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Chapter 1   | Chapter 3   | Chapter 4   | Chapter 17 part 1| Chapter 17 part 2 | Chapter 2   | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 |Chapter 25| Chapter 26 | Chapter 27  

Study Questions Part 1        Study Questions Part 2        Study Questions Part 3      Study Questions Part 4

STUDY QUESTIONS PART 4

Study Questions Chapter 23

These questions approximately correlate with the material covered in  week 12

1. What are the characteristics of Cepheid variable stars?
2. Explain the process for using Cepheid variable stars to determine distance.
3. What is the period-luminosity relation?
4. What is the difference between a RR Lyra and Cepheid variables?
5. Describe the overall structure of the Milky Way. What is its overall size and shape? Describe each of the different parts of the Milky Way. What type of objects are found in each part?
6. What are population I and population II stars?
7. What are the differences between stars found in the halo and those in the disk.
8. Describe the appearance of the Milky Way in different wavelengths.
9.  What is a rotation curve?
10. How do we determine the mass of the galaxy?
11. Approximately how many stars are in our galaxy? How do we estimate this number?
12. Describe the orbital motion of stars in different parts of the galaxy.
13. Describe the orbit of the Sun around the galaxy. How many orbits has the sun made since it formed?
14. What is "dark matter’. Discuss why astronomers think there is dark matter. Why is dark matter called "dark" ?
15. What are "spiral arms"?

Review and Discussion: Ch. 23:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 15, 16, 19

Study Questions Chapter 24

These questions approximately correlate with the material covered in Week 12   and Week 13 and Week 14

1. Discuss the major characteristics of the different types of galaxies: spiral, barred spiral, elliptical (giant and dwarf), irregular, and peculiar. Be able to visually identify each type. Know the information found in table 24.1
2. What is the Local Group? What is a galaxy cluster? What is a supercluster?
3. What do we mean by the term "active galaxy"?
4. Approximately what percentage of galaxies are considered "active galaxies"?
5. What is meant by "non-stellar radiation"?
6. What is a "starburst" galaxy?
7. What is an "Active Galactic Nucleus" galaxy?
8. Describe the characteristics of Seyfert galaxies, radio galaxies, blazars and quasars.
9. Describe the general characteristics shared by active galactic nuclei galaxies.
10. What is responsible for the enormous energy production in an active galactic nucleus galaxy?
11. What is a standard candle? What criteria must be met for a class of objects to be considered a standard candle?
12. Describe Hubble’s Law in words.
13. What two observations for each of a group of galaxies are needed to determine Hubble’s Law? Explain how each observation is obtained.
14. Explain how Hubble’s Law is used to find the distance to far away galaxies.
15. What is the currently accepted value  of the Hubble constant? What is the range of values?
16. Describe the large scale structure of the universe.
17. Describe the Hubble Deep Field. What are it significant findings?
18.  What is the "distance pyramid"? Know how to use the methods of the distance pyramid.
19. Describe the large scale structure of the universe.

 Review and Discussion: Ch. 24: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Study Questions Chapter 25

These questions approximately correlate with the material covered in Week 14

1. How do we determine the masses of galaxies? What is a typical mass for spiral galaxies and giant elliptical galaxies?
2. What is dark matter?
3. Based on studies of galaxy masses, what percentage of the universe is composed of dark matter?
4. Describe the evidence for dark matter
5. What is gravitational lensing? How is it used to search for dark matter?
6. What are MACHOS and WIMPS?

Study Questions  Chapter 26

These questions approximately correlate with the material covered in   Week 14 and   Week 15

1. What is the Hubble Deep Field? How was this observation obtained? What are some things we learn from it?
2. What is the largest scale structure observed in the universe? Explain how "pencil beams" surveys help determine this.
3. What is the cosmological principle?
4. How is the value of the Hubble constant related to the age of the universe?
5. You should be able to calculate an upper limit to the age of the universe given a value of the Hubble constant.
6. Explain why cosmologists say there is no center or edge to the Universe (use a two dimensional analogy if desired).
7. Where was the Big Bang?
8. Explain why the Doppler shift explanation of the redshift of distant galaxies is incorrect.
9. Define a bound, unbound, and marginally bound universe. How are these related to the density of the universe? Define the critical density.
10. Explain the possible futures of the universe. What things determine the future of the universe? What is our current understanding of the fate of the universe?
11. Define a closed, open or flat universe. How do these relate to bound, unbound and marginally bound universes? Describe the geometry of each (closed, open, flat).
12. Why is it important to know the density of the universe? How do we measure the density of the universe? How does the measured value compare to the critical density?
13. Define omega-nought? Why is it important? Discuss the observed values of omega-nought.
14. Why do we expect the universe to decelerate? What do the observations of distant type Ia supernova show about the deceleration of the universe?
15. What is "dark energy"? Why is it thought to exist?
16. What is the "cosmological constant"?
17. What is the cosmic microwave background?
18. Describe the spectrum of the CMB.
19. What is the temperature of the CMB?
20. What is COBE?

Review and Discussion: Ch. 26: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

Study Questions from Chapter 27

These questions approximately correlate with the material covered in Week 15

1. What is meant by "radiation dominated" or matter dominated"?
2. What is the radiation era?
3. How do the different epochs of the radiation era relate to physical forces?
4. When did all the matter in the universe form?
5. When did the first atoms form? What was the consequence of this for the universe?
6. What is primordial nucleosynthesis?
7. Describe what is meant by "decoupling"? Why is this important?
8. How is decoupling related to the CMB?
9. Describe the "horizon problem".
10. Describe the "flatness problem".
11. What is the key idea of the inflationary universe?
12. How does the inflationary universe model explain the horizon and flatness problems?
13. What is the role of dark matter and dark energy in the universe? How does ordinary matter fit in?

 Review and Discussion: Ch. 27: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15