astronomy

John Alwyne Kitching

John Alwyne Kitching 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 John Alwyne Kitching rather than just read about it. In short: John Alwyne Kitching, known as Jack Kitching, (24 October 1908–1 April 1996) was a British biologist. He was educated at Cheltenham College, Trinity College, Cambridge and the University of London.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

John Alwyne Kitching, known as Jack Kitching, (24 October 1908–1 April 1996) was a British biologist. He was educated at Cheltenham College, Trinity College, Cambridge and the University of London. He was a Lecturer at Birkbeck, University of London, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Bristol and a Rockefeller Fellow at Princeton University. He was Professor of Biology at the University of East Anglia from 1963 to 1974 then Emeritus Professor, and also served as Dean of School of Biological Sciences from 1967 to 1970. He was made an OBE in 1947 and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1960.

References

Further reading "Kitching, John Alwyne (1908–1996)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/62034. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.) Norton, Trevor (2003). "Jack of All Trades". Biologist. 50 (5): 236–238.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Alwyne Kitching

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Alwyne Kitching 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 John Alwyne Kitching 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 John Alwyne Kitching 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 John Alwyne Kitching

In research: John Alwyne Kitching 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 John Alwyne Kitching 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: John Alwyne Kitching is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1908 births, 1996 deaths, Academics of Birkbeck, University of London, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Alwyne Kitching 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 John Alwyne Kitching in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John Alwyne Kitching 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 John Alwyne Kitching out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John Alwyne Kitching in simple terms?

John Alwyne Kitching, known as Jack Kitching, (24 October 1908–1 April 1996) was a British biologist. He was educated at Cheltenham College, Trinity College, Cambridge and the University of London.

Why does John Alwyne Kitching 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 John Alwyne Kitching?

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 John Alwyne Kitching.