Dr. Anatoly Miroshnichenko

Study Guide for the Final Exam
 

The final exam will be on Thursday, December 16, 2004, 12:30 - 2:30 p.m., in MH 2002. The exam will cover Chapters 1-18  in the book. Roughly 40% of the questions will cover the material studied since the last mid-term test. It will consist of 50 multiple choice questions; the format will be the same as that of previous exams. Bring a #2 pencil with you to the exam!

 A calculator can be used.

Sample questions for the final exam will be analyzed in class on December 10 and can be accessed on the web through the lecture notes (follow a link to lecture 42 on the Course Materials page of the course website).

Suggestions for studying:

• For the comprehensive material covering the entire semester, review your old exams, homework, and study guides.  Be sure you understand the questions you got right and wrong, and if you got a question wrong on an earlier exam, make sure you know why the correct answer is what it is.  Questions on the final exam will be similar (although not exactly the same) to those given on previous in-class exams.  Finally, don't try to memorize irrelevant details; concentrate on the most important concepts!

• Go over the quiz questions on the textbook web page. If you are working with a study group (or even on your own), try making up similar questions for the group (or yourself) to answer. The exam won't be limited to just those questions; however, they are a good review.

• Review your class notes. Review the summary at the end of each chapter in the book.

• Review the important concepts and think about the answers for the sample questions given below. If you can clearly answer and discuss/explain each of these concepts and questions, you'll be in good shape for the exam.

• If you have questions about things you don't understand, take advantage of my office hours (or make an appointment to see me at any time more convenient). You can also call me or send e-mail with questions.

Concepts and Subjects:

• Scientific method (hypothesis and theory); 

• Main forces in the world: gravity, electromagnetic force, strong force, and weak force. At what size scales they are most efficient, how they work.

• Basic physics laws: Newton's law of gravity, Coulomb's law, Ohm's law, Kepler's laws; Doppler effect; the inverse square law for brightness

• Chemical elements and compounds; atomic structure; subatomic particles (protons, neutrons, electrons); periodic law (what causes different properties of elements); atomic number; models of atom; binding energy; metals and nonmetals; the pH scale; acids and bases; chemical energy; fuels; chemical reactions; fuel cells; organic chemistry (carbon bonds, hydrocarbons, organic acids, alcohols, etc.)

• States of matter (solid, liquid, gas); crystalline and amorphous solids; transformations between them; types of matter waves; light waves

• Earth's atmosphere; Coriolis effect; saturated and unsaturated air, types of rocks, volcanoes and earthquakes, Earth's internal structure (crust, mantle, core), oceans

• Solar system: types of planets, their parameters and differences; small objects (comets and asteroids), 

• Stars: the Sun, its parameters, the sunspot cycle, stellar energy sources (proton-proton chain, CNO cycle, etc.), spectral classification (spectral and luminosity types); stellar evolution; the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

• Galaxies: the Milky Way galaxy; main galaxy types (spiral, elliptical, irregular) and their main components (disks, bulges, halos)

• The Universe: expansion, Hubble's law, Hubble's constant, age of the Universe; the Big Bang, dark matter

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