Professor: Jerome A. Orosz Office: P241
Phone: 594-7118 Office Hours: T Th 15:00-17:00
E-Mail: orosz@sciences.sdsu.edu [``Plain Text'' E-mails
are strongly preferred!] Appointments Available
Discovering the Essential Universe, 5th Edition, by Neil F. Comins.
http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/faculty/orosz/web/ast101_spring2013a.html
This web page will be kept up-to-date. I will also try and use Blackboard, but the updating thereof may lag a bit behind.
This course will survey various topics in modern astronomy, with the goal of understanding and appreciating the wonders of the Universe. Emphasis will be placed on understanding concepts, and not simply on memorizing astronomical jargon. We will discuss how we are able to understand the Universe through the use of the Scientific Method, and how we can often use everyday experiences here on Earth to help us understand the Universe and its contents. I want you to appreciate the difference between an objective understanding of the world based on observational data, and a subjective view of the world, based on beliefs. ``Critical thinking'' here means objective, rational, and logical thinking.
Students completing this course should be able to
The CSU takes the issue of classroom and campus safety very seriously. The office of Business and Financial Affairs has set up a web site where SDSU staff, faculty, and students can find information about San Diego State University's emergency preparedness plan and opportunities for training on many aspects of the classroom/workplace. See http://bfa.sdsu.edu/emergency/.
In particular, please note the following
SDSU Campus Safety
Classroom Safety
Note that during any emergency, students should not use their cell phones. The lines of communication are critical to keep open for emergency information. Only Staff and Faculty should keep their cell phones on, and only receive calls if the situation calls for it.
The only prerequisite is student interest; there are no college-level prerequisites required. However, some basic mathematical skills are useful, such as:
grams.
.
The use of mathematics will be kept to a minimum, and in most cases is not needed for a basic understanding of the concepts. However, in some cases a quantitative understanding is as important as a qualitative understanding. We will review the mathematical concepts as we go along.
There will be weekly reading assignments, with the associated review questions. Approximately 10 times during the semester I will assign a review question that is to be answered in written form and turned in. The homework will be due at the start of class, and will be announced one week in advance. The homework will be graded as follows: 10 points for good, 8 points for OK, 4 points for barely acceptable, 0 points for not acceptable or not turned in. Late homework (after the due date) will not be accepted. The homework score will be computed from the four highest grades, and will count for 10% of the overall course grade (40 points). Apart from ``bonus questions'' on the exams, there will be no opportunities for written extra credit.
I strongly encourage you to come to class, since you will find that it is much easier to do well in the course if you come to the lectures. Although the general outline of the course will more or less follow the textbook, some parts of the book will be emphasized more than others. Also, many lectures will contain supplemental material not found in the textbook.
To further encourage class attendance and participation, I will hand out sign-in sheets after certain lectures. The dates will not be announced in advance, and I will do this between 10 and 20 times in the semester. You can earn up to 20 points for the attendance component, based the fraction of classes attended:
| 80%--100% attendance | 20 points |
| 60%--79% attendance | 16 points |
| 40%--59% attendance | 12 points |
| 20%--39% attendance | 8 points |
| 10%--19% attendance | 4 points |
| 1%-9% attendance | 1 point |
| no attendance | 0 points |
Note there are 28 lectures this semester not counting the two days we have exams (see below). The two exam days will not be included in the attendance component.
Please note: Signing another person's name on the attendance sheets constitutes fraud. If this happens, the guilty parties will receive automatic F's for the course and will be referred to the Judicial Procedures Office.
There will be two intra-term exams. Each score will count 25% of the class grade (100 points each). The final exam will be comprehensive and will count for 35% of the grade (140 points). The homework will count for 10% of the grade (40 points), and attendance will count for 5% of the grade (20 points). The two intra-term exams are scheduled for Thursday, February 21, 2013, and Thursday, March 28, 2013. The dates of these exams will not change except under extreme circumstances. The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14, 2013, from 10:30 to 12:30 in Room SSE-1401. As per University regulations, the time of the final exam cannot be changed under any circumstances. Please review the rules regarding final exams at http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/registrar/finalexams/12_fall.html and in the 2012-2013 General Catalog, page 470. The exams will be closed-book. The exams will be typically be multiple-choice, and will also contain short-answer questions. There will also be a few more difficult ``bonus questions'' where you can earn extra points. In the case of missed exams, make-ups will only be considered under the most extreme circumstances may consist of an essay test.
Please review the definitions of letter grades and the SDSU policies regarding grades on page 467-469 of the 2012-2013 General Catalog. The final course letter grade will be based on the following scale:
| A | 90%--100% |
| A- | 85%--89% |
| B+ | 80%--84% |
| B | 75%--79% |
| B- | 70%--74% |
| C+ | 65%--69% |
| C | 60%--64% |
| C- | 50%--59% |
| D | 40%--49% |
| F | 0%--39% |
The boundaries for the grades may be lowered at the discretion of the instructor. However, the boundaries will not be raised. In some cases, I may raise your grade by up to one mark (e.g., C- to C; B+ to A-, etc.) based on such subjective criteria as my sense of your overall enthusiasm for the class and course material. This can be demonstrated in many ways, including ``class participation,'' attendance, coming to office hours, evidence of effort and dedication, and so forth. Note that giving the sense that you are an engaged listener is considered to be just as important as actively contributing to the discussion. Although our class is large, questions during lecture are encouraged--don't be afraid to put your hand up if something has confused you. Finally, note that I will never lower a grade that you have earned--your enthusiasm can only help you.
If you are taking the course with the ``credit/no-credit'' option, you need a C or above to earn the credit (see page 462 of the 2011-2012 general catalog). An incomplete grade (``I'') for the course will only be given in cases involving serious medical or legal issues. The entire responsibility for arranging to make up the lost work lies with the student.
I encourage students who need extra help to seek it. In addition to my office hours (Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 3:30 to 5:00) I am generally available in the afternoon hours. Please call or send E-mail to set up an appointment if needed. Graduate student teaching assistants will run a ``help room'' in PA 215 with hours generally between 12:00 and 17:00 Monday through Thursday. The exact schedule will be posted outside PA 215 and announced in class. There is also a graduate student teaching assistants who will attend the lectures. They will have office hours in PA 215, with the hours to be announced in class. Finally, I will hold one or two extra review sessions the week of each exam. The exact times and locations of the extra sessions will be announced one week before each exam.
This is a course where you will be given a lot of responsibility. I won't harass you about coming to class, doing the homework, etc. As a rule of thumb, you should plan on spending roughly 9 hours per week on this class (including the 2.5 hours of lectures per week). Try not to wait until the last minute to prepare for the exams. The exams will be handed back in class within one week, and I encourage you to pick these up so you can keep track of your approximate class grade (e.g. take the percentage score and use the guidelines above to convert to a letter grade). If you want a grade update, feel free to ask me.
I expect that the students will maintain a professional atmosphere and show respect to their fellow students. In particular, the following is prohibited in the classroom:
Another thing to avoid is leaving class before it is over. I will never end class late, and it is very distracting when students begin to leave with a few minutes to go (especially given the seating arrangement of the classroom). In addition, the noise makes it more difficult to hear. If you must leave early, I request that you leave more than 15 minutes before the end of the class period.
Any form of behavior deemed to be inappropriate by the instructor will not be tolerated. A student will be advised once by the instructor that his/her behavior is inappropriate. The first time this inappropriate behavior is repeated, the matter will be turned over to the University's Judicial Procedures Office for appropriate disciplinary action.
Cheating in any form, which includes plagiarism (see page 478 of the University's 2012-2013 General Catalog for a definition), is a grave offense. Cheating will not be tolerated, and evidence of cheating by a student will result in an automatic ``F'' as that student's grade. Any evidence of cheating will be promptly reported to the Judicial Procedures Office.
Week 1, January 17: Introduction to course, syllabus, Chapter 1 (Discovering the Night Sky), patterns of stars, seasons, phases of the moon.
Week 2, January 22, January 24: Introduction to course, syllabus, Chapter 1 (Discovering the Night Sky), patterns of stars, seasons, phases of the moon.
Week 3, January 29, 31: Chapter 2 (Gravitation and the Motion of the Planets), Scientific Method, A brief history of Astronomy, Kepler's and Newton's Laws, Formation of the Solar System, Comparative Planetology.
Thursday, January 31: Last Drop Day. Monday, February 4: Last Add Day.
Week 4, February 5, 7: Chapter 2, Chapter 3 (Light and Telescopes), The Nature of light, optics and telescopes, spectra.
Week 5, February 12, 14: Chapter 3 (Light and Telescopes), The Nature of light, optics and telescopes, spectra.
Week 6, February 19, 21: Review, first in-class exam February 21.
Week 7, February 26, 28: Chapter 4 (Formation of the Solar System), Chapter 5 (The Terrestrial Planets and Their Moons), Earth's atmosphere, interior, The nature of the Moon, tides, formation of the Moon.
Week 8, March 5, 7: Chapter 5, Terrestrial planets, Chapter 6 (The Outer Planets and Their Moons), Jovian planets.
Week 9, March 12, 14: Chapter 7 (Dwarf Planets and Small Solar System Bodies), Asteroids, comets, Chapter 8 (The Sun: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Star), Solar atmosphere, interior, nuclear fusion.
Week 10, March 19, 21: Chapter 9 (Characterizing Stars), Stellar distances, stellar properties.
Week 11, March 26, 28 Review, second in-class exam March 28.
Spring Break, April 1-5
Week 12, April 9, 11: Chapter 10 (The Lives of Stars), Star formation, the main sequence, star clusters.
Week 13, April 16, 18: Chapter 10 (The Lives of Stars), Star formation, the main sequence, star clusters.
Week 14, April 23, 25: Chapter 11 (The Deaths Remnants of Stars), White dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes.
Week 15, April 30, May 2: Chapter 12 (The Galaxies), The Milky Way, other galaxies, dark matter, galaxy clusters, active galaxies.
Week 16, May 7: Chapter 12 (The Galaxies), The Milky Way, other galaxies, dark matter, galaxy clusters, active galaxies. In-class review May 7.
Last day of classes, Wednesday, May 8
Final Exam: Tuesday, May 14, 2013, 10:30-12:30, SSE-1401