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Preface  (Page 3/4)

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Student-centered focus

This book is written to help students understand the big picture rather than get lost in random factoids to memorize. The language is accessible and inviting. Helpful diagrams and summary tables review and encapsulate the ideas being covered. Each chapter contains interactive group activities you can assign to help students work in teams and pool their knowledge.

Interactive online resources

Interesting “Links to Learning” are scattered throughout the chapters, which direct students to online animations, short videos, or enrichment readings to enhance their learning. Also, the resources listed at the end of each chapter include links to websites and other useful educational videos.

Feature boxes that help students think outside the box

A variety of feature boxes within the chapters connect astronomy to the students’ other subjects and humanize the face of astronomy by highlighting the lives of the men and women who have been key to its progress. Besides the math examples that we’ve already mentioned, the boxes include:

  • Making Connections. This feature connects the chapter topic to students’ experiences with other fields, from poetry to engineering, popular culture, and natural disasters.
  • Voyagers in Astronomy. This feature presents brief and engaging biographies of the people behind historically significant discoveries, as well as emerging research.
  • Astronomy Basics. This feature explains basic science concepts that we often (incorrectly) assume students know from earlier classes.
  • Seeing for Yourself. This feature provides practical ways that students can make astronomical observations on their own.

End-of-chapter materials to extend students’ learning

  • Chapter Summaries. Summaries give the gist of each section for easy review.
  • For Further Exploration. This section offers a list of suggested articles, websites, and videos so students can delve into topics of interest, whether for their own learning, for homework, extra credit, or papers.
  • Review Questions. Review questions allow students to show you (or themselves) how well they understood the chapter.
  • Thought Questions. Thought questions help students assess their learning by asking for critical reflection on principles or ideas in the chapter.
  • Figuring For Yourself. Mathematical questions, using only basic algebra and arithmetic, allow students to apply the math principles given in the example boxes throughout the chapter.
  • Collaborative Group Activities. This section suggests ideas for group discussion, research, or reports.

Beautiful art program

Our comprehensive art program is designed to enhance students’ understanding of concepts through clear and effective illustrations, diagrams, and photographs. Here are a few examples.

How a pulsar beam sweeps over earth.

Model of a Pulsar. In this illustration the Earth is drawn below center, in the path of an approaching “Beam of particles and radiation”. The pulsar, labeled “Neutron star”, is drawn at upper right as a blue sphere. Its rotation axis is drawn vertically upward, with a counter-clockwise arrow around it indicating the direction of rotation. The magnetic field lines are drawn in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis as concentric red ellipses on either side of the star. The field lines intersect the surface of the star at the “North magnetic pole”, which faces Earth, and the “South magnetic pole”, which faces toward upper right. The beam of radiation is emitted from the poles of the magnetic field, and extend toward upper right and lower left.

Structure of the milky way galaxy.

Map of the Milky Way Galaxy. Over-plotted on this data-based illustration of the Milky Way is a coordinate system centered on the Sun, which is located about half way from the center and the bottom of the image. It is a polar coordinate system, with zero degrees straight up from the Sun, 90O to the left, 180O straight down and 270O to the right. Distances are shown as circles of increasing radius centered on the Sun. Distances from 15,000 ly to 75,000 ly are indicated in increments of 5,000 ly. Moving outward from the Sun along the zero degree line are the “Near 3kpc Arm”, “Far 3 kpc Arm” and the “Sagittarius Arm”. Moving outward from the Sun along the 330O line (to the right of zero) are the “Norma Arm” and the “Scutum-Centaurus Arm”. Moving outward from the Sun along the 90O line are are the: “Orion Spur”, “Perseus Arm” and the “Outer Arm”.

Two aspects of plate tectonics.

Illustration of Rift and Subduction Zones. The upper panel shows a rift zone beneath an ocean. At left is a vertical scale of 100 km, from the ocean surface down to the top of the mantle’s partially melted zone, which is labeled at the bottom of the diagram. At top center the mid-ocean rift zone is shown, with arrows pointing left and right indicating the direction of plate motion. Directly below the rift zone magma rises up to fill the spaces and cracks between the separating plates, creating mountains and volcanoes. At far right, the thickness of the crust is indicated, consisting of the basalt from the volcanoes and sediment from their erosion. The thickness of the lithosphere is also shown, from the ocean surface down to the top of the mantle’s partiallyh melted zone. Finally, at the left and right portions of the illustration the older rocks are labeled, with arrows pointing away from the rift zone. The further from the rift, the older the rocks. The lower panel shows a subduction zone beneath an ocean. At left is a vertical scale of 100 km, from the ocean surface down to the top of the mantle’s partially melted zone, which is labeled at the bottom of the diagram. At top center the oceanic trench is labeled. To the right of the trench ocean crust and sediments are indicated, with arrows pointing left showing the motion of the crust toward the trench. At the trench, the ocean crust is forced beneath the continental crust, which is labeled on the left of the diagram. The ocean crust moves down toward the partially melted zone. As it does so, the melting ocean crust becomes hot enough to rise up to the surface (to the left of the trench in this diagram) and create the volcanoes of an island chain. At far right the thickness of the lithosphere is shown, from the ocean surface down to the top of the mantle’s partially melted zone.

Pluto close up.

A global color image of Pluto, showing a dark area in the lower left covered with impact craters, and a larger light area in the center and lower right that is flat.

Additional resources

Student and instructor resources

We’ve compiled additional resources for both students and instructors, including Getting Started Guides, PowerPoint slides, and an instructor answer guide. Instructor resources require a verified instructor account, which can be requested on your openstax.org log-in. Take advantage of these resources to supplement your OpenStax book.

Questions & Answers

Discuss the differences between taste and flavor, including how other sensory inputs contribute to our  perception of flavor.
John Reply
taste refers to your understanding of the flavor . while flavor one The other hand is refers to sort of just a blend things.
Faith
While taste primarily relies on our taste buds, flavor involves a complex interplay between taste and aroma
Kamara
which drugs can we use for ulcers
Ummi Reply
omeprazole
Kamara
what
Renee
what is this
Renee
is a drug
Kamara
of anti-ulcer
Kamara
Omeprazole Cimetidine / Tagament For the complicated once ulcer - kit
Patrick
what is the function of lymphatic system
Nency Reply
Not really sure
Eli
to drain extracellular fluid all over the body.
asegid
The lymphatic system plays several crucial roles in the human body, functioning as a key component of the immune system and contributing to the maintenance of fluid balance. Its main functions include: 1. Immune Response: The lymphatic system produces and transports lymphocytes, which are a type of
asegid
to transport fluids fats proteins and lymphocytes to the blood stream as lymph
Adama
what is anatomy
Oyindarmola Reply
Anatomy is the identification and description of the structures of living things
Kamara
what's the difference between anatomy and physiology
Oyerinde Reply
Anatomy is the study of the structure of the body, while physiology is the study of the function of the body. Anatomy looks at the body's organs and systems, while physiology looks at how those organs and systems work together to keep the body functioning.
AI-Robot
what is enzymes all about?
Mohammed Reply
Enzymes are proteins that help speed up chemical reactions in our bodies. Enzymes are essential for digestion, liver function and much more. Too much or too little of a certain enzyme can cause health problems
Kamara
yes
Prince
how does the stomach protect itself from the damaging effects of HCl
Wulku Reply
little girl okay how does the stomach protect itself from the damaging effect of HCL
Wulku
it is because of the enzyme that the stomach produce that help the stomach from the damaging effect of HCL
Kamara
function of digestive system
Ali Reply
function of digestive
Ali
the diagram of the lungs
Adaeze Reply
what is the normal body temperature
Diya Reply
37 degrees selcius
Xolo
37°c
Stephanie
please why 37 degree selcius normal temperature
Mark
36.5
Simon
37°c
Iyogho
the normal temperature is 37°c or 98.6 °Fahrenheit is important for maintaining the homeostasis in the body the body regular this temperature through the process called thermoregulation which involves brain skin muscle and other organ working together to maintain stable internal temperature
Stephanie
37A c
Wulku
what is anaemia
Diya Reply
anaemia is the decrease in RBC count hemoglobin count and PVC count
Eniola
what is the pH of the vagina
Diya Reply
how does Lysin attack pathogens
Diya
acid
Mary
I information on anatomy position and digestive system and there enzyme
Elisha Reply
anatomy of the female external genitalia
Muhammad Reply
Organ Systems Of The Human Body (Continued) Organ Systems Of The Human Body (Continued)
Theophilus Reply
what's lochia albra
Kizito
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Source:  OpenStax, Astronomy. OpenStax CNX. Apr 12, 2017 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11992/1.13
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