astronomy

Richard Shine

Richard Shine 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 Shine rather than just read about it. In short: Richard "Rick" Shine is an Australian evolutionary biologist and ecologist; he has conducted extensive research on reptiles and amphibians, and proposed a novel mechanism for evolutionary change. He is currently a Professor of Biology at Macquarie University, and an Emeritus Professor at The University of Sydney.

Key takeaways

Richard Shine 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 Shine to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Richard Shine from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Richard "Rick" Shine is an Australian evolutionary biologist and ecologist; he has conducted extensive research on reptiles and amphibians, and proposed a novel mechanism for evolutionary change. He is currently a Professor of Biology at Macquarie University, and an Emeritus Professor at The University of Sydney.

Early life and education Richard Shine was born in Brisbane. He attended schools in Melbourne, Sydney, and Canberra, and completed his university studies at the Australian National University with an Honours degree in zoology in 1971. His PhD was obtained from the University of New England in Armidale, under the supervision of Professor Harold F. Heatwole, and dealt with the field ecology of Australian venomous snakes. It was the first detailed ecological research on these animals. He also began working on broader questions in evolutionary biology, collaboratively with another student, James J. Bull, currently a Professor in Biology at the University of Idaho. His brother is scientist John Shine. Uniquely, both brothers are Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science, have received awards from that body, and have won the nation’s top award in research, the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science(John in 2010, Rick in 2016).

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard Shine

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard Shine 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 Shine 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 Shine 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 Shine

In research: Richard Shine 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 Shine 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 Shine is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic staff of the University of Sydney, Australian National University alumni, Australian biologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard Shine 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 Shine in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard Shine in simple terms?

Why does Richard Shine 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 Shine?

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 Shine.