Pedagogical FeaturesElectronic Media Integration To help better grasp key concepts, this interactive icon
has been placed near figures and selections where students can gain additional understanding through the interactives on the Online Learning Center.
To help better understand key concepts, this animation icon has been placed near figures and sections where students can explore additional information on the Online Learning Center.Chapter Introduction Every chapter begins with an introduction designed to give the historical and scientific setting for the chapter material. The overview previews the chapter's contents and what you can expect to learn from reading the chapter. After reading the introduction, browse through the chapter, paying particular attention to the topic headings and illustrations so that you get a feel for the kinds of ideas included within the chapter. Also included in the chapter introduction are questions to explore while reading the text.Planetary Data Boxes These boxes include summaries of planetary data making this information easy to access.Historical Emphasis Throughout the book I have emphasized the historical development of astronomy to show that astronomy, like other sciences, advances through the efforts of many scientists and to show how our present ideas developed. In the main body of the text there are many comparisons of what was once known about a particular phenomenon to what we now know about it. These historical comparisons are used to illustrate the cycle of observation, hypothesis, and further observation, which is the essence of the scientific method of discovery.Worked Examples Boxes This book, like my course, presumes that many of its readers are not science majors and may not have had a college-level science or mathematics course. The book provides a complete description of current astronomical knowledge, neither at an extremely technical level nor at a level that fails to communicate the quantitative nature of physical science. I have used equations where they are relevant, but follow the equations with boxes containing one or more worked examples. The examples in the boxes show how and when to use each equation and tell why the equation is important.End of Chapter MaterialChapter Summary highlights the key elements of the chapter. Key Terms listed here are defined in context and found in the end-of-book glossary. Conceptual Questions require qualitative verbal answers. Problems involving numerical calculations, test the reader's mastery of the equations. Figure-Based Questions require the reader to extract the answer from a particular graph or figure in the chapter. New! Planetarium Exercises let the reader investigate key ideas of the chapter using the Starry Night planetarium software on the CD that accompanies the book. Group Exercises encourage interaction between students as they work in groups to discuss different viewpoints on chapter-related issues or to complete small group projects.End-of-Text Material At the back of the text you will find appendices that will give you additional background details, charts, and extensive tables. There is also a glossary of all key terms, an index organized alphabetically by subject matter, and a look at the constellations printed on the inside covers for reference use.
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