Course

Course Summary

Credit Type:

Exam

ACE ID:

DANT-0057

Organization's ID:

SS500, ST500

Organization:

Prometric Inc, DSST Credit-by-Exam

Location:

Prometric DSST exams are offered at colleges, universities or military bases that are not owned by Prometric.

Length:

2 hours

Dates Offered:

Credit Recommendation & Competencies

Level	Credits (SH)	Subject
Lower-Division Baccalaureate	3	Astronomy

Credit is recommended for examinees with scores of 400 or above.

Description

Objective:

This exam was developed to enable schools to award credit to students for knowledge equivalent to that learned
by students taking the course. This examination includes
Introduction to the Science of Astronomy, Astrophysics,
Celestial Systems, the Science of Light, Planetary Systems, Nature and Evolution of the Sun and Stars,
Galaxies and the Universe.
The exam contains 100 questions to be answered in 2 hours. Some of these are pretest questions that will not
be scored.

Skills Measured:

Introduction to the Science of Astronomy -
Nature and methods of science
Applications of scientific thinking
History of astronomy

Astrophysics -
Kepler's laws and orbits
Newtonian physics and gravity

Celestial Systems
Celestial motions
Earth and the Moon
Seasons and Cycles

The Science of Light -
The electromagnetic spectrum
Telescopes and the measurement of light
Spectroscopy
Blackbody radiation

Planetary Systems: Our Solar System and Others -
Contents of our solar system
Formation and evolution of planetary systems

The Sun and Stars: Nature and Evolution -
Our Star, the Sun
Properties and classification of stars
Birth, life and death of stars
Nuclear fusion and the origin of the elements

Exoplanets and their star systems -
Detection Methods
Formation

Galaxies -
Our Galaxy: The Milky Way
Classification and structure of galaxies
Evolution of Galaxies
Measuring Cosmic Distances

The Universe: Contents, Structure, and Evolution -
Galaxy clusters and large-scale structure
The Big Bang and Hubble's law
The evolution and fate of the Universe
Dark matter and dark energy

Habitability and life in the Universe -
Life on Earth
Life in the universe
Habitability

Instruction & Assessment