ASTRONOMY 10 – 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

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, Force and Acceleration

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Assignment 2

Due 09/18

B

AA

4

9/21

Conservation Laws, Momentum and Energy

Law of Universal Gravitation, Orbits and Tides

Properties of Light, The Stefan-Boltzmann and Wien Laws

Atoms and Spectra, the Doppler Shift, Atmospheric Absorption

Chapter 4

Chapter 5*

Assignment 3

Due 09/25

C

BB

5

9/28

Structure and Dynamics of the Solar System

Clues to the Formation of the Solar System

Physical Processes and the Creation of the Planets

Other Planetary Systems

Chapter 6

Assignment 4

Due 10/2

D

CC

6

10/5

The Earth – A Comparative Planetology Approach

The Moon – Physical Characteristics and Origin

Terrestrial Planets – Mercury, Venus and Mars

Chapter 7

Assignment 5

Due 10/9

E

DD

7

10/12

Overview of the Outer Planets – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

The Jovian Moons and Ring Systems

Chapter 8

Assignment 6

Due 10/16

F

EE

8

10/19

Solar System Debris – Asteroids, Meteoroids, Comets

Pluto, Dwarf Planets, and the Kuiper Belt

Cosmic Collisions and Consequences

Take-Home Midterm Available (Part 1)

Chapter 9

Assignment 7

Due 10/23

G

FF


ASTRONOMY 10 - FALL 2009

GENERAL SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES

(continued)

Week

#

Week

Beginning

Lecture Topics and Activities

Textbook

Reading†

Homework††

3rd Hr

Exercise

CPS

Quiz

9

10/26

Physical Characteristics and Processes of the Sun

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

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

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

Chapter 10

Take-Home

Midterm

(Part 1-50 pts)

Due 10/30

In-Class

Midterm

(Part 2 – 50 pts)

GG

10

11/2

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

Chapter 11

Assignment 8

Due 11/6

H

HH

11

11/9

Fri Holiday

Theories of Stellar Formation, Evolution, and Death

Low-Mass vs High-Mass Stars, Creation of the Elements

Chapter 12

Assignment 9

Due 11/13

I

II

12

11/16

White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes

Accretion Disks, Novae, Supernovae

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

Chapter 13

Assignment 10

Due 11/20

J

JJ

13

11/23

Thurs, Fri Holiday

The Milky Way Galaxy – Characteristics and Dynamics

Galactic Recycling, Star-Forming Regions, The Spiral Arms

History of the Milky Way, The Galactic Center

Chapter 14

Assignment 11

Due 11/27

K†††

KK

14

11/30

Galaxy Types – Spirals, Ellipticals, and Irregulars

Galaxy Distances and Standard Candles, Cepheid Variables

Hubble Law, Universal Expansion, and the Lookback Time

Galactic Evolution, Collisions, and Starbursts

Quasars and Other Active Galaxies, Supermassive Black Holes

Chapter 15

Assignment 12

Due 12/4

L

LL

15

12/7

Dark Matter and Dark Energy – Evidence and “Composition”

The Large Scale Structure of the Universe

The Big Bang and the Evolution of the Universe

Observational Evidence & the Need for Inflation, Olbers’ Paradox

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

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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