astronomy

Lion and Unicorn Staircase

Lion and Unicorn Staircase 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 Lion and Unicorn Staircase rather than just read about it. In short: The Lion and Unicorn Staircase, at the University of Glasgow, is located next to the university's Memorial Chapel on the west side of the Main Building. It consists of two flights connected by a landing, the upper flight turning ninety degrees to the left from the lower flight.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The Lion and Unicorn Staircase, at the University of Glasgow, is located next to the university's Memorial Chapel on the west side of the Main Building. It consists of two flights connected by a landing, the upper flight turning ninety degrees to the left from the lower flight. There is a balustrade adorned with sculptures of a unicorn on the left and a lion on the right. Along with the Memorial Chapel and the adjacent Gilbert Scott Building, it is protected as a Category A listed building. The staircase originally formed part of the university's Old College site on High Street, situated in the Outer Court and leading to the Principal's Residence and the Fore Hall. On 20 June 1690, the university instructed William Riddel, a mason, to place stone bannisters on the staircase with figures of a lion and a unicorn on the first turn, for which he was paid twelve pounds sterling. Work began on 30 June and finished on 15 August that year. When the university moved to its new site in Gilmorehill in 1870, the staircase was transported and incorporated into the new building, along with parts of the High Street gatehouse, which were rebuilt as Pearce Lodge. When the Main Building of the university was originally built, the West Quadrangle was not enclosed on all sides; instead, on the west side, a staircase stood at each end of a small landscaped garden leading from the elevated grass of the quadrangle to the lower level of The Square, where the Principal's and Professors' houses were. The Lion and Unicorn Staircase was the southern of these. The quadrangle was subsequently enclosed when the new Memorial Chapel and additional facilities were built along that side between 1914 and 1929, and the Lion and Unicorn Staircase provided access to these from The Square. When first installed in Gilmorehill, the staircase turned right at its middle landing (as it did in its original site), but was altered at this time to turn left. At its original site in the Old College, the staircase had led to the Fore Hall; amongst the new rooms created with the 1929 Gilmorehill expansion was a new hall, also named the Fore Hall.

References

External links Report at National Recording Project, Public Monuments and Sculpture Association, King's College London Gallery of images at GlasgowSculpture.com

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lion and Unicorn Staircase

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lion and Unicorn Staircase 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 Lion and Unicorn Staircase 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 Lion and Unicorn Staircase 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 Lion and Unicorn Staircase

In research: Lion and Unicorn Staircase 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 Lion and Unicorn Staircase 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: Lion and Unicorn Staircase is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1690 establishments in Scotland, 1690s sculptures, Animal sculptures in Scotland, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lion and Unicorn Staircase 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 Lion and Unicorn Staircase in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Lion and Unicorn Staircase in simple terms?

Why does Lion and Unicorn Staircase 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 Lion and Unicorn Staircase?

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 Lion and Unicorn Staircase.