Midterm Review Sheet 2003
The midterm will be instead
of a lecture on Feb 11, 2003.
THIS IS NOT AN ABSOLUTE LIST OF WHAT MAY BE
ON THE EXAM. THIS SHEET OUTLINES SOME
OF THE MAIN TOPICS WE HAVE COVERED, EQUATIONS AND TERMS TO KNOW.
Orbits
·
Similar
triangles—what are they used for, how to use them.
·
What
did ancient astronomers do to make measurements of the Earth, Sun and Moon
(i.e. use of transits, eclipses, etc.)
·
Theories
of Copernicus/Ptolemy. What were the basic
ideas they believed were true?
·
Kepler’s
Laws. What were they?
·
What
are some of the types of electromagnetic radiation (IR, UV, visible,
etc.). What are the relative
wavelengths of these types?
Sun
·
Properties
of the Sun. How big, density, composition?
·
Blackbody
radiation. How does the temperature of
the body relate to the type of radiation it gives off?
·
What
is the internal structure of the Sun?
The source of the Sun’s energy?
How does it get to the Earth?
What are the different layers of the Sun’s interior and atmosphere? What are their properties?
·
Does
the Sun rotate? How fast?
·
Sunspot
cycle. What are sunspots? When do they occur?
·
Atomic
structure: protons, neutrons and electrons; fusion and how it powers the Sun.
·
Plasmas
– what they are, how they are produced.
Moon
·
Properties
of the Moon. How big, density,
composition, interior structure.
·
Why
does the Moon have phases?
Eclipses? What is the synodic
and sidereal month?
·
Newton’s
Law of Gravitation and Newton’s three laws of motion.
·
Centrifugal
Force
·
Why
do we have tides? What causes
tides? When are tides largest/smallest?
·
How
have tides affected the Moon and Earth’s rotation?
·
What
are the surface properties of the Moon?
What is it made of? What are the
different regions? How were they
formed? Relative ages.
·
Craters. What do they look like? Where are they found? What do they tell us about the age of a
planet?
·
How
has the Moon evolved? Where did it come
from? What effect did impacts have on
the early Moon?
Mercury
·
Properties
of Mercury. How big, density,
composition.
·
Density:
compressed vs. uncompressed density
·
How
does Mercury rotate/orbit around the Sun. Why does this make observation
difficult?
·
What
is the interior structure of Mercury?
·
Mercury’s
magnetic field. What does it say about
the interior?
·
Atmosphere
of Mercury?
·
Describe
some of the features of Mercury’s surface.
Craters, scarps, composition.
·
Similarities/differences
between Mercury and the Moon, Mercury and Earth in internal structure, surface, atmosphere, etc.
·
Understand
what is meant by isostasy and isostatic compensation.
·
How
does the structure of a planet affect its shape? (bulge, oblate spheroid)
Earth
·
Properties
of Earth. How big, density, composition
of surface and atmosphere
·
What
are some similarities and differences between the Earth and other terrestrial
planets?
·
What
is the significance of the tilt of Earth’s axis? When do the seasons occur?
Why do they occur?
·
What
is the shape of the Earth? What causes
the bulge?
·
How
have changes in the Earth’s orbit affected Earth’s past climate?
·
Describe
the Earth’s interior structure
·
Seismology. What are the different types of seismic
waves?
·
Understand
plate tectonics. What is it? What does the magnetic striping near the mid-ocean
ridges tell us about how the plates move?
Venus
·
Properties
of Venus. How big, density, composition
of surface and atmosphere
·
Observations
of Venus – phases, brightness, lack of markings.
·
Similarities/differences
between Venus and Earth
·
Composition
and structure of the atmosphere
·
What
is the greenhouse effect? What is the
runaway greenhouse effect?
·
What
is the geology of the venusian surface?
(highlands, plains, tectonic features, surface age, special features). You do not need to know the proper names of
individual features.
·
Does
Venus have plate tectonics? Is it geologically active?
·
Is
there a lot of water on Venus?
Newton’s
Law of Gravitation: F = G M m
r2
(here
F is the force, G is the universal gravitational constant, M
and m are two masses and r is
the distance between them).
r
(here
F is the force, m is the mass, v is the (circular) speed
and r is the distance to the center of the circle).
Set
these two equations equal to each other and you can get:
Kepler’s
Law of Orbits: P2 a r3
(here
P is the period, r is the radius of the orbit, and a means “proportional to”).
Einstein’s
Theory of Relativity: E = m c2
(here
E is the energy released by a mass m; c is the speed of
light, 3x108 m/s).
Wavelength-frequency
relationship: c = f l
(here
c is the speed of light, l is the wavelength of the
light and f is its frequency).
(here
lmax is the wavelength at
which maximum power is emitted, and T is the temperature (in Kelvins) of
the black body which is doing the emitting).
Density:
r = m
(here
r
is density, m is mass, and V is volume).
Pressure: p = r g h
(here p is the pressure caused by a fluid of density r and thickness h; g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2 for Earth)).
(here
E is the energy, m is the mass, g is the acceleration due
to gravity and h is the starting height of the object).
Kinetic
energy: E = m v2
2
(here
E is the energy, m is the mass, v is the speed of the
object).
transit nebula planetesimal
supernova plasma photon
spectroscopy fusion convection
photosphere chromosphere corona
solar
wind plasma solar
flare
radiation blackbody synodic
and sidereal
phase-locking parent/daughter
element crater
eccentricity kinetic/potential
energy scarps
perihelion aphelion isostasy
compressed
density uncompressed
density differentiation
crust basalt P-waves/S-waves
subduction isotope half-life
albedo