PHYSICS 1020 - Spring 1997
THINGS TO KNOW FOR FIRST EXAM
(15 January 1997)

• material covered in chapters 1 and 2 of the textbook
• material covered in lectures 1,2,3
• material covered in homework sets 1 and 2

Specific items to know:

• what distinguishes science from pseudoscience and from religion? (falsifiability, absolute truth, certainty,....)
• planetary motion: theories of Aristarchus, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler
  what are their differences, what do they have in common
• what is a sphere? what is a circle? what is an ellipse?
• what is a deferent? what is an epicycle?
• what is retrograde motion of the planets, and how is it explained in the models of Ptolemy and Copernicus
• shape and approximate size of the Earth
• powers of 10, scientific notation
• meaning of prefixes M (mega), k (kilo), m (milli), (micro)
• how many centimeters in an inch?
• how many meters/kilometers in a mile?
• how many feet in a meter?
• what is a chemical element?
• what is a chemical compound?
• distinguish elements, compounds and mixtures
• atoms and molecules
• approximate size of an atom
• thermal energy and random motion
• models of the atom:
  Demokritos - structureless point - Thomson (raisin cake) - Rutherford (planetary model) - quantum theory
• periodic table; similarity of elements in same column
• chemical reactions
• oxidation
• combustion, burning
• respiration
• photosynthesis