ASTRONOMY 5 – FALL 2009

GENERAL SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

 

Week

#

Week

Beginning

Lecture Topics and Activities

Textbook

Reading*

Homework**

3rd Hr

Exercise

CPS

Quiz

1

8/31

Enrollment Check, Introduction and Objectives

Overview of Astronomy and the Universe

Distance and Time Scales, Our Place in the Cosmos

Chapter 1

Assignment 0

No Due Date

PT

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2

9/7

Monday Holiday

Planetarium Sky Demonstrations – Terminology and Motions

Seasons, Precession, Moon Phases, Eclipses

Ancient Mysteries – Retrograde Motion and Stellar Parallax

Chapter 2

Assignment 1

Due 09/11

A***

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3

9/14

Early History and the Geocentric Models, Ptolemy

Origins of Modern Astronomy – Copernicus, Brahe, and Kepler

Galileo – Nature of Science, Observations, and Inertia and Motion

Chapter 3

Assignment 2

Due 09/18

B

AA

4

9/21

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, Force and Acceleration

Conservation Laws, Momentum and Energy

Law of Universal Gravitation, Orbits and Tides

Chapter 4

Assignment 3

Due 09/25

C

BB

5

9/28

Properties of Light, Waves & Photons, Electromagnetic Spectrum

Properties of Matter, Atomic Structure, Phase Changes

Atoms and Spectra, The Stefan-Boltzmann and Wien Laws

Doppler Shift, Radial Velocity and Rotation

Chapter 5

Assignment 4

Due 10/2

D

CC

6

10/5

Telescopes – Refractors & Reflectors, Interferometers

Light Gathering, Angular Resolution, Magnification

Observations at Nonvisible Wavelengths, Instrumentation

Atmospheric Effects – Light Pollution, Twinkling, Windows

Chapter 6

Assignment 5

Due 10/9

E

DD

7

10/12

Physical Characteristics and Processes of the Sun

Sunspots, Solar Activity Cycle, and the Sun-Earth Connection

Chapter 14

Assignment 6

Due 10/16

F

EE

8

10/19

Properties of Stars – Luminosity, Temperature, Mass, Radius

Magnitude System, Parallax, and Binary Star Systems

Stellar Classifications and the HR Diagram

Globular and Open Star Clusters, Stellar Birth and Aging

Take-Home Midterm Available (Part 1)

Chapter 15

Assignment 7

Due 10/23

G

FF


ASTRONOMY 5 - SPRING 2009

GENERAL SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

(continued)

Week

#

Week

Beginning

Lecture Topics and Activities

Textbook

Reading†

Homework††

3rd Hr

Exercise

CPS

Quiz

9

10/26

The Interstellar Medium and Star-Forming Clouds

Stellar Formation Processes, Protostars, Disks, Jets and Winds

Life Tracks and the Masses of Newborn Stars

Evolution and Death of Low-Mass Stars

In-Class Midterm (Part 2) in Third Hour (Bring Scantron 882)

Extra Credit (first 10 pts) – Due 10/30 by 12:00 Noon

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Take-Home

Midterm

(Part 1-50 pts)

Due 10/30

In-Class

Midterm

(Part 2 – 50 pts)

GG

10

11/2

Evolution and Death of High-Mass Stars

White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes

Accretion Disks, Novae, Supernovae, Creation of the Elements

Pulsars, X-Ray Binaries and Bursters, Gamma-Ray Bursts

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Assignment 8

Due 11/6

H

HH

11

11/9

Friday Holiday

The Milky Way Galaxy – Characteristics, Dynamics, Populations

Galactic Recycling, Star-Forming Regions, The Spiral Arms

History of the Milky Way, The Galactic Center

Chapter 19

Assignment 9

Due 11/13

I

II

12

11/16

Galaxy Types – Spirals, Ellipticals, and Irregulars

Galaxy Distances and Standard Candles, Cepheid Variables

Hubble Law, Universal Expansion, and the Lookback Time

Chapter 20

Assignment 10

Due 11/20

J

JJ

13

11/23

Thursday, Friday Holiday

Galactic Evolution, Collisions, and Starbursts

Quasars and Other Active Galaxies, Supermassive Black Holes

Quasars as Probes of the Intergalactic Medium

Chapter 21

Assignment 11

Due 11/27

K†††

KK

14

11/30

Dark Matter and Dark Energy – Evidence and “Composition”

The Large Scale Structure of the Universe

Fate of the Universe – Expand Forever or Big Crunch?

Chapter 22

Assignment 12

Due 12/4

L

LL

15

12/7

The Big Bang and the Universe’s Early Evolution

Observational Evidence & the Need for Inflation, Olbers’ Paradox

Chapter 23

Assignment 13

Due 12/11

M

MM

16

12/14

Final Exam (110 pts, 3 parts – see Final Exam Outline)

      and Sky Quiz (30 pts)

Balance of Extra Credit Due 12/18 by 12:00 Noon

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Final

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