Major theme: Our knowledge of the universe beyond Earth comes from light emitted, absorbed, or reflected by astronomical objects.
Learning Objectives:
Describe the wave and particle properties of light, and describe the electromagnetic spectrum.
Describe how to measure the chemical composition of distant objects using the unique spectral lines of different types of atoms.
Describe the Doppler effect and how it can be used to measure the motion of distant objects.
Explain how the spectrum of light that an object emits depends on its temperature.
Differentiate luminosity from brightness, and illustrate how distance affects each.
Outline:
- Light brings us the news of the Universe.
- The speed of light
- Light as an electromagnetic wave
- Characterizing waves
- The Electromagnetic (EM) spectrum
- Light as a particle
- The quantum view of matter explains spectral lines.
- Atomic structure
- Atomic energy levels
- Emission spectra
- Absorption spectra
- spectral fingerprints of atoms
- Excitement and Decay
- Temperature affects the spectrum of light that an object emits
- Equilibrium and balance
- Temperature, Luminosity, and color
- Blackbody Laws
- The brightness of light depends on the luminosity and distance of the source.
Activities & Assignments:
- Topic class notes
- Read Textbook Chapter 5: Light
- POGIL: EM spectrum (homework)
- Phet: Wien’s Law see worksheet (reviewed in class)
- LT P&S: Doppler Shift pg. 75 (all 3 parts) submit for grading.
- LT Pair & Share: Analyzing spectra, pg. 72-73 (Q4-8) in class.
- Lab 2: Spectroscopy Lab
Extra Stuff:
Star Light Tutorial (see worksheet in unit notes folder)
Atomic Spectra: The spectroscopes and emission and absorption spectra explained. The spectroscope is the most important tool in astronomy.
