ASTRONOMY 101 - Principles of Astronomy

Spring Semester 2013

Instructor: Eric Sandquist

Office: Physics (P) Building Room 243

Office Phone: (619) 594-2694

Email: erics@mintaka.sdsu.edu

Office Hours: T 10-12 AM, W 3:30-5:30 PM; or by appointment

Prerequisites: none

Lectures:: MW 2-3:15 PM in Hepner Hall (HH) Room 130

Textbook:: Understanding Our Universe (Palen, Kay, Smith, & Blumenthal)
Reading assignments posted on the class Blackboard website: blackboard.sdsu.edu

Other:: Classroom response keypad ("i>clicker")

Exams:

Thought Questions posted at http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/faculty/erics/teach/questions.html

Mid-Term Exam #1: Monday, February 25, 2013 in class.

Mid-Term Exam #2: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 in class.

Final Exam: Monday May 13, 2013 at 1:00 PM in HH 130.

Why Take This Class?

If you have ever wondered about the planets, the Sun, the fate of the Universe, black holes, or extraterrestrial life, for example, then you have been doing something that our ancestors have been doing for thousands of years. BUT we live in a special time - one in which we can start to answer many questions.

This course can benefit you in several ways:

You will realize that your experiences on Earth can help you understand everything in the Universe - from planets to stars to galaxies to the Universe itself. Astronomy is not something for a select few to understand - you can understand too.
You will get practice in using the scientific method to understand your world. I want to encourage you to OBSERVE your surroundings and to THINK CRITICALLY about what you observe. You should realize that true understanding is not knowing a name - it is being able to frequently and correctly PREDICT.
You should realize that none of us knows everything - there are many questions left out there to answer. And in answering one question, we may often create another one!

If you take this course we will cross the Universe, trying to understand it.

Attendance and Classroom Rules

Attendance is optional. HOWEVER, there are a number of reasons for regularly attending classes.

Lectures will NOT be directly from the book. I can't and won't cover the entire book. I will try to explain important and/or difficult topics. EXAMS ARE MORE LIKELY TO COVER WHAT I CONSIDER IMPORTANT, NOT WHAT THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK CONSIDERS IMPORTANT.
In class, I will give frequent ungraded "thought questions" to give you practice in thinking about important course topics. These are also examples of the kinds of questions that will show up on exams.

To make class time useful for everyone, please follow the following rules:

If you come in late or if you know you have to leave early, sit in the back of the class. That way you will minimize distractions to me and to other students.
Don't start packing until class is over. This is very distracting, and can cause you to miss important information at the end of class. I work hard to keep the lectures within class time - don't be worried that I will lose track of what time it is.
Turn your cell phone off. In-class ringing will incur the creepy stare. You don't want that.

Grading Policy

The course grade will be based on

Class Participation (10% of grade)
Online Assignments (15% of grade)
Mid-term exams (20% and 25% of grade, respectively)
Final exam (30% of grade)

Exams: Exams are closed-book and will typically be mostly multiple-choice (25-30 questions for each midterm exam, and 50 for the final exam), a few short answers, with one or two essay questions (and usually an additional short answer section on the final). Exams MUST be taken in the class you are registered for if there is more than one section. You will be allowed to bring a single 3-by-5 card to each exam, and you will be able to write whatever you want on that card. My suggestion is that you use it to hold important ideas and definitions that you want to be sure to remember. HOWEVER, the multiple choice questions are NOT geared toward memorization of the material. More often they resemble the thought questions that I will be presenting during most lectures. THE EXAMS WILL ALSO EMPHASIZE MATERIAL FROM THE ONLINE ASSIGNMENTS (see below). The exam questions are intended to test whether you understand the material and can use it, rather than your ability to simply memorize.

The final exam will not be cumulative, but will focus on the material in the last one-third of the class. However, concepts like gravity and light that are covered earlier in the semester will appear since they are important in all areas of astronomy.

POLICY ON MAKE-UP EXAMS: In the case of missed exams, make-ups will only be considered under the direst of circumstances. It is your responsibility to see me as soon as possible to arrange the make-up exam. In cases where a make-up midterm exam is allowed, the exam will be 7 - 10 essay questions (generally about a paragraph long). 3-by-5 cards are NOT ALLOWED on make-up exams.

Class Participation: During classes, I pose thought questions related to the material we are covering, and ask students to enter answers using the i>clicker response pad. This way I get a feeling for how well the class is understanding the material, and you get some practice on questions similar to ones that will show up on the exams. You will get participation points based partly on trying to answer the questions, and partly on getting some correct. You MUST use the clicker to get participation points. I believe that it is helpful to have read about the material before coming to class, so some of the questions will be right from the reading. (I will announce reading assignments in the class before, and they will also be posted on the web at the class Blackboard website: blackboard.sdsu.edu.) You will be able to get up to 50 points in each one-third of the semester for a total of 150 points. These points will be given as follows:

2 points for a correct response to a thought question.
1 point for an incorrect response to a thought question, or any response to a survey question.
0 points will be given for clicker questions that you don't respond to.

Make-ups will not be given for missed classes.

Online Assignments

In order for you to get an idea of how astronomers learn, you are going to be asked to complete a number of tutorial assignments outside of class. These assignments will graded online, but MATERIAL FROM THE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE EMPHASIZED ON THE EXAMS.

TO BE ABLE TO DO THE ASSIGNMENTS, you need to be registered with the SmartWork website (smartwork.wwnorton.com). See the directions on the last page of the syllabus.

The assignments deal with difficult but important concepts in astronomy, and are intended to get you to focus on these topics and seriously think through a series of short questions. It is important for you to figure out for yourself when you do or don't understand something!!!

Getting Help

You are welcome to see me or email me to ask questions - my office hours are listed at the top of the syllabus, and I am usually willing to talk at other times if I am not otherwise occupied.

We also have graduate students that act as teaching assistants for the course. The TA specifically for our course is Nicholas Earl (nchlsearl@gmail.com). You can see any TA for help, but Nicholas will be sitting in on class, and will have a better idea of what has been covered. TAs have office hours in Physics-Astronomy (PA) 215 at the times shown below. (My office hours are shown also, but my office is Physics 243.)

TA Office Hours for Fall 2011

Hour	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9-10		TA
10-11		PROF	TA
11-12		OFFICE HRS	TA
12-1
1-2	TA			TA
2-3	CLASS	TA (Earl)	CLASS	TA
3-4			PROF
4-5			OFFICE HRS
5-6		TA	TA (Earl)

Observing Sessions

Mount Laguna Observatory: We will have at least one optional evening observing session during the quarter using the telescope at Mount Laguna Observatory. If the weather cooperates, you will have an opportunity to view the Moon, planets, stars, etc. Attending this session is strongly encouraged - if you haven't been out of the city to see the stars, you will be surprised how much you can see and how spectacular it is!

Due to liability issues we can only allow students that are registered in the class to attend, and every student attending will be REQUIRED to sign a liability waiver form. We haven't had any injuries yet, but it pays to be careful and aware. So:

If you are driving another student, be sure to pick them up and drop them off in safe areas and make sure they get to their destination.
The last section of the drive is on a mountain road, so pay careful attention to the road, and keep alert for fallen rocks, wildlife, or cows (occasionally...) in the roadway.
DRESS WARMLY! No matter how warm it is in San Diego, it will always be cooler up on the mountain. Bring the heaviest clothes you have. You may not need them, but at least you will have them if you do.
Carry a flashlight and watch for wildlife on the observatory grounds.
There is no food at the observatory, so please eat before you get there.
Be aware that most cell phones will not have reception at the observatory. If you run into problems at the observatory, find the professor or a TA as soon as possible.
Useful contact information:
1. SDSU Public Safety: (619)594-1991
2. Department Office: (619)594-6182
3. Eric Sandquist's office: (619)594-2694

Planetarium:SDSU also has its own (small) planetarium, and there will be optional presentations outside of class time during the first few weeks of the semester.

Course Outline

Please keep in mind that the schedule of topics is subject to change. (However, dates of exams will not be changed except under extreme circumstances.) There is a lot of material that can be covered, and it is impossible to do everything. But if you have an interest in something let me know, and I will try to work it in!

Week 1: January 23
Topics: Day and Night; Rotation of the Earth

Week 2: January 28, 30
Topics: The Seasons; Phases of the Moon; Eclipses

Week 3: February 4, 6
Topics: Constellations; Planet Motions; The Scientific Method

Week 4: February 11, 13
Topics: Earth-centered and Sun-centered Models of the Solar System; Brahe and Galileo's observations; Kepler's Laws

Week 5: February 18, 20
Topics: Newton's Laws of motion; Gravitation

Week 6: February 25, 27
Topics: MIDTERM; Light

MIDTERM EXAM #1: Monday, February 25, 2013 in class.

Week 7: March 4, 6
Topics: Blackbody Radiation; Atoms

Week 8: March 11, 13
Topics: Formation of the Solar System

Week 9: March 18, 20
Topics: The Earth and the Terrestrial Planets; Jupiter and the Jovian Planets

Week 10: March 25, 27
Topics: The Sun's Surface; How the Sun Generates Light; MIDTERM

MIDTERM EXAM #2: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 in class.

SPRING RECESS: MARCH 30 - APRIL 7

Week 11: April 8, 10
Topics: Characteristics of Stars; Star Birth; The Lengths of Star Lives

Week 12: April 15, 17
Topics: The Main Sequence; Star Death

Week 13: April 22, 24
Topics: The Milky Way; Black Holes

Week 14: April 29, May 1
Topics: Galaxies; The Big Bang; The History of the Universe

Week 15: May 6, 8
Topics: The End of the Universe; Are We Alone in the Universe?

FINAL EXAM: Monday May 13, 2013 at 1:00 PM in HH 130.

Registering for Online Assignments

TO BE ABLE TO DO THE ASSIGNMENTS, you need to be registered with the SmartWork website (smartwork.wwnorton.com).

If you bought your textbook new, a registration code in a paperboard folder will come with your book. In that case, follow the included directions for registering.
If you bought a used textbook or rented one, you will need to purchase online access. Go to books.wwnorton.com/books/buysmartwork/, choose the class textbook ("Understanding Our Universe") from the list, and "Buy" the (cheaper) single-term access with a credit card. This will give you a registration code.

In both cases, you will need to enter the registration code, a valid email address, the enrollment key ("UNDUNIV4355"), and your Red ID number for the "Student ID".

Registering your Clicker

TO BE ABLE TO GET CLASS PARTICIPATION CREDIT, you need to register your i>clicker remote online before the second week of class. The i>clicker will be used every day in class, and you are responsible for bringing your remote to class regularly. The registration directions can be found at clicker.sdsu.edu/studentFAQ.html#6.

REGISTER YOUR CLICKER THROUGH BLACKBOARD. Follow the online directions for Blackboard. The clicker may come with directions to register on the iclicker website, but do not use them.
YOUR CLICKER MAY NOT BE USED IN CLASS BY OTHER PEOPLE. This is simply dishonest, and is a violation of academic integrity. Any infractions will be referred to Academic Affairs.