1) List the five chief types of radiation in order of increasing (note the word, increasing) wavelength. Use the internet to find a typical wavelength in meters of each of the five types. (Do not give ranges – give specific values in units of meters.) Then find out what object (e.g., basketball, desk, person) would be similar in size to each of the five wavelengths you listed.
2) Suppose you are an astronomer who is planning to collect radio waves emitted by gas clouds in our galaxy. What kind of collector will you choose to collect radio waves? Where will you put your collector, in your backyard? Explain your answer briefly.
3) Some infrared telescopes are built on volcanoes, such as those in Hawaii. Using the material presented in lecture video 9 explain why they are placed there. Using the material presented in lecture video 9 give one good reason why the Moon would be a good place to put a telescope and one good reason why it would not be a good place to put a telescope .
4) Using the material presented in lecture video 9, explain briefly why the sky appears blue during the daytime and why clouds appears white or gray during the daytime.
5) In one grammar-checked and proofread paragraph, outline the structure of the Sun. (Include items such as its different layers, its composition, its temperature, its chief features) Use the internet to find out how many Earth masses (not diameters) it would take to equal the mass of the Sun. (Neglect the fact that they are made largely of different elements.)
6) With regard to the Sun, what is hydrostatic equilibrium? What important question did it answer?
7) It was once thought that the source of the Sun’s radiation was a big fire deep inside the Sun. Is there a big “fire” in the Sun? (You might want to look up the definition of the word “fire”.) Using the material presented in video lecture 10 Part 2, explain your answer.
8) What will happen to the Sun in about five billion years? What will probably happen to the Earth at that time? What is the Sun’s fate?
