astronomy

James Bonk

James Bonk is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand James Bonk rather than just read about it. In short: James Frederick Bonk (February 6, 1931 – March 15, 2013) was an American university professor noted for eschewing a research career in favor of teaching introductory chemistry courses for over 50 years, primarily at Duke University. He did, however, also teach advanced and graduate courses, and wrote his own textbooks and laboratory manuals.

Key takeaways

James Bonk belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect James Bonk to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of James Bonk from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

James Frederick Bonk (February 6, 1931 – March 15, 2013) was an American university professor noted for eschewing a research career in favor of teaching introductory chemistry courses for over 50 years, primarily at Duke University. He did, however, also teach advanced and graduate courses, and wrote his own textbooks and laboratory manuals. His students fondly labeled his main chemistry class Bonkistry.

Education and career Bonk obtained a B.S. in Chemistry in 1953 from Carroll College (Waukesha, Wisconsin). He obtained a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1958 from Ohio State University. While a graduate student at Ohio State University, he received a DuPont Lecturing Fellowship that enabled him to teach there and to coordinate the teaching of introductory chemistry classes at OSU's branch campuses. He also taught summers at Muskingum College. In 1959 he joined the Department of Chemistry at Duke University as an assistant professor and rose to the rank of full professor. Bonk was known for his sense of humor. One oft-repeated story regarding him is that a group of students went out of town for a party and got back late, telling Bonk that they were delayed by a flat tire and thus missed an exam. Bonk reportedly told them they could take a makeup exam the next day. When they came for the makeup exam, the students were each put in a different room. The first question on the exam was reputedly a straightforward question worth 5 points. The story goes that the second question, on the next page, was worth 95 points and said "Which Tire?" This version of events is listed on Snopes as an embellished and unproveable story possibly based on a real incident, and the entry includes a 1996 letter from Bonk stating that the story had been embellished and he could not remember the exact details of what really happened; Bonk reiterated in 2001 that the story had been embellished, and added that he would never place that much emphasis on a trick question. Bonk was also known for his love of tennis, and he played the sport throughout his life. The Duke University tennis teams recognized his many years of service by officially naming Court Number 3 at Ambler Tennis Stadium as "Bonk Court" in 2011. This interest in sports and fitness came in handy when a student tried to hit his face with a pie in 1975. Bonk frequently recounted the story of spryly leaping aside so that the pie got him in the shoulder, and then charging after the perpetrator, who ran out the classroom door and into the neighboring woods. Bonk’s fitness allowed him to keep pace with the much younger student as they ran around in the woods until, in Bonk’s words, "the young man made a tactical error by jumping down into a stream." At that point he was no longer able to evade Bonk, who demanded his Duke University identification. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and garnered national attention.

Personal life and death Bonk was born February 6, 1931, in Menominee, Michigan, the son of Joseph Frank Bond and Beatrice (Colburn) Bond. He died March 15, 2013, in Durham, North Carolina. A memorial service was held at Duke Chapel on March 21, 2013. Also on March 21, 2013, his ashes were interred in the Sarah P. Duke Memorial Gardens on the Duke campus.

Awards Bonk received numerous awards:

The David and Janet Brooks Teaching Award at Duke University in 2001. Dean's Distinguished Service Award at Duke University in 2010 The University Medal at Duke University in 2011

References

External links Duke University: James Bond, Department of Chemistry

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James Bonk

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James Bonk claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to James Bonk before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about James Bonk ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of James Bonk

In research: James Bonk appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses James Bonk in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: James Bonk is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1931 births, 2013 deaths, American science teachers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James Bonk outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study James Bonk in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what James Bonk means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain James Bonk out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is James Bonk in simple terms?

Why does James Bonk matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study James Bonk?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on James Bonk.