astronomy

Richard F. Johnston

Richard F. Johnston 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 Richard F. Johnston rather than just read about it. In short: Richard Fourness Johnston (July 27, 1925 – November 15, 2014) was an American ornithologist, academic and author. He was born in Oakland, California to Marie Whitney (née Johnson) and Arthur Nathaniel Johnston, a San Francisco Bay Area optician.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Richard Fourness Johnston (July 27, 1925 – November 15, 2014) was an American ornithologist, academic and author. He was born in Oakland, California to Marie Whitney (née Johnson) and Arthur Nathaniel Johnston, a San Francisco Bay Area optician. He developed an early interest in zoology, especially birds. He served in the Army during World War II, and was injured in the European theater. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a PhD in biology. In 1958, he joined the Zoology Department at the University of Kansas, Lawrence and became curator of its Natural History Museum. His research interests included the house sparrow (English sparrow) P. domesticus and the feral pigeon C. livia. He was awarded the title of professor emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He was the founding editor of the scientific journal Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics (1970-1991). His outside interests included searching for mushrooms, tending to his small vineyard, and making wine. His wife predeceased him; he was survived by their three daughters.

Works 1960 Hand-List of the Birds of Kansas. Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas. 1964 Directory to the Bird-Life of Kansas. Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas. 1964 The Breeding Birds of Kansas. University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Vol. 12, No. 14, pp. 575–655. 1965 A Directory to the Birds of Kansas. Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas. 1984 Reproductive Ecology of the Feral Pigeon, 'Columba livia'. Occasional papers of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, No. 114. 1995 Feral Pigeons (with Marián Janiga). Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-508409-2.

References

External links Works by Richard F. Johnston at Project Gutenberg

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard F. Johnston

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard F. Johnston 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 Richard F. Johnston 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 Richard F. Johnston 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 Richard F. Johnston

In research: Richard F. Johnston 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 Richard F. Johnston 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: Richard F. Johnston is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1925 births, 2014 deaths, Academics from Oakland, California, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard F. Johnston 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 Richard F. Johnston in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard F. Johnston in simple terms?

Why does Richard F. Johnston 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 Richard F. Johnston?

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 Richard F. Johnston.