astronomy

Roberto Donoso-Barros

Roberto Donoso-Barros 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 Roberto Donoso-Barros rather than just read about it. In short: Roberto Donoso-Barros (October 5, 1921 – August 2, 1975) was a Chilean zoologist, naturalist, and herpetologist. Early life and education Donoso-Barros was born in Santiago, Chile in 1921 or 1922.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Roberto Donoso-Barros (October 5, 1921 – August 2, 1975) was a Chilean zoologist, naturalist, and herpetologist.

Early life and education Donoso-Barros was born in Santiago, Chile in 1921 or 1922. He attended the University of Chile in Santiago, earning his M.D. from the school in 1947.

Career Donoso-Barros joined the faculty of the University of Chile in 1954. In 1965, he became a professor at the University of Concepción. He also worked at the Universidad de Oriente in Venezuela, and at the Smithsonian Institution in the United States. Donoso-Barros was a prolific herpetological authority in Chile. In 1966, he published Reptiles de Chile which collected and reported on all lizard species described to date in Chile. Species described by Donoso-Barros include:

Garthia penai (Donoso-Barros, 1966) Liolaemus brattstroemi Donoso-Barros, 1961 – synonym of Liolaemus pictus Liolaemus ceii Donoso-Barros, 1971 – synonym of Liolaemus kriegi Liolaemus constanzae Donoso-Barros, 1961 Liolaemus hellmichi Donoso-Barros, 1974 Liolaemus paulinae Donoso-Barros, 1961 Liolaemus sarmientoi Donoso-Barros, 1973 Gonatodes ceciliae Donoso-Barros, 1966 Gonatodes ligiae Donoso-Barros, 1967 Microlophus atacamensis (Donoso-Barros, 1966) Microlophus tarapacensis (Donoso-Barros, 1966) Bachia marcelae Donoso-Barros & Garrido, 1964 Alsodes vanzolinii (Donoso-Barros, 1974) Pristidactylus alvaroi (Donoso-Barros, 1974) Pristidactylus valeriae (Donoso-Barros, 1974) Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a different genus. The gecko Gonatodes ligiae remains somewhat mysterious as it was only described in a short note in which Donoso-Barros did not explain the name, but it is probably named after some person, as many other species he described. However, the ominous Ligia remains a mystery.

Accolades Donoso-Barros was awarded the Abate Molina Prize by the Chilean Academy of Sciences in 1966. He was also awarded the Atenea Award in 1966 for Reptiles de Chile. A proposed subspecies of Chelonoidis chilensis, C. chilensis donosobarrosi, is named for Donoso-Barros. A species of lizard, Liolaemus donosobarrosi, is named after him.

Personal life Donoso-Barros had five daughters and two sons. However, in his obituary, Jaime Péfaur only mentions 6 children, namely Constanza, Roberto, Paulina, Marcela, Valeria and Cecilia. Péfaur did not mention his son Alvaro, after which Donoso-Barros named one species, Pristidactylus alvaroi, as he dedicated names to all his other children (except Roberto), namely

Gonatodes ceciliae, named for his daughter Cecilia Liolaemus paulinae, named for his daughter Pauline Pristidactylus valeriae, named for his daughter Valeria Liolaemus constanzae, named for his daughter Constanza Pristidactylus alvaroi, named for his son Álvaro Bachia marcelae, named for his daughter Marcela. Donoso-Barros is the grandfather of Gaspar Domínguez Donoso (son of his daughter Valeria) and of Chilean-British herpetologist Daniel Pincheira-Donoso. Donoso-Barros died on August 2, 1975, as a result of a traffic accident.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Roberto Donoso-Barros

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Roberto Donoso-Barros 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 Roberto Donoso-Barros 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 Roberto Donoso-Barros 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 Roberto Donoso-Barros

In research: Roberto Donoso-Barros 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 Roberto Donoso-Barros 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: Roberto Donoso-Barros is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1921 births, 1975 deaths, 20th-century Chilean botanists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Roberto Donoso-Barros 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 Roberto Donoso-Barros in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Roberto Donoso-Barros in simple terms?

Roberto Donoso-Barros (October 5, 1921 – August 2, 1975) was a Chilean zoologist, naturalist, and herpetologist. Early life and education Donoso-Barros was born in Santiago, Chile in 1921 or 1922.

Why does Roberto Donoso-Barros 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 Roberto Donoso-Barros?

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 Roberto Donoso-Barros.