Download Course Expectations

Astronomy Course Expectations
Unit 1 Exploring the Sky
Understand
1. Scientific explanations change over time when new evidence conflicts with the
existing theory.
2. Technological advances enable science to collect new evidence to support or disprove
theories.
3. Matter emits or absorbs electromagnetic radiation (light) in unique ways.
4. Celestial objects move in predictable ways creating predictable cycles.
Know
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Why people believed the universe was geocentric
The evidence Galileo used to prove the universe was heliocentric
Kepler’s laws of planetary motion
How Kepler’s Laws advance support the heliocentric model
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Newton’s Gravitational Constant
The terms associated with the coordinate system
The 3 circumpolar constellations
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
How absorption and emission occur in atoms
All objects have a blackbody curve
How telescopes use the electromagnetic spectrum
The reason the moon has phases
Why eclipses occur and the earth has seasons
The cause of apparent celestial motion
Be Able To
1. Describe the evidence and explain why we moved from a geocentric to a heliocentric model
of the universe.
Use Newton’s gravitational constant to compute the gravitational forces between two objects
Use a planisphere and the coordinate system to locate an object in the sky.
Locate and identify the 3 circumpolar constellations
Identify the frequency band on the electromagnetic spectrum used by different telescopes
Explain the relationship between frequency, wavelength and energy levels on the EM
Spectrum
7. Identify and explain the difference between an absorption and emission spectrum
8. Create a model demonstrating how motion creates the lunar phases, eclipses, seasons and
apparent celestial motion
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Unit 2 Our Solar System
Understand
1. The Solar Nebula Hypothesis explains how the fundamental forces in our universe act
on matter to form solar systems.
2. We make assumptions about the conditions required for life based on our knowledge
of life on earth. These assumptions determine where and how we look for life in our
universe.
3. We have developed various methods of estimating time on the geologic scale.
Know
1. The stages of the Solar Nebula Hypothesis
2. Methods used to determine the age of objects in our solar system
3. The components of our solar system
4. The composition of objects in our solar system
5. The conditions on earth that make it suitable for life
6. How those “conditions for life” dictate our search for life elsewhere
7. Techniques used to locate extra-solar planets
8. What SETI is
9. The implications of the Drake Equation
10. How past exploration has enhanced our understanding of the solar system and
universe
11. Why we continue to explore our universe
Be Able To
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Determine the age of an object using radiography (half life)
Explain how objects in the solar system were formed
Compare and contrast objects in the solar system
Predict where in the universe life might be found
Explain how past and future space explorations have contributed to our knowledge of
the universe
Unit 3 Stars
Understand
1. Stars have a life cycle that is determined by the mass of the star.
2. Stars manufacture the heavy elements in our universe by fusing lighter elements into
heavy elements.
Know
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The structure (layers) and composition of the sun
Fusion occurs in the core of the sun
The sun rotates and has cycles
The Nebular Theory for Star formation
The purpose and function of an HR Diagram
Why the spectra of stars changes along the spectral sequence
Mass determines the life of a star
How stars create and distribute heavy elements
The difference between absolute and apparent magnitude
How stars evolve off the main sequence on the HR Diagram
The types of stars
High mass stars produce supernovae, neutron stars and black holes
Low mass stars produce white dwarfs, and planetary nebulae
Parallax, Cepheid’s and standard candles are methods used to measure distance in space
Be Able To
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Create a model of the sun
Determine the composition of the sun by observing the solar spectra
Compare the life cycles of stars with different masses and their end products
Use the HR diagram to classify a star and determine it’s characteristics
Use parallax to find the distance to an object
Unit 4 The Universe
Understand
1. Galaxies are large collections of gas and billions of stars that interact as a system.
2. The universe is a dynamic system and evidence suggest it is getting larger.
Know
1. The Milky Way is our spiral galaxy
2. Where our solar system is located in the galaxy
3. How the Milky Way formed
4. The structure of the Milky Way
5. How stars and gas move in the galaxy
6. Where and how the Milky Way is forming additional stars
7. Galaxies are classified by shape
8. The Hubble Tuning Fork is the tool used to classify galaxies
9. The difference between active and inactive galaxies
10. Hubble’s Law is used to calculate the distance to other galaxies
11. The farther away the galaxy is the faster it is moving
12. The Big Bang Theory is currently the most widely accepted and supported
explanation for the formation of our universe
13. The universe is currently expanding
14. Evidence of that expansion is provided by red shift and cosmic background radiation
15. The age of the Universe can be determined by using Hubble’s Constant
Be Able To
1. Explain how the Milky Way was formed
2. Create a model of the Milky Way indicating it’s structure, direction of motion and the
location of our solar system
3. Classify Galaxies using the Hubble Tuning Fork
4. Describe the characteristics of an active galaxy
5. Describe the Big Bang Theory and explain how evidence supports the theory
6. Determine the relative distances of a galaxies given their recessional velocity