Key Concepts from AS109 Textbook

Chapter 1:
Steps of the scientific method, how science corrects itself to improve its descriptions of nature
Connection between science & reality through predictions, manipulations of world
Chapter 2:
Earth-centered model of universe; evidence for: no parallax observed by Greeks; retrograde motion
difficult to explain
What Greeks figured out: diameter of Earth, distance to moon, cause of eclipses & moons phases
Apparent motions of stars & planets (Box 2-1)
Chapter 3:
Sun-centered models: Copernicus (early) & Kepler (essentially correct)
Keplers 3 laws of planetary motion
Galileos discoveries through telescope; death of the Earth-centered model; celestial objects as other
worlds
Chapter 4:
Relationships between distance, velocity, & acceleration
Newtons 3 laws of motion: relation between acceleration & force; conservation of momentum
Newtons law of gravity: force proportional to product of masses, inversely proportional to square of
distance
The equivalence principle: gravitational mass = inertial mass, acceleration from gravity does not depend
on mass of falling object
Application of Newtons laws to orbits explains Keplers laws
Kinetic energy, potential energy, conservation of energy, escape velocity
Determinism
Chaos: sensitivity to initial conditions cannot predict future behavior of complex systems well
Chapter 5:
Relationship between wavelength, frequency, & speed of wave
Transverse & longitudinal waves
Doppler effect (very important!)
Interference of waves
Diffraction
Standing waves (important!)
Sound: pitch corresponds to frequency
Light & electromagnetic spectrum (all aspects very important!)
Blackbody radiation (all aspects very important!) be able to use eqs. 5-5, 5-6, & 5-7
Photons (very important!)
Chapter 6:
Problems with universe infinite in size & infinitely old

Clockwork universe proposal

Cosmological Principle
How astronomers figured out that the sun is not at the center of the universe & that there are galaxies
beyond the Milky Way
Distances to nearby stars: parallax (be able to use equation 6-1)
General distance determination from brightness & luminosity (eq. 6-2)
Distances to relatively nearby galaxies: mainly Cepheid variables
Distances to remote galaxies: type 1a supernovae
Chapter 7:
Evidence that atoms exist
Spectral lines: how atoms emit photons by electrons jumping from higher to lower energy levels and
absorb photons by jumping from lower to higher energy levels
Kirchoffs 3 laws of spectra
Concept of a photon: particle of light with energy E = hc/ = hf
Doppler effect: get velocity from eq. (7-4) by observing shift in wavelength of spectral lines; nicknames
redshift & blueshift
Particle waves: eq. (7-5) gives wavelength
Schrdingers equation: describes how wave function corresponding to physical state of particle-waves
behaves under the influence of forces (or in absence of any forces); explains periodic table
Description of an electron both in an atom (3D standing waves) and free of forces (wave packet)
Uncertainty principle; time-energy inequality & its consequences
Observation of a particle (measurement of its state) disturbs it, makes it more like a tiny, solid ball
Chapter 8:
Nuclei of atoms: protons & neutrons
Fundamental particles: cannot be broken up
3 classes: leptons (electrons, neutrinos, etc.), quarks, bosons
4 fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, weak interaction
Particle physics concept of forces: caused by exchange of certain fundamental bosons
Protons & neutrons: composed of 3 quarks each, held together by strong nuclear force from exchange of
gluons
Unification of forces at high energies/temperatures
Antimatter
Mass-energy: E = mc2
Vacuum actually contains virtual particles & force fields
Radioactivity changes element of atomic nucleus, final energy state lower than initial state
Stable nucleus: balance between numbers of neutrons & protons
Alpha decay: helium nucleus ejected, loss of 2 protons & 2 neutrons so atomic no. decreases by 2,
atomic weight decreases by 4
Beta decay: electron & anti-neutrino ejected, atomic no. increases by +1; caused by weak interaction
Inverse beta decay: positron & neutrino ejected, atomic no. decreases by 1
Nuclear fission: splitting of a heavy nucleus
Nuclear fusion: combination of light nuclei to form heavier nuclei: source of energy in stars, mass-energy
of final nucleus less than sum of mass-energy of original nuclei, difference in masses times c2 equals
amount of mass-energy released

Chapter 9:
Speed of light is constant, independent of motion of source of light or observer
Special Relativity: assumptions, time dilation, length contraction, space travel near light-speed
Light-year: speed of light times one year, distance light travels in one year
Lorentz factor will be given, you need to know how to use it
4-dimensional space-time
General Relativity: assumptions, bending of space-time, gravitational redshift/time dilation
Gravitational lens
Gravitational waves
Chapter 10:
Steady-state model of universe
Friedmanns idea of expanding space to prevent gravitational collapse of universe
Hubble Law: velocity or redshift vs. distance relation; can get distance to remote objects from Hubble
Law if no other method is possible
Explanation of Hubble Law: universe is expanding, space is stretching with time
Age of universe: about 14 billion years
Chapter 11: (Note: this is the heart of the course, so it is very important)
Cooling of expanding gases or system of particles
Basic progression of universe from extremely hot & dense to cold with low average density
Creation of particle/anti-particle pairs from photons & vice versa at very high energies/temperatures
State of very early universe: particles, anti-particles, & force fields
Splitting of forces
Formation of protons & neutrons
Annihilation of essentially all anti-particles (age of universe about 10 s)
Synthesis of helium nuclei a few minutes after Big Bang started
Formation of complete atoms 400,000 yr after Big Bang started universe become transparent (photons
decoupled from matter)
Photons from 400,000 yr now have microwave (millimeters, short centimeter) wavelengths Cosmic
Microwave Background (CMB) radiation with blackbody spectrum (temperature = 2.73 K)
Evidence supporting the Big Bang, evidence against steady-state models
Problems solved by a very brief period of Inflation very close to beginning of universe
Acceleration of expansion & dark energy: evidence for (expansion was slower in past)
Slight variations across the sky of CMB (about 1 part in 100,000): signature of density contrasts, clumps
eventually formed galaxies
Future of universe: expansion forever
Center to universe only in time (zero time), not space
Boundary of universe only in time (the immediate future), not space
Chapter 12:
Structure of current universe: galaxies, clusters of galaxies, superclusters of galaxies in web pattern
Evidence for dark matter
Formation of structure (see above) by gravitational contraction (even though space was expanding)
starting about half a billion years after Big Bang began
Black holes at centers of galaxies; concept of black hole
Quasars/active galactic nuclei: ultra-luminous center of a galaxy, from matter falling into black hole

Galaxy growth from merging of smaller galaxies, affected (negatively) by activity of black hole
Star formation from gravitational collapse of initially cold cloud of gas & dust
Forms disk around central sphere because of conservation of angular momentum
Chapter 13:
Net result of basic nuclear fusion reaction in core of a normal star
Basic structure of a star
Absorption-line spectrum: darkness of different lines depends on temperature
Dependence of luminosity & H-fusion lifetime of a star on its mass
Red giant phase: after hydrogen exhausted in core; H-fusing shell & helium-fusing (to carbon) core;
extended, not so hot envelope (gives its red color)
White dwarf: remnant core of red giant (after envelope blows away), size of Earth, cools & fades (death
of stars less massive originally than a few times mass of sun)
H-R diagram (important!): plot of luminosity vs. temperature (hotter to left)
Main sequence: H-fusing stage, more massive stars to upper left, lower mass to lower right on diagram
Red giants lie above main sequence, white dwarfs below
Death of massive star (originally more than several times mass of sun): supernova explosion, core crushed
into rapidly spinning neutron star (observed as a pulsar), remnant expands into space
Origin of all elements heavier than carbon: supernova explosions (very important!)
Death of most massive stars: black holes with initial gamma-ray burst
Chapter 14:
Formation of pebble-sized planetesimals from dust & tiny ice crystals in disk of newly formed star
Growth of planetesimals from gravity, aided by slower orbital speeds farther from star
Role of collisions in spin, etc. of some planets & formation of Earths moon
Evidence supporting theory of solar system formation (important!)
Differentiation of disk & therefore solar system
Differentiation of the interior of a terrestrial body
Atmospheres: original atmosphere for gas giants, secondary atmosphere for some terrestrial bodies
Chapter 15:
Perspective: our location in the universe, our cosmic neighborhood
Questions not yet answered by science
Relationship between humans & the cosmos