PES 106 – General Astronomy II – Final Study Guide
Final Exam Overview
Exam will be comprehensive.
Most questions will be drawn from previous exams:
About 30% from Exam 1 – Fund. of Astron.: Light & Atoms; Intro to Solar System; The Sun
About 30% from Exam 2 – Measuring Stellar Properties; Stellar Evolution; Stellar Remnants
About 30% from Exam 3 – The Milky Way; Galaxies
About 10% will cover new material since the last exam:
The Universe
Life in the Universe
Bring a 100-answer ScanTron sheet
Expect about 90 questions on the exam
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The Universe
What is primary meaning of Hubble’s Constant?
What is the cosmic horizon?
How does light behave in an expanding universe?
How does the underlying shape of the universe affect a “straight” line?
About how old do we think the universe is?
How can very old stars and galaxies cause an age discrepancy?
What is the source of cosmic background radiation?
Know the definitions of the Big Bang theory and Steady State Universe theory.
Generally, how are galaxies distributed in the universe?
At what times did E-M radiation dominate in the universe? At what times did matter dominate?
Life in the Universe
What are the main indications that something is alive?
What are some of the most basic atoms found in living things?
How can we estimate the age of very ancient fossilized bacteria?
What problems are associated with the concept of panspermia as a source for life on Earth?
What is the Gaia Hypothesis?
Can life be created in the laboratory?
What is the Anthropic Principal?
What arguments do proponents of “life on only one world” give for their belief?
What arguments do proponents of “life on many worlds” give for the absence of discovered alien
civilizations?
What can we use Drake’s Equation to estimate?
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