Astronomy Course Expectations
Unit 1 Exploring the Sky
Understand
1. Scientific explanations change over time when new evidence conflicts with the existing theory.
2. Technological advances enable science to collect new evidence to support or disprove theories.
3. Matter emits or absorbs electromagnetic radiation (light) in unique ways.
4. Celestial objects move in predictable ways creating predictable cycles.
Know
1. Why people believed the universe was geocentric
2. The evidence Galileo used to prove the universe was heliocentric
3. Kepler’s laws of planetary motion
4. How Kepler’s Laws advance support the heliocentric model
5. Newton’s Laws of Motion
6. Newton’s Gravitational Constant
7. The terms associated with the coordinate system
8. The 3 circumpolar constellations
9. The Electromagnetic Spectrum
10. How absorption and emission occur in atoms
11. All objects have a blackbody curve
12. How telescopes use the electromagnetic spectrum
13. The reason the moon has phases
14. Why eclipses occur and the earth has seasons
15. The cause of apparent celestial motion
Be Able To
1. Describe the evidence and explain why we moved from a geocentric to a heliocentric model of the universe.
2. Use Newton’s gravitational constant to compute the gravitational forces between two objects
3. Use a planisphere and the coordinate system to locate an object in the sky.
4. Locate and identify the 3 circumpolar constellations
5. Identify the frequency band on the electromagnetic spectrum used by different telescopes
6. Explain the relationship between frequency, wavelength and energy levels on the EM Spectrum
7. Identify and explain the difference between an absorption and emission spectrum
8. Create a model demonstrating how motion creates the lunar phases, eclipses, seasons and apparent celestial motion
Unit 2 Our Solar System
Understand
1. The Solar Nebula Hypothesis explains how the fundamental forces in our universe act on matter to form solar systems.
2. We make assumptions about the conditions required for life based on our knowledge of life on earth. These assumptions determine where and how we look for life in our universe.
3. We have developed various methods of estimating time on the geologic scale.
Know
1. The stages of the Solar Nebula Hypothesis
2. Methods used to determine the age of objects in our solar system
3. The components of our solar system
4. The composition of objects in our solar system
5. The conditions on earth that make it suitable for life
6. How those “conditions for life” dictate our search for life elsewhere
7. Techniques used to locate extra-solar planets
8. What SETI is
9. The implications of the Drake Equation
10. How past exploration has enhanced our understanding of the solar system and universe
11. Why we continue to explore our universe
Be Able To
1. Determine the age of an object using radiography (half life)
2. Explain how objects in the solar system were formed
3. Compare and contrast objects in the solar system
4. Predict where in the universe life might be found
5. Explain how past and future space explorations have contributed to our knowledge of the universe
Unit 3 Stars
Understand
1. Stars have a life cycle that is determined by the mass of the star.
2. Stars manufacture the heavy elements in our universe by fusing lighter elements into heavy elements.
Know
1. The structure (layers) and composition of the sun
2. Fusion occurs in the core of the sun
3. The sun rotates and has cycles
4. The Nebular Theory for Star formation
5. The purpose and function of an HR Diagram
6. Why the spectra of stars changes along the spectral sequence
7. Mass determines the life of a star
8. How stars create and distribute heavy elements
9. The difference between absolute and apparent magnitude
10. How stars evolve off the main sequence on the HR Diagram
11. The types of stars
12. High mass stars produce supernovae, neutron stars and black holes
13. Low mass stars produce white dwarfs, and planetary nebulae
14. Parallax, Cepheid’s and standard candles are methods used to measure distance in space
Be Able To
1. Create a model of the sun
2. Determine the composition of the sun by observing the solar spectra
3. Compare the life cycles of stars with different masses and their end products
4. Use the HR diagram to classify a star and determine it’s characteristics
5. Use parallax to find the distance to an object
Unit 4 The Universe
Understand
1. Galaxies are large collections of gas and billions of stars that interact as a system.
2. The universe is a dynamic system and evidence suggest it is getting larger.
Know
1. The Milky Way is our spiral galaxy
2. Where our solar system is located in the galaxy
3. How the Milky Way formed
4. The structure of the Milky Way
5. How stars and gas move in the galaxy
6. Where and how the Milky Way is forming additional stars
7. Galaxies are classified by shape
8. The Hubble Tuning Fork is the tool used to classify galaxies
9. The difference between active and inactive galaxies
10. Hubble’s Law is used to calculate the distance to other galaxies
11. The farther away the galaxy is the faster it is moving
12. The Big Bang Theory is currently the most widely accepted and supported explanation for the formation of our universe
13. The universe is currently expanding
14. Evidence of that expansion is provided by red shift and cosmic background radiation
15. The age of the Universe can be determined by using Hubble’s Constant
Be Able To
1. Explain how the Milky Way was formed
2. Create a model of the Milky Way indicating it’s structure, direction of motion and the location of our solar system
3. Classify Galaxies using the Hubble Tuning Fork
4. Describe the characteristics of an active galaxy
5. Describe the Big Bang Theory and explain how evidence supports the theory
6. Determine the relative distances of a galaxies given their recessional velocity