend on latitude and time of year?

What causes the seasons?

How does the orientation of Earth's axis change with time?

Why do we see phases of the Moon?

What causes eclipses?

Why was planetary motion so hard to explain?

Why did the ancient Greeks reject the real explanation for planetary motion?

When is the Winter Solstice in 2012?  

Which element is more abundant in the Universe?

Approximately how many stars are there in the Milky Way?

Approximately how many galaxies are there in the Universe?

What is a comet?

What is an asteroid?

What is a planet?

Which star does the Earth axis point to in the Northern hemisphere?

What is the Course ID in MasteringAstronomy?

What is a black hole?

What is the value of the speed of light?

What is light?

What is the wavelength range of blue light?

What is matter?

How do light and matter interact?

Which object produces more light, Jupiter or the Sun?

What is an extrasolar planet?

Where was James Clerk Maxwell born?

Where was Heinrich Hertz born?

Do we emit light?

For the midterm ten of these questions, will be presented as multiple choice.