astronomy

Samuel M. McElvain

Samuel M. McElvain 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 Samuel M. McElvain rather than just read about it. In short: Samuel Marion McElvain (December 9, 1897 – April 11, 1973) was an American organic and synthetic chemist who spent his research career on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin. Academic career McElvain studied first at Washington University in St.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Samuel Marion McElvain (December 9, 1897 – April 11, 1973) was an American organic and synthetic chemist who spent his research career on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin.

Academic career McElvain studied first at Washington University in St. Louis and received his MS and Ph.D from the University of Illinois in 1923. In 1923, he became professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, from which he retired and became professor emeritus in 1961.

Research McElvain was known for his research on the mechanism of the Claisen condensation and on the chemistry of ketene acetals. He also had an interest in the pharmacology of cocaine and other compounds of interest as local anesthetics, prompting basic research in the chemistry of piperidines and pyridines as well as a long-term pharmaceutical industry collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company. McElvain chaired the organic division of the American Chemical Society in 1945-6 and served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Chemical Society for ten years, from 1946-56. He was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1949.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Samuel M. McElvain

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Samuel M. McElvain 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 Samuel M. McElvain 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 Samuel M. McElvain 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 Samuel M. McElvain

In research: Samuel M. McElvain 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 Samuel M. McElvain 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: Samuel M. McElvain is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1897 births, 1973 deaths, 20th-century American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Samuel M. McElvain 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 Samuel M. McElvain in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Samuel M. McElvain in simple terms?

Samuel Marion McElvain (December 9, 1897 – April 11, 1973) was an American organic and synthetic chemist who spent his research career on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin. Academic career McElvain studied first at Washington University in St.

Why does Samuel M. McElvain 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 Samuel M. McElvain?

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 Samuel M. McElvain.