StudyGuide(bychapter)forFinalExam:

General:
Understandhowtouseratios.Readcarefullythesectionintheappendixofthe
textbookonratios.Inmanyeditionsofthetextbook,thisisinAppendixC.
Also,lookatthehomeworksolutionsthatarepostedonthefirstfloorofthe
Physicsbuildingforgoodexamplesofusingratios.
Formulas
Youshouldmemorizeandunderstandthefollowingformulas.You
doNOTneedtomemorizethevaluesoftheconstants(e.g.,G, ,etc.)inthe
formulas.Ifyouneedtheirvalues,Iwillgivethemtoyouontheexam.In
additiontomemorizingtheformulas,youshouldunderstandwhateachofthe
formulasisdescribingandtowhatthevariablesinthemrefer.
Ifthereareanyformulasthatyoumightneedontheexamandarenotlisted
below,thentheywillbegiventoyouontheexam.
VirialTheorem(version2):M(r)=v2r/G(whereM(r)isthe
massinsideasphereofradiusrthathasthemassiveobjectatthecenter)
Escapespeed:vesc2=2GM/r.NOTE:Thiscanbederiveddirectly
from|U|=K
Schwarzschildradius:RS=(2GM)/c2
Redshift:z=/rest=(observedrest)/rest
v=cz
v=H0d
Homework:
Anythingthatappearedonthehomeworkisfairgame,althoughontheexam
thecalculationswillbesimpleenoughsothatyouwillnotneedacalculator
(rememberthatnocalculatorsareallowed).Therefore,youmaywanttolookat

thehomeworksolutionsinCabinet13onthefirstfloorofthePhysicsbuilding.
Enterthroughthefrontdoor,turnleftimmediately,andwalkdownalmostto
theendofthecorridor.Cabinet13willbeonthewalltoyourleft.
Lectures:
Theslidesfromthelecturesarealsoanexcellentresourcewhenyouare
studying.Allofthelectureslidescanbefoundonthecoursesmartsiteinthe
Resourcesarea.
General
Beabletousethevirialtheoremtomeasuremasses
Chapter18:TheBizarreStellarGraveyard
Knowthemasslimitsforwhitedwarfsandneutronstars.
Theoretical calculations show that the elctron speeds would reach the
speed of light in a white dwarf with a mass of about 1.4x the mass of
the Sun (1.4 Solar Mass)
A typical neutron star has a mass of below 3 Msun; theoretical models
predict that the state of matter varies with depth of a neutron star.

Knowthepropertiesofblackholes,includingdefinitionof
SchwarzschildRadiusanditsrelationtoescapevelocity
Acollapsingstellarcorebecomesablackholeatthemomentitshrinkstoa
sizesmallerthanitsSchwarzchildradius.Atthemoment,thecoredisappears
withinitsowneventhorizon.Blackholestillcontainsallthemassandexerts
fullamountofgravityassociatedwiththatmassbutitsoutwardappearance
tellsusnothingaboutwhatfellin.Itdestroysnearlyallinfoaboutmatterthat
fallsintoitatlatertimes.Massincreasesbywhatgoesintoit
3propertiesofblackholes:mass,electriccharge,angularmomentum
Schwarzchildradius:Radiusofeventhorizon,computedfromEinsteins
generaltheoryofrelativity; Rs =
leave

2 GM
;Ifyoureinside Rs ,youcannever
2
c

Objectscompactenoughtohaveanescapevelocitygreaterthanspeedoflight
nothingcangetout.Objectsgravityissostrongnotevenlightcanescape
blackhole
Ifanobjectssizeissmallerthan Rs ,theescapevelocityisgreaterthanthe
speedoflight,nothingcangetoutanditsablackhole
Bestdefinedas:anyobjectthatissmallerthanitseventhorizon.
Howdoweobserveblackholes?
Xraybinaries:accretiondisksaroundneutronstarsinclosebinarysystemscan
emitstrongxrayradiation,makinganxraybinary.Diskformsbecause
neutronstarsstronggravitypullsmassfromcompanionstars.Whenanything
fallsintoablackhole,itemitsXrays

ChapterS3:SpacetimeandGravity
Howcanamassiveobjectdeflectthepathofalightrayiflighthasno
mass?
Matterdistortsthefabricof4dimensionalspacetimeinamanner
analogoustothewayheavyweightsdistortataut,2Drubbersheet.The
greaterthemass,thegreaterthedistortionofspacetimegeneraltheoryof
relativity.Largemassesthatundergorapidchangesinmotion/structureemit
gravitationalwavesthattravelatthespeedoflight
Gravitationallensing:lightpathsdeflectedbymass;Massofintervening
objectcurvesspacetimeinitsvicinity,alteringthetrajectoriesoflight
beamspassingnearby.Differentlightpathscancurvesomuchthattheyend
upconvergingatEarth,grosslydistortingtheappearanceofthestar/galaxy.
Whatistheequivalenceprinciple,andhowdoesitgiveriseto
understandingthepreviouspoint?
ByEinstein:Theeffectsofgravityareexactlyequivalenttotheeffectsof
accelerationThereforeyoucannottellthedifferencebetweenbeingina
closedroomonEarthandbeinginclosedroomacceleratingthroughspaceat

1g.&Accordingtotheprinciple,youcanclaimtobestationaryina
gravitationalfield,usingyourenginestopreventyoufromfalling.Youfeel
weightduetogravity,whileAlisweightlessbecauseheisinfreefallwithout
theengine.WecantreatALLmotionasrelative.startingpointofgeneral
relativity
Knowhowagravitationalfieldcanaffecthowfasttimepasses.Just
knowthisgenerallyyoudon'thavetomemorizeaformula.
Gravitationaltimedilation:Generalrelativityclaimsthattimeshouldbe
runningslightlymoreslowlyinstrongergravitationalfields;timerunsslower
atlocationslowerinthegravitationalfieldthanathigherlocations.Clocksrun
sloweriftheyareacceleratingmore&instrongergravitationalfield.
Timerunsslowera
Curvatureofspacetime:
o

Beabletodescribethe3basictypesofgeometry(positive
curvature,negativecurvature,flat).

Positivecurvature(sphericalgeometry):Sumofanglesisgreaterthan180.
Parallellineseventuallyconverge.Straightestpossiblepathisapieceofagreat
circle.Circle:C<2r
Negativecurvature(saddleshapedgeometry):Sumofanglesislessthan180.
Straightestpossiblepathisapieceofahyperbola.Parallellineseventually
diverge.Circle:C>2r.
Flatcurvature(flatgeometry):Sumofanglesis180.Parallellinesremain
parallel.Straightestpossiblelineisastraightline.Circle:C=2r.

Gravityascurvedspacetime
o Understandwhatthe"bowlingballonarubbersheet"typeof
diagramisshowingyou.Whereisgravitystrongestandwhereis
itweakest?

Arubbersheet
analogyto
spacetime:
Greaterthe
mass,the
greaterthe
distortionof
spacetime.

o Understandhowthistypeofdiagramhelpsusunderstandorbits.
WerepresenttheSunwithaheavymassontherubbersheet,which
causesthesheettocurveandformabowllikedepression.Thecircles
thatwereevenlyseparatedontheflatsheetnowbecomemorewidely
separatednearthebottomofthebowl,showingthatgravitybecomes
strongerandthecurvatureofspacetimebecomesgreaterasweapproach
theSunssurface.Ifyourolledmarblesonthissheet,theywouldfollow
theSTRAIGHTESTPOSSIBLEpathsgiventhecurvature.Youdfind
thatthemarblesrolledrelativelyslowlyandclosetothecenterwould
followcircularorellipticalorbitsaroundthecenterofthebowl,while
marblesrolledfromfartherawayorathigherspeedscouldlooparound
thecenteronunboundparabolic/hyperbolicpaths.Byanalogy,general
relativitytellsusthat,dependingonspeed/direction,plantsmoving
freelyinspacecanfollowcircular,elliptical,unbound
parabolic/hyperbolicorbits.Planetsorbitbecausetheyfollowthe
straightestpossiblepathsallowedbytheshapeofspacetimearound
them.CentralmassoftheSunisnotaffectingorbit;itissimplydictating
theshapeofspacetimearoundit:MassliketheSuncusesspacetimeto
curveandthecurvatureofspacetimedeterminesthepathsoffreely
movingmassesliketheplanets.

 Knowwhatagravitationallensis
Gravitationlensing:Themagnificationordistortion(intoarcs,rings,or
multipleimages)ofanimagecausedbylightbendingthroughagravitation
field,aspredictedbyEinsteinsgeneraltheoryofrelativity.Usedtosearch
forobjectswithintheMilkyWaythataretoosmallanddimtobeseenby
theirownlight,suchasdimstars,planets,blackholes.Ifsuchanobject
happenstodriftacrossourlineofsighttoabrighterbutmoredistantstar,
thesmallobjectsgravitywillfocusmoreofthestarslightdirectlytoward
Earthstarappearbrighterthanusual
Chapter19:OurGalaxy
StructureoftheMilkyWay(disk,bulge,halo)
o Knowthecharacteristicsofeachstellarpopulation(disk,bulge,or
stellarhalo)includingstellartypes,color,"metal"content,etc.
Disk(flat,circulardistribution):portionofaspiralgalaxythatlooks
likeadiskandcontainsaninterstellarmediumwithcoolgas&cool

gasanddust;starsofmanyagesarefoundinthedisk,particularly
youngones;spiralarms;containsthecold,densemolecularclouds
requiredforstarformation;starsarebornfromgravitationalcollapse
ofgasclumpsinmolecularclouds.Massivestarsexplodeas
supernovaewhentheydie,creatinghotbubblesintheinterstellar
mediumthatcontainthenewelementsmadebythesestars.
Eventually,thisgascoolsandmixesintothesurroundinginterstellar
medium,turningintoatomichydrogengasandthencoolingfurther,
producingmolecularclouds,whichformstarsstargasstarcycle;
containsopenclusters,O&Bstars,gas&dust.
Bulge(spheroidaldistribution):thecentralportionofaspiralgalaxy
thatisroughlysphericalandbulgesaboveandbelowtheplaneofthe
galacticdisk.
Stellarhalo(spheroidaldistribution):old&faintstarsinhalo(sparse
distribution);surroundsthediskofaspiralgalaxy;containsonly
smallamountofhotgasandvirtuallynocoldgas;metalpoorstars;
fewerheavyelementsthandodiskstars;containsglobularclusters
Diskpopulation:containsbothyoung&oldstars,allofwhichhave
heavyelementproportionsofabout2%.
Spheroidalpopulation:Consistsofstarsinthehalo&bulge.Starsin
thispopulationarealwaysold&lowinmass,andthoseinhalo
sometimeshaveheavyelementproportionsaslowas0.02%
meaningthatheavyelementsare100timesrarerhere.
o What'sfoundwhere?Forexample,globularclusters,star
formationregions,spiralarms,gas,anddust
StarGasStarcycle(Seefigure19.3forasummary)

o Wheredostarsform?
Starsformfromthegravitationalcollapseofthedensestpartsof
molecularclouds.Starsforminspiralarms;youngbluestarsare
foundonouteredgeofspiralarmionizationnebulaearisewhere
newlyformingbluestarsareionizinggasclouds.
o HowcanOandBstarassociationsaffectmolecularclouds?
LotsofenergeticUVphotonsbreakdownthemoleculesintoatoms
(HI)andthenionizethegas(HII).HotyoungO&Bstarsheatthe
surroundinggas,ionizingitandproducingemissionlines.(HII
region)
o WhydoHIIregionsformwherestarformationisgoingon?
o WhydoHIIregionsappearasredonphotographsofgalaxies?
ItlooksredbecauseHemissionline(whichreleasesredphotons
duringatomictransition)issostrong;Hisagoodindicatorofstar
formation.
o Howdostellarpopulationsofdifferentagesdiffer(HRdiagrams,
metallicity,etc.)?
Old,metalpoorstarsarered.Youngstarsaremetalrichandblue
o Howdoesthe"metallicity"ofstarsinagalaxychangewithtime?

Starsformfromcoolgasevolvingstarsreleasegas&metals
(elementsheavierthanHorHe)andheatthesurroundinggas
supernovae,stellarwinds&PNsendhasoutwardsgascools
repeat.
o WhatprocessesleadtochemicalenrichmentoftheISM?
Massivestarsexplodeassupernovaewhentheydie,creatinghot
bubblesinthenewelementsmadebythesestarts.Eventually,this
gascoolsandmixesintothesurroundinginterstellarmedium,turning
intoatomichydrogengasandthencoolingfurther,producing
molecularcloudsStargasstarcycleakagalacticrecyclingprocess.
ComponentsoftheInterstellarMedium(ISM)inourgalaxy
o KnowthattheISMconsistsofgasanddust
o Knowthethreestatesthathydrogengasexistsin(seeTable19.1)
TypicalStatesofGasintheinterstellarMedium

o WhatisthemostwidelyspreadformofhydrogenintheMilky
Way?Howdowedetectthisgas?
AtomicHydrogenGas;detectedbyradioobservations.Atomic
hydrogenemitsaspectrallinewithwavelengthof21cm,whichlies
intheradioportionoftheelectromagneticspectrum.
GalacticEnvironments

o Howwouldyourecognizeastarformationregion?
Wheneverweseehot,massivestars,weknowthatwehavespotteda
regionofactivestarformation.Nearhotstarsweoftenfindcolorful,
wispyblobsofglowinggasknownasionizationnebulae.
o Beabletodescribethemotionsofstarsinthedifferentstellar
componentsoftheMilkyWay(diskstars,bulgestars,halostars)
Orderedrotation:nearlycircularorbits;makesflat,circular
structures;spiralgalaxydisks
Randomrotation:highlyellipticalorbits,plungingin&outofthe
planeofthegalaxyatrandomorientations;makes3Dspherical
structures;spiralgalaxybulges&stellarhalos&ellipticalgalaxies
Diskisflatbecauseitsrotating;bulgeissphericalbecauseitsstars
aremovingrandomly.
o Knowthe(veryapproximate)positionoftheSunintheMilky
Way
Locatedinthediskabout27,000lightyearsfromgalacticcentera
littlemorethanhalfwayfromthecentertotheedgeofthedisk.
o Understandwhatrotationcurvesofgalaxiescantellyou
Dopplershiftslinesshiftinwavelengthdependingonmotion:
redshiftmovesawayfromus,blueshiftmovestowardsus;noshift
nomotionalongthelightofsight
Likeamerrygoround:Allhorsestravelonecompletecircleinthe
sametime&outerhorseshavetogofasterbecausetheyhavefurther
togo.Fromrotationcurves,welearntherotationcurveofplanets
aroundtheSun.SunhasallthemasssoGMcentralisconstantwith
radius.Velocitydropswithincreasingradius&thereisnonewmass
atlargeradius.RotationingalaxiesdoesNOTfallwithradius;there
mustbemore&moremassatlargeradii.Thereisless&lessnormal
stuffatlargeradii.Fromthis,weknowthattheremustbeinvisible
massbecausethegalaxysrotationdoesntslowdownwhereits
supposedto.

o Whatarespiralarms?(stellarpopulationsinthem)
Fullofnewlyformingstarsbecausetheybearallthehallmarksofstar
formation.Theyarehometobothmolecularcloudsandnumerous
clustersofyoung,bright,bluestarssurroundedbyionizationnebulae.
Alsohasenhancedamountsofmolecularandatomicgas.
o WhatdoesthediskoftheMilkyWaylooklikewhenyoutakea
picturewithabluefilteronyourcamera?Howaboutwithared
filter?
Ionizationnebulaewouldbevisiblewithbluefilterhotstars.Reflection
nebulaewouldbevisiblewithredfilterstarsininterstellardustold,lesshot
stars
Chapter20:GalaxiesandtheFoundationofModernCosmology
KnowtheHubbletypes(theHubbletuningforkdiagram):
o Spiral,elliptical,lenticular,irregular

Beabletonameseveralmajordifferencesbetweenspiralsandellipticals
Spiralgalaxies:(ex.MilkyWay)looklikeflatwhitediskswithyellowish
bulgesattheircenters.Thedisksarefilledwithcoolgasanddust,interspersed
withhotterionizedgasandusuallydisplayspiralarms.

Flatdiskwithbulge&haloatcenter
Hasdiskandspheroidalcomponent.
Sizeofbulge&prominenceofspiralpatternvaries
Diskcontainsinterstellarmediumofcoolgas&dust
LargerbulgemeanslessISMlessstarformation
Barredspiralgalaxies:straightbarofstarscuttingacrossthecenter,with
spiralarmscurlingawayfromtheendsofthebar.

Ellipticalgalaxies:redder,moreroundedandoftenelongated.Comparedwith
spiralgalaxies,ellipticalgalaxiescontainverylittlecoolgasanddust,though
theyoftencontainveryhot,ionizedgas.Old,reddishstarsproducemostof
theirlight

Allbulge&halo(spheroid)
Nodiskcomponent
Verylittlegas
Old
Evolvedtothepointwherenogasisleftformakingnewstars
o Littletonoongoingstarformation
o Tendtolookred/yellowincolor

Whatisastandardcandle?Understandhowstandardcandlescanbe
usedwiththeapparentbrightness(flux)luminositydistance
relationship.
Standardcandle:alightsourceofaknown,standardluminosity.Usedto
measuredistancetootherstarsinthesamewaythatwemightestimatethe
distancetoastreetlampatnight.Wecandetermineastarsdistancemore
L
accuratelyifwecanmeasureitsapparentbrightness.Use F=

4 d2

Beabletodescribethestepsonthecosmicdistanceladder(Seethe
figureinChapter20).Beabletogiveroughlythedistancesoverwhich
eachstepisvalid.Forexample:"intheSolarSystem","tothenearest

stars","withintheMilkyWay","tothenearestgalaxiesandgalaxy
clusters",etc.

o Radarranging:wemeasuretheEarthSundistancebybouncing
radiowavesoffVenus&usinggeometry.
o Parallax:Wemeasuredistancetonearbystarsbyobservinghow
theirpositionsappeartochanceasEarthorbitstheSun.These
distancesrelyonourknowledgeofEarthSundistance,
determinedwithradarranging.
o Mainsequencefitting:WeknowthedistancetotheHyadesstar
clusterinourMilkyWayGalaxythroughpallallax.Comparing
theapparentbrightnessesofitsmainsequencestarstothoseof
mainsequencestarsinotherclustersgivesusthedistancesto
theseotherstarclusters.
o Cepheids:BystudyingCepheidsinstarclusterswithdistances
measureddirectly(byparallex)orbymainsequencefitting,we
learnthepreciseperiodluminosityrelationforCepheids.When
wefindaCepheidinamoredistantstarclusterorgalaxy,wecan
determineitsluminositybymeasuringtheperiodbetweenits
peaksinbrightnessandthenusethisluminositytodeterminethe
distance.

o TheTullyFischerrelation:fastrotatorsaremuchmoreluminous.
ItseasytomeasurerotationspeedwithDopplerEffect
o WhiteDwarfSupernovae(TypeIa):Bymeasuringdistancesto
relativelynearbygalaxieswithCepheids,welearnthetrue
luminositiesofwhitedwardsupernovae,enablingustomeasure
greatdistancesthroughouttheuniverse.
EdwinHubble'sbigdiscoveryTheExpansionoftheUniverse
o TheHubbleDiagram
Howdowemeasurethespeedsofgalaxies?
Hubbleplottedspeedvsdistanceandfoundthatthemore
distantgalaxiesappearedtobemovingawayfromus
FASTER.
z=

:measuretheredshiftz,derivetherecessional

velocity.
V =CxZ ;onlyworksforz<1.

Howarethespeedsofgalaxiesrelatedtotheirdistances
fromus?
Hubblefoundthatspeedisdirectlyproportionaltodistance
v =H 0 d

KnowwhattheHubbleConstantis(notwhatitsvalueis,
butwhatrelationshipitdescribes).
Distancemeasuredtogalaxieswithwhitedwarfsupernovae
allowsustomeasureHubblesconstant.
HowdoyouestimatetheageoftheUniversefromthe
HubbleConstant?

TheinverseoftheHubbleconstanttellsussomethingabout
howlongouruniversehasbeenexpanding.Hubbleconstant
actuallychangeswithtimebutstaysroughlyequalto1divided
bytheuniverse.
Chapter23(7thed)or22(earliereds):DarkMatter,DarkEnergy,and
theFateoftheUniverse
Understandhowwecanmeasuremassesofgalaxies
o Rotationcurves(spirals):measureredshiftsofthegalaxiesina
particularclusterandusetheseredshiftstocalculatethespeedsat
whichtheindividualgalaxiesaremovingawayfromus
determinerecessionspeedoftheclusterasawhole(speedat
whichexpansionoftheuniversecarriesitawayfromus)by
averagingthespeedsofitsindividualgalaxies.Subtractthisspeed
fromeachindividualgalaxysspeedtodeterminethespeedsof
galaxiesrelativetotheclustercenteraverageorbitalvelocity&
useitwithNewtonsuniversallawofgravitationtoestimate
clustermass.
o Gravitationallensing(usingtheseparationofthelensedimages):
Massiveobjectsactasgravitationallensesthatbendlightbeams
passingnearby.Lightbendingangleofgravitationallensdepends
onthemassoftheobjectdoingthebending&sowecanmeasure
themassesofobjectsbyobservinghowstronglytheydistortlight
paths.
Whydorotationcurvestellusthattheremustbedarkmatteringalaxies?
Agalaxysrotationdoesntslowdownwhereitssupposedtoinvisible
massingalaxy.OrbitalspeedsintheMilkyWayimplythatmostofour
galaxysmasslieswellbeyondtheorbitofourSun.Thetotalamountofthe
massofthesurroundingthesphericalhalo(extendingtodistanceswell
beyondthoseatwhichweobserveglobularclusters&otherhalostars)is
morethan10timesthetotalmassofallthestarsinthedisk.Becausewe
detectedverylittleradiationcomingfromthisenormousamountofmass,it
qualifiesasdarkmatter.

 Howdoestherotationcurveofaspiralgalaxylookdifferentfromthe
rotationcurveoftheSolarSystem?
Rotationcurvesofotherspiralgalaxieshavespeedsthatremainhighevenat
greatdistancesfromtheircentersgreatdealofmatterliesfaroutinthe
halosoftheothergalaxies&have10xasmuchmassindarkmaterasthey
doinstars.
Darkmatterscorecard
o approximatelywhatfractionofthemassingalaxiesandgalaxy
clustersisdarkmatter?90%
o approximatelywhatpercentageofthecriticaldensityinthe
Universeismadeupofdarkmatterplusnormalmatter?25%

UltimatefateoftheUniverse
o HowdoesthedensityoftheUniversecorrespondtotheoverall
curvatureofspacetimeifthereisno"darkenergy"?
Nodarkenergylessmassnorepulsiveforceexpansionshapes
theuniverse(negativecurvature).
o HowdoesthedensityoftheUniversedetermineitsfateifthereis
no"darkenergy"?
Darkenergy=74%matterbutifnodarkenergycriticaldensity<1
expandsforeverandisanopenuniverse.
o WhydowethinkthattheexpansionoftheUniverseis
accelerating?
Usingastandardruler,wesimplycalculatewhateachmodelpredicts
fortheuniversesexpansionrateatdifferenttimesinthepastand
thenmakeobservationsofhowtherelationshipbetweentheredshift
anddistancechangeswithtimetoseewhichmodeloffersthebest
match.Whitedwarfsupernova(thestandardruler)athighredshift

appearmuchfainterthanexpectedexpansionrateisslowingdown
withtime.Acceleratingslopebestmatchesourcurrentexpansion
rate.
o WhatdoestheaccelerationoftheexpansionoftheUniverseimply
aboutitsfate?
Accelerationoftheexpansionimpliestheexistenceofsomeforce
thatactstopushgalaxiesapart(darkenergy).Universeisdoomedto
expandforever,itsgalaxiesrecedingevermorequicklyintoaicy,
emptyfuture.
ProtonsfallapartEarthdiesSuncollideswithanotherstarand
diesstarsdiecollisionsinuniversemakeobjectsloseenergy&
die,fallingintothegalacticcentermassive,multipleblackholes
entireuniversecomestoahaltandisleftwithscatteredarraysof
electrons,positrons&neutrinos
Ifdarkenergyisindeedwhatsdrivingtheaccelerationofthe
universesexpansion,thenweexpecttheexpansiontocontinue