astronomy

Larry Kevan

Larry Kevan 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 Larry Kevan rather than just read about it. In short: Larry James Kevan (December 12, 1938 – June 4, 2002) was an American chemist. Kevan was born in Kansas City, Missouri on December 12, 1938, and attended the University of Kansas to study chemistry.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Larry James Kevan (December 12, 1938 – June 4, 2002) was an American chemist. Kevan was born in Kansas City, Missouri on December 12, 1938, and attended the University of Kansas to study chemistry. Upon completing his undergraduate degree in 1960, Kevan pursued doctoral study at the University of California, Los Angeles, under the direction of Willard Libby. After obtaining his doctorate in 1963, Kevan became a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Newcastle, then returned to the United States later that year to serve as a chemistry instructor at the University of Chicago. Between 1965 and 1969, Kevan taught at the University of Kansas. Kevan left his alma mater for a position at Wayne State University. During his eleven-year tenure at Wayne State, Kevan was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 1969, and elected to fellowship of the American Physical Society in 1972. He joined the University of Houston faculty in 1980, where he was the Cullen Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the time of his death on June 4, 2002.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Larry Kevan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Larry Kevan 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 Larry Kevan 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 Larry Kevan 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 Larry Kevan

In research: Larry Kevan 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 Larry Kevan 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: Larry Kevan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1938 births, 2002 deaths, 20th-century American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Larry Kevan 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 Larry Kevan in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Larry Kevan in simple terms?

Larry James Kevan (December 12, 1938 – June 4, 2002) was an American chemist. Kevan was born in Kansas City, Missouri on December 12, 1938, and attended the University of Kansas to study chemistry.

Why does Larry Kevan 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 Larry Kevan?

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 Larry Kevan.