-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STUDENT QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FOR LECTURE 3: (Aug 28) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is an annular eclipse just another term for a partial solar eclipse? Approximately how many questions would you estimate are on the midterms? I was reading through the lecture on gravity which should be on Friday, and I came to question #1 at the end. It reads "Which would be heavier: a ton of bricks on earth or a ton of feathers on the moon?" My question is: is the ton of feathers weighed one ton on the earth or on the moon? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STUDENT QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FOR LECTURE 3: (Sep 4) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I STILL CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF WHY THERE ARE SEASONS JUST BECAUSE THE EARTH IS ON A TILT. IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL. I TRIED TO COMPARE THE EARTH AND THE SUN TO SOMETHING I COULD RELATE TO. HERE IT IS. I'M OUT IN THE WOODS SOMEWHERE AND I DECIDE TO STOP AND MAKE A CAMPFIRE. I HAVE A BAG OF MARSHMELLOWS WITH ME AND I DECIDE TO ROAST SOME. I PUT THE MARSHMELLOW ON A STICK AND ROAST IT FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME. NOW I DECIDE TO PUT MY MARSHMELLOW IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION. IT COOKS AND IT'S ROASTED. THE SECOND TIME I PUT ANOTHER MARSHMELLOW ON A STICK BUT THIS TIME I PUT IT ON AN ANGLE. IT COOKS FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME AS THE FIRST ONE. IN THEORY, THE SECOND ONE SHOULD BECOME HOTTER AND IF I'M NOT CAREFUL NO MORE MARSHMELLOW. THIS HAPPENS JUST BECAUSE I TILTED THE MARSHMELLOW! I DON'T THINK SO. HOW CAN THE EARTH HAVE SEASONS JUST BECAUSE OF A TILT? IF THAT'S TRUE THAT WOULD MEAN TO COOK FOOD ONE SHOULD TILT THE FRYING PAN BECAUSE YOU WOULD GET MORE HEAT. IF THE EARTH AND THE SUN ARE IN A CIRCULAR ORBIT THEN NO MATTER WHAT, THE SUNS RAYS WOULD HIT THE EARTH AT THE SAME TIME. THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE MIDDLE OF A CIRCLE AND IT'S OUTSIDE BOUNDARIES ARE EQUAL. THE RADIUS IS ALWAYS THE SAME. SEE FIGURE 1: E=EARTH'S ORBIT S=SUN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THOSE POINTS SHOULD BE EQUAL IF IT'S A CIRCLE. E E S E E EVEN IF THE EARTH IS ON A TILT WHILE IN ORBIT, YOU WOULD STILL GET THE SAME AMOUNT OF SUN LIGHT JUST IN DIFFERENT PLACES. THE TILT DOESN'T EXPLAIN HOWEVER, HOW THE TEMPERATURE CHANGES. THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER REASON WHY THERE ARE SEASONS AND HOW THE WEATHER CHANGES. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IN CLASS YOU CAN DO AN EXPERIMENT OF HOW THIS TILT CAUSES SEASONS? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STUDENT QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FOR LECTURE 7: (Sep 6) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I know that the sun will die one day. I also know that as it dies it will expand into a red dwarf. As it expands, will its mass increase? And will it have more of a gravitational field? Because if it expands closer to the planets, the pull of gravity should be stronger. So, wouldn't it make sense that as it expands these planets would be pulled off of their orbits and plummet into the sun and be burned up? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STUDENT QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FOR LECTURE 12: (Sep 18) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In class today we were discussing why big craters were synonomous with old craters. You explained that backfill was the culprit for this because when a meteorite hit the planets surface it protruded the thin crust and caused molten material to rise up. My question is, wouldn't this cause the crater to be smaller? Wouldn't the molten material fill the hole that the meteorite hit and eventually dry, resulting in a smaller hole?