Astro 001 - The Astronomical Universe

Astro 001 The Astronomical Universe
Fall 2010, Section 002
Instructor: Dr. Christopher Palma Ofce: Phone: Email: 419 Davey Lab 865.2255 [email protected]
Date & Time: Location: Ofce Hours: Website:
TR 2:30 - 3:45 121 Sparks M 2:00 3:00, W 10:30 12:00, or by appt ANGEL https://cms.psu.edu
Course Materials: The textbook for this class is The Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals by Bennett et al. The book presents the same material, but in a different manner and in a different order than I will present the material in class. It is optional, but is certainly useful as a resource for further study outside of class. I will provide in ANGEL a list of chapters & sections that match the topics covered each week in class. You will also need a Radio Frequency Personal Response System, also called a clicker. Course description: The goals for this course are to: (1) help you understand the nature of science using astronomy as an example; (2) understand some of the big ideas in astronomy; and (3) develop an out of class interest in astronomy and current events surrounding astronomy. To meet these three goals, you need to: Skim the notes I post in ANGEL prior to each class. Attend class and participate actively in all class activities. Communicate with me or a TA if you have any questions or need any help. Please note that while there is no prerequisite for this class, you will be expected both on the homework and in the exams to be able to perform mathematical calculations. Examples will be given in class, but if you need additional help, you will have multiple opportunities to meet with me one on one or to meet with any of our astronomy teaching assistants. Academic Integrity: All Penn State University, Eberly College of Science, and Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics policies regarding academic integrity and ethical behavior will be strictly enforced during this course. These policies can be found on-line: http://www.psu.edu/ufs/policies/ http://www.science.psu.edu/academic/Integrity/Policy.htm http://www.astro.psu.edu/deptinfo/integrity.html
Determination of Grade: Midterm Exams Final Exam Homework Telescope & Spectroscopy Activities Participation in surveys and In-class activities 40% 20% 15% 15% 10%
In this course section, there will be three scheduled midterm exams, and these will be held in the Pollock Testing Center. You will be able to schedule a time to take the exam that ts your schedule on the exam date. Dates for the exams are posted on the ANGEL calendar. You are only required to take two of the three exams. If you take all three exams, your lowest grade will be dropped. Because of this policy, if you have to miss an exam unexpectedly, it will not have any effect on your nal grade. As a general rule, no makeup exams are allowed. If you know in advance that you will have to miss a midterm exam for example, for a university approved trip (e.g., athletics, research eld work), family emergency, or religious observance, you may request an exception to this rule. All requests for a makeup exam for one of these reasons must be made by email on or before the day of the exam. If a makeup exam request is granted by me, the content, style, and format of the makeup exam will be different than the normal exams and will include mostly short answer questions. No makeups will be scheduled before the exam date. Missing two or more exams without an excuse will result in an automatic failure for the course. The nal exam date, time, and location will be announced at a later date and will be listed on the ANGEL calendar. No makeup exam will be offered for the nal exam, so do not miss the nal! There will be no opportunities to take the nal exam at a different time, and in particular, no requests to take the nal early will be approved. The nal exam will not be comprehensive, it will cover a similar amount of material as one of the midterm exams. If you suspect that there is an error in the grading of your midterm or nal exam, you must notify me directly within one week of receiving your grade. No grade changes on the midterms will be considered during nals week. There will be several homework assignments during the course, and you will complete them on-line within ANGEL. These will be announced in class, and you will have one week to complete them. No late homework submissions will be accepted. Everyone will be required to complete two out of class activities, a telescope observing project and a spectroscopy project. More details on each activity are posted in our ANGEL space. Each activity can be completed in one evening. The telescope observing project requires clear weather, so plan on completing this activity early in the semester when the weather is nicer. The nal part of your grade will be assessed by your participation in our in-class clicker questions and by your completion of a pre-course and post-course survey. You will receive credit just for completing the surveys, not for the score you earn.
Course Etiquette: I expect you to be considerate during class. You are expected to turn off cell phones and other electronic devices not necessary for class before you enter the classroom. Please arrive on time, remain until the end of the class period, and notify me before class if you need to leave class early. If you are distracting your classmates or disrupting the class you will be asked to leave. "The Eberly College of Science Code of Mutual Respect and Cooperation" (see the following link: www.science.psu.edu/climate/code-of-mutual-respect-and-cooperation-1) embodies the values that we hope our faculty, staff, and students possess and will endorse to make the Eberly College of Science a place where every individual feels respected and valued, as well as challenged and rewarded. Course Outline: The list of topics that we will try to cover and their order is listed below. The list is tentative and is likely to change over the course of the semester. We may not cover them all, but we are going to try! Part I Astronomy as a science The Celestial Sphere Seasons / Moon Phases Light & Matter The Sun Earth Moon System Solar System Planets Asteroids / Comets / KBOs Gravity & Orbits Part II Types of Stars Star Clusters Light part 2 Star Formation Planet Formation Extrasolar Planets Stellar Evolution Stellar Remnants Black Holes Part III The Milky Way Galaxy Normal Galaxies Galaxy Environments Active Galaxies & Quasars Expansion of the Universe Telescopes / Detectors Dark Matter & Dark Energy Fate of the Universe The Big Bang Life in the Universe

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Astro 001 The Astronomical Universe

Fall 2010, Section 002

Date & Time: Location: Ofce Hours: Website:

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