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Motion and Force: the difference between acceleration, velocity, and
speed. Newton's three laws of motion. Inertia, momentum, and angular
momentum.
Gravitation: Galileo's determination of the proportionality of gravity
and mass. Newton's law of gravity, gravity and satellite orbits, escape
velocity, orbital velocity, hyperbolic velocity, apogee and perigee.
Energy and Work: the four fundamental forces in nature. Kinetic energy
and potential energy. The physical definition and calculation of work.
Temperature and Power: heat and friction. The temperature scales of
Celsium, Kelvin, and Fahrenheit. The physical definition of power and the
calculation of horsepower.
The Atomic Nucleus: atomic number and atomic weight. Reading the
periodic table of the elements. Nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.
Atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, and nuclear power plants.
Atomic Electron Structure: the Bohr and the quantum mechanical models
of the atom. Ionic and co-valent chemical bonding. The process of
excitation and ionization.
Optics: the components of the reflecting, refraction, and Schmidt-
Cassegrain telescope. How to calculate telescope magnification, light
gathering power, and resolution. The optical components and proper
function of binoculars.
Chemistry of Life: the combining capacity of the carbon atom. The
molecular structure of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. The structural
differences between methane, propane, butane, actane, and gasoline.
Calories and Nutrition: the difference between the physical and dietary
calorie unit. The caloric content of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
How to calculate the percent of fat content of any given food from its
labeled list of ingredients.
Geology: the interior structure of the earth and heat flow from the
earth's interior. Faults, earthquakes, and the Richter scale. Plate
tectonics and volcanism.
Dinosaurs: the geologica time scale and the process of fossilization.
The unique physical characteristic of the dinosaur. Major species of
dinosaurs and theories of their extinction.
Meteorology: identification of the 10 major cloud types. Warm fronts
and cold fronts. Predicting weather changes by observing clouds. The
six major weather elements and the instruments that measure them.
Motions of the Moon: the lunar phases and lunar tides. The three types
of lunar exlipses and the three types of solar exlipses. The moon's
synodic and sidereal periods of revolution.
Kepler's Laws: the properties of the ellipse, semi-major axis, semi-
minor axis, focus distance, and eccentricity. The ellipse law, the law
of equal areas, and the harmonic law.
The Solar System: the properties of the Terrestrial and Jovian planets
with respect to planetary atmospheres, planetary surfaces, and planetary
interiors. Triton, Titan, and the 4 Galilean satellites of Jupiter.
Stars and Nebulae: the difference between a star and a planet. Main
sequence (sun-like), giant, white dwarf, neutron, and black hole stars.
Galaxies and Cosmology: the milky way galaxy and its size and shape
compared to other galaxies. The expanding universe, the Hubble law,
and the big bang and steady state theories.