Download Study Guide for 1ST Astronomy Exam

Study Guide for 1ST Astronomy Exam
The successful will be able to…
Unit 1: Our Planetary Neighborhood
 Write the planets in order of increasing distance from the Sun,
 Define a dwarf planet,
 Identify dwarf planets in the solar system,
 Using a ratio determine how much larger one object is compared to another given
their diameters,
 Convert AU into kilometers and kilometers into AU.
Unit 2: Beyond the Solar System
 Define a galaxy giving a representative diameter,
 List the hierarchical structures of the universe in order of increasing size,
 Define a light year and convert light-years into kilometers and kilometers into
light-years.
 Calculate the travel time between two objects given their distance apart and the
speed of travel, t=d/v,
 Using a proportion, calculate how big an object would be given the model size of
another object. e.g. “If the Earth were the size of a softball (diameter = 8 cm,
how big would the Milky Way galaxy be?”,
Unit 3: Astronomical Numbers
 Convert between cm, m and km,
 Work in scientific notation,
 Identify astronomical numbers from a list of such numbers (e.g. the page in the
text with Physical and Astronomical Constants and Useful Formulas
Unit 5: The Night Sky
 Draw and label the celestial sphere for an observer at any latitude,
 Draw the apparent motion of stars as seen by any observer looking North, East,
South or West,
 Define a constellation and distinguish it from an asterism,
 Use celestial coordinates of Right Ascension and Declination appropriately in
written work and problem solving,
 Use the simplified celestial sphere diagram to determine the visibility of an object
and its maximum altitude, given its declination at any latitude on the Earth,
 Use the fact that the Earth rotates 15 degrees per hour to calculate time periods
between celestial events.
Unit 6: The Year
 Describe in words and using the Whole Sky Map, developed in class, the annual
motion of the Sun eastward through the stars along the ecliptic defining and
identifying the special points on the ecliptic (solstices and equinoxes),
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Correctly characterize the maximum and minimum declination of the Sun with
the tilt of the Earth’s axis,
Define precession,
Identify precession as the cause for Polaris not always being the “North Star”,
Describe quantitatively the apparent daily motion of the Sun on an equinox or
solstice from any latitude (where sun rise occurs, maximum altitude of the Sun,
where sun set occurs, and the length of daylight) using the simplified celestial
sphere diagram,
Unit 7: The Day
 Describe the location of sunrise and sunset along the horizon for any given day of
the year. (Figure 7.1)
 Describe how the maximum altitude of the Sun depends on day of the year. Fig
7.1)
 Explain why the solar day is different from the sidereal day. (Fig 7.2)
 Describe how day length varies depending on whether the Sun is above, on, or
below the celestial equator.
Unit 8: The Lunar Cycles
 Describe the daily and monthly apparent motion of the Moon and its relationship
to the Zodiac.
 Be able to draw and interpret Figure 8.1 illustrating the lunar phases and the
Moon’s relationship to the Sun at each phase.
 Name the phase of the Moon from a photograph of the Moon.
 Estimate the number of days between lunar phases.
 Rank images of the Moon in different phases in order of occurrence first to last.
 Estimate the time of day given the Moon’s position in the observer’s sky and the
lunar phase.
 Locate the position of the Moon on
the local observer’s celestial sphere
diagram given its phase and the time
of day. E.g. If the Moon is in the last
W
quarter phase and the time is 6 a.m.
S
N
draw the location of the Moon on the
E
celestial sphere diagram to the right.
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Explain why the lunar sidereal period is different than the time for a cycle of lunar
phases.