Astronomy 201 COSMOLOGY Professor Dr Jill Bechtold TA Mr Ken Wong Email astronomy201 at gmail com Lectures TTh 9 30 10 45am Steward Observatory N210 CLASS WEB PAGE http boojum as arizona edu jill astro201 html or see link from d2L class web site DESCRIPTION Extragalactic astronomy and cosmology are among the fastest developing fields in astronomy This course presents cosmology as a modern quantitative science It describes what we know about galaxies the large scale structure of the universe and the beginnings and evolution of the Universe PREREQUISITES No previous knowledge of astronomy is assumed Math at the High School algebra level will be used so the student should be familiar with basic algebra trigonometry and fractional powers For a review of math concepts required for the course see the class web page TEXTS and Other Readings 1 21st Century Astronomy Stars and Galaxies Third Edition by Jeff Hester Bradford Smith George Blumenthal Laura Kay Howard Voss The publisher has made a special edition for this class bundling up the book as looseleaf pages and an electronic version with various web based materials for a very low price This edition is available through the UA bookstore with the special ISBN number of ISBN 978 0 393 17870 8 Alternatively you may purchase the bound paperback version of this book or electronic version This book is a subset of a 21st Century Astronomy Full Third Edition by Hester et al If you already have the full edition you may use that instead 2 The Dancing Universe From Creation Myths to the Big Bang by Marcelo Gleiser The paperback version will come out on Oct 26 2010 and students should wait for it or get the electronic version Only the hardback is available now but we won t be needing it until mid November 3 From Eternity to Here The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time by Sean Carroll 4 Many lectures and labs will be about special topics not covered in the textbook For these lecture notes will be available through the class web page GRADES AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS There will be 3 Midterm Exams The lowest grade will be dropped There will therefore be NO MAKEUP exams If you miss more than one midterm exam you will receive a zero for the second and subsequent exams missed Communication with the instructor is encouraged let us know if you are missing class or falling behind for a valid reason and we will try to help Grading will be as follows 20 Homework and on line Quizes 10 Telescope Lab and Galaxy Zoo Project 35 Midterms 35 Final Although attendance will not be routinely taken experience shows that the A students are those who attend all classes Although we will be following the textbook don t think that reading the textbook and web page alone will be sufficient for learning the material There is significantly more information in this course than in any high school science course the lectures will enable you to synthesize and LEARN the material Technical information can often be terse and therefore is deceptively simple we may be able to state in a single sentence the topic of a particular lecture but most students will need the 90 minute explanation to understand that sentence There will be class activities for which you must attend class e g the 10 micron camera lab and for which we will not be able to schedule make ups If you have a valid reason to miss class at any time please email the professor IN ADVANCE CONTACTING THE PROFESSOR AND TA Prof Bechtold s office is in Steward Observatory Room 328 second floor phone 6216533 Mr Wong s office is in Steward Observatory Room 201G first floor phone 621 6535 Office hours are immediately after class or by appointment When not in the office we are often in email contact Arranging appointments via email is recommended bechtold at email arizona edu or kcwong at email arizona edu CONTRACTING FOR HONORS CREDIT For honors credit please contact the professor as soon as possible In addition to the requirements described above the honors contract will include an observational project using the robotic LOTIS telescope on Kitt Peak Mountain Details of the observational project requirements are described separately All work is due by the last day of class December 7 2010 ACADEMIC INTEGRITY We believe very stongly in upholding the Code of Academic Integrity as established by the Dean of Students of this University Copies of this code are available from the Dean of Students Office It states that The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student s submitted work must be the student s own Conduct prohibited by the Code consists of all forms of academic dishonesty including but not limited to cheating fabrication facilitating academic dishonesty and plagerism modifying any academic work for the purpose of obtaining additional credit after such work has been submitted and attempting to commit an act prohibited by this Code Examples of violation of the Code of Academic Integrity include having another student take an exam for you changing an answer on a scantron sheet after it has been graded and returned and claiming the machine made an error copying lab data or reports from another student allowing another student to copy your lab data or report copying lab data or reports from students in other classes or previous classes turning in work that is not your own using unauthorized notes or other aids during exams plagerizing a term paper in total or in part You are allowed to discuss assignments with other students but the written work you hand in must be your own Any violation of the code will be dealt with harshly since all violations diminish the integrity of this class as a whole and the University If you violate the code in any part of this class or lab you will receive an E for the course and your name will be submitted to the Dean of Students so that a notation will be attached to your permanent record that you cheated in this course Note that this policy is harsher than what is typical in other courses in the College of Science however the department chair and Deans have always supported my actions in cases of code violations More information on the UA academic code of conduct can be found at http deanofstudents arizona edu academicintegrity LECTURE AND EXAM SCHEDULE Lecture topics and reading assignments will be posted on the web page as we go along Key concepts for each lecture will be posted on the web page EXAMs will be on the day scheduled We have made an effort to avoid religious holidays but