astronomy

Terry Erwin

Terry Erwin 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 Terry Erwin rather than just read about it. In short: Terry Lee Erwin (December 1, 1940 – May 11, 2020) was an American entomologist with the Smithsonian Institution. Erwin went to Vallejo High School and then graduated in biology in 1964, followed by a masters in 1966 from San Jose State College (now San Jose State University).

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Terry Lee Erwin (December 1, 1940 – May 11, 2020) was an American entomologist with the Smithsonian Institution. Erwin went to Vallejo High School and then graduated in biology in 1964, followed by a masters in 1966 from San Jose State College (now San Jose State University). He went to the University of Alberta to study carabid beetles under George Ball, obtaining a Ph.D. in 1969 followed by a post-doctoral stint at Harvard under P. Jackson Darlington, Jr. He took up an entomologist position in the United States National Museum (later the Smithsonian Institution) but took a year off to study carabid beetles at the University of Lund under Carl H. Lindroth. On return in 1971, Erwin was deputed to examine the beetles of Panama. By fogging the forest canopy with pesticide, he collected the falling specimens and found 1,200 species of beetles living in Luehea seemannii trees. Of those 1,200 species of beetles, he estimated that 163 are found only in the Luehea seemannii tree and not in other species of trees. There are about 50,000 species of trees in the tropics and beetles make up 40% of insects and related animals. Erwin estimated that there are about twice as many species of insects and related animals in tropical trees as there are on the ground of the forest. Erwin is notable for his controversial extrapolation of 30 million as the total number of arthropod species. Erwin served as secretary of the Society of Systematic Biologists from 1973 to 1975, and was the editor in chief of ZooKeys. He described over 20 genera and more than 400 species of insect, and as of 2015 is commemorated in the names of 47 species, two genera, one subfamily and one subspecies.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Terry Erwin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Terry Erwin 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 Terry Erwin 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 Terry Erwin 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 Terry Erwin

In research: Terry Erwin 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 Terry Erwin 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: Terry Erwin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1940 births, 2020 deaths, 20th-century American zoologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Terry Erwin 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 Terry Erwin in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Terry Erwin in simple terms?

Why does Terry Erwin 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 Terry Erwin?

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 Terry Erwin.