PHYS 253 Part III: Chapters 3, 11, 12, 13 & 14

Study aid for test #3

The purpose of this guide is to point out key terms, concepts, and principles that you should know. It is by no means a replacement for you notes or the text book. This guide is not all inclusive. It should help you, however, prepare and review for test #4

General Advice:

1. Be able to define key terms at the end of the chapters 3, 11,12, 13 & 14

2. Be able to state the major contribution of astronomers, scientists, etc. in every chapter.

3. Be able to answer all the end of the chapter multiple choice self-test questions.

4. Be able to repeat sample problems done in class.

5. Review your notes and end of chapter summaries.

Take notes during the AV presentations.

Chapter 3: Light and Atoms

Key Terms: Doppler effect, Doppler shift, destructive and constructive interference, diffraction, dispersion, scattering, reflection, refraction, wave length, period, frequency, nanometer, photon, photoelectric effect, emission spectra, absorption spectra, visible spectra, electromagnetic waves, etc.

Be able to state the contributions of the following scientists in relation to the nature or speed of light: Plato, Newton, Huygens, Maxwell, Einstein, de Broglie, Davison and Germer, Galileo, Roemer, etc.

Be able to use Wien's law and calculate the temperature of an object such as a star given the wavelength at which its radiation has maximum intensity.

Be able to describe the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom and use it to explain emission and absorption spectra.

Be able to explain why the sky is blue and why sun sets are red.

Chapter 11: The Sun, Our Star

Be able to compare the size of the Sun with the Earth.

Give a diagram that show the structure of the sun, be able to label it.

Be able to explain the mechanism by which our Sun generates energy.

Be able to explain why Sun spots appear darker.

Be able to explain why at first the solar cycle was believed to be 11 years and now astrophysicists believe it is 22 years.

Key terms: chromosphere      corona      photosphere       hydrostatic equilibrium           neutrinos          nuclear fusion proton-proton chain        radiative zone        solar flare      solar wind                 prominence

Scientists: Schwabe ,Bethe, etc.

Ch. 12: Measuring the Properties of Stars

Be able to describe how the following stellar properties are measured:(see table 12-4)

distance temperature luminosity apparent magnitude absolute magnitude

radius chemical composition spectral class radial velocity mass

Be able to calculate stellar distance when the parallax angle is given.

Be able to calculate the following stellar properties:

    temperature using Wien's law

     radius using Stefan-Boltzman's law

    radial velocity using Doppler effect

     stellar mass using modified Kepler's 2nd law

Scientists: Saha     Hertzsprung      Russell     Henry Draper      Arnie J. Cannon     Cecilia Payne      John Goodricke

Be able to sketch and label an H-R diagram.

Be able to define the following terms:

protostar main sequence red giant white dwarf parsec

radial velocity binary stars variable stars visual binary

Be able to state the difference between the following binary stars systems:

eclipsing spectroscopic b astrometric X-ray binary

Chapters 13 &14: The Formation, Evolution and Death of stars

State the Chandrasekhar limit. What is its significance

You should be able to describe, with the help of the H-R diagram, how a star with one solar mass is formed(born),how it evolve through the following stages:

interstellar nebula, protostar, T-tauri stars, main sequence, red giant, variable star, white dwarf.

You should be able to state the criteria that forces some stars to end up as white dwarfs while some explode and then end as pulsars and ring nebula. while others end up as black holes .

Be able to explain the source of energy for the following type of stars:

protostar       mainsequence      red giant     white dwarf      pulsar     black hole      mira variable     neutron star.

Be able to explain what variable stars are and how they cab be used to measure distance.

Scientists: Chandrasekhar, Jocelyn Bell, Henrietta Leavitt, Stephen Hawking