AST 1002 STUDY GUIDE -- HOUR TEST 1
- energy -- kinetic; potential, especially gravitational; radiative
- definitions -- speed, velocity, acceleration, mass
- dynamics and Newton's Laws -- constant velocity if no external force;
force = mass x acceleration; action=reaction; uniform circular motion:
centripetal force, centrifugal "force"
- angular momentum -- what determines it
- law of universal gravitation, inverse-square dependence and consequences,
surface gravity and dependence on mass, radius
- gravitational two-body problem 1 -- Kepler for planets: elliptical orbits,
semimajor axis and eccentricity, orbital speed and Law of Areas, perihelion and
aphelion, Harmonic Law relating period and semimajor axis
- gravitational two-body problem 2 -- Newton in general: closed/bound/periodic
orbits (ellipses, including circle) and open/unbound/one-time orbits (parabolas,
hyperbolas), circular/orbital speed and parabolic/escape speed (not exact
numbers); form of orbit and sign of total energy; conservation of orbital
angular momentum and connection with Law of Areas; revision of Harmonic Law
including masses, use and importance
- tidal forces, high and low tides and tidal bulges; combining lunar and
(weaker) solar: spring, neap tides and lunar phases; tidal friction, Earth's
rotation, and changes in the Moon's orbit
- electromagnetic radiation, including light -- wave vs. particle;
wavelength, frequency, energy, and interrelations (dependences but not
exact formulas); main regions of the electromagnetic spectrum and colors
of visible light in proper order (Remember Roy!)
- types of spectra -- 1) continuous; 2) emission-line (bright-line);
3) absorption-line (dark-line); sources, examples for each
- thermal energy; connection between heat, temperature, and kinetic energy of
particles, temperature scales: Fahrenheit, Celsius or Centigrade, Kelvin or
Absolute
- thermal radiation -- shift in peak wavelength (maximum intensity) with
temperature and accompanying shift in color of visible light; change in energy
output per unit area per unit time with temperature (both require temperature
in K)
- atomic structure -- nucleus (protons, neutrons; atomic number, atomic
weight/mass, isotopes), electron cloud, electron energy (kinetic+potential),
energy levels, and orbits for hydrogen atom; ground state and excited states
(above ground), excitation and de-excitation, ionization and recombination
- emission- and absorption-line radiation -- energy-level transitions in
atoms or ions=charged atoms, unique to element and its ionization stage;
excitation and temperature, ionization and temperature when collisions
involved, giving temperature and pressure as well as chemical composition
- molecular spectra -- vibration of atoms in molecule, rotation of
molecule, complex energy-level structure; low energy of dissociation=
breakup
- Doppler effect for sound, esp. light and electromagnetic radiation --
radial velocity vs. wavelength change, "redshift," "blueshift"
- telescopes -- refractor, chromatic and spherical aberration; reflector,
coma; multimirror reflector; light collection, resolution and its
theoretical dependence on wavelength and aperture, adaptive optics
- auxiliary equipment -- eyepiece, camera, photometer, spectrograph
- atmospheric "seeing," light pollution; atmospheric transparency across
spectrum
- radio telescopes -- resolution problem, interferometer
- overview of Solar System -- facts, including orbital data, terrestrial
vs. jovian planets and their properties; Asteroid Belt, Kuiper Belt, and
Oort Cloud
- binary or encounter hypothesis of Solar System origin -- probability
and its implications; basic problem, confrontation with observation
- nebular theory of Solar System origin -- gravitational contraction of
nebula, angular momentum conservation and spin, protosun and
protoplanetary disk; angular momentum problem and solution;
condensation sequence (volatiles, refractories and examples) and temperature
gradient; accretion and planetesimals, nebular capture, solar wind; asteroids
and comets as "leftovers"