Syllabus1. Course InformationClass: Tu, Th, 9:40 - 12:20, in PAB 210Exams: 7/23 and 8/20 in class.Course website: http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/christensen/astro101Textbook: The Cosmic Perspective: Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology, Fifth Edition, Bennett,Donahue, Schneider, and Voit.Instructor Information TA InformationCharlotte Christensen Jeffrey AcquinoOffice hours: Tues: 12:30 – 1:30, Office hours: Mon: 10:00 – 11:00,Wed: 4:00 – 5:00, Thurs: 1:00 – 2:00,or by appointment or by appointmentOffice: PAB-B329 Office: PAB-B366Phone: 1-206-543-9039 Phone: 1-570-660-7822Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]. Course DescriptionIntroduction to the universe, with emphasis on conceptual, as contrasted with mathemat-ical, comprehension. Modern theories, observations; ideas concerning nature, evolution ofgalaxies; quasars, stars, black holes, planets, solar system3. Course GoalsBy the end of the course, I hope you will have grown in each of the following areas:• An ability to think scientifically and mathematically about both everyday ideas andphysical concepts.• An awareness of how the scientific process has been used discover astronomical con-cepts.• A capacity to interpret a variety of astronomical observations.• An understanding of the structure and life cycle of different astronomical objects suchas stars and galaxies.• A grasp of the scale of the cosmos from our Earth to the visible Universe.• A comprehension of the history and future of the Universe.• A lasting interest in astronomy.ASTR 101 0 – 1 Astronomy4. Resources/MaterialsTextbook The required text for this course is The Cosmic Perspective, Stars, Galaxiesand Cosmology, Fifth Edition, Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and Voit., (2008) PearsonEducation, Inc. This is the abbreviated stars and galaxies version of the larger CosmicPerspective text. The full version also contains material on the solar system and the planets,which will not be covered in this course. If you bought a new copy of this text it shouldhave come with a student access kit for the mastering astronomy website. This website isa companion to the textbook, and has interactive figures, tutorials and self-quizzes on thematerial presented in the text. If you have access to it I highly recommend you check it out.The Fourth edition of this text is virtually the same, feel free to use it.Other Resources You are encouraged to talk to either Jeffrey Acquino or me outsideof class for answers on answers to questions you have, help on the assignments, tips forstudying, or just chats on interesting astronomy. You can stop by either during office hoursor arrange a time. I understand that it is possible to be confused about a subject withouthaving specific questions. Because of that, I will chose a topic I find interesting or confusingfor each of my office hours, if no one has specific questions, I will review that topic for thehour. You are also welcome to call or email me with questions; I can promise to respondwithin 24 hours during the week; during the weekend it may take longer.I will place my slides for each class following the period. These are NOT, however, a substi-tute for attending class. There are few captions and fewer explanatory notes, making themfairly cryptic if you missed lecture.While the textbook is a good overview of astronomy, there is a lot of free astronomy infor-mation available that you may want to check out. For a list of links to online references, seethe website. These are good places to look for additional explanations or further informationon interesting topics we do not have time to cover more fully.Class Materials For class periods, you will need writing utensils, a notebook, and scratchpaper. Calculators are provided in class but you will need access to one to finish the labs athome.ASTR 101 0 – 2 Astronomy5. Student ExpectationsNo higher level learning takes place without thought; students are expected to engage withand think critically about the material. This will be encouraged through discussions, in-classproblem solving, and group work. Students should expect to do the following class-relatedwork:• Attend class daily• Complete the daily readings and email me questions or comments about each readingsand lab• Participate in group discussions and in-class problem solving• Review a popular science article each week• Turn in labs on time• Study as necessary to keep up with what is covered in lecture• Complete each exam to the best of his or her abilityThere will often be time allotted for labs in class but unfinished work is to be completedoutside of class. I expect a lot of thought to be put into assignments and that they be conciseand clear. I expect every member of a group to participate an equal amount in labs and indata taking, even if it requires time outside of class.Use the resources available in this class to develop your skills as a scientist. The point of theclass is to learn science - not to memorize facts to pass a test! Any student who completelyfulfills these expectations should expect to pass this course.6. Class Session FormatTwo and hours and forty minutes is far too long to listen to a lecture, so that will notbe happening. Class sessions will consist of 15 minute mini-lectures, discussion, problemsolving, and a lab. Here is an outline of a typical class:• Astronomy Picture of the Day (5 minutes)• Discussion of Astronomy News OR 5 Minutes Something Interesting (5-10 minutes)• Review of Previous Lab (10 minutes)• Q &A Session (10 minutes)• A Series of Mini-lectures Separated by Problems or Discussions (45-60 minutes)• Minute Writing (5 minutes)• Break (10 minutes)• Lab (45 - 60 minutes)ASTR 101 0 – 3 Astronomy7. Assessment and GradingItem Percent of GradeLabs (14 x 2 % each) 30%ExamsMidterm 20%Final 20%ReadingsTextbook/Lab (13 x 0.5% each) 7%Science News (6 x 1% each) 6%Participation ( 1% per day) 15%7.1. LabsModern science is done using the scientific method in which hypotheses are formulated andexperiments are designed to test them by gathering and analyzing data. In this class wetry to recreate this process as much as possible, keeping in mind that science is an ongoingprocess in which the ”right” answer is something that we are always approaching but neverarriving at.During this course, you will complete 14 labs, either on your own or with one or two other stu-dents.. These labs will involve various amounts of data
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