Section #: 596108
Class Time: MW 1:30PM - 2:55PM
Room: 7/277
Instructor: Douglas H. Laurence
Office: 7/135
Office Hours: M, T, W, R from 3:00P - 4:00P
For this course, you will be required to buy two items:
- Textbook: Astronomy Today, Volume 2: Stars and Galaxies, 9th ed., Chaisson & McMillan.
- Materials: Scantron sheets for the two exams, the midterm and the final. Must be long enough to answer 30 questions.
Further, you are expected to have a notebook (or paper of any form), a writing utensil, etc., so that you can properly take notes during the class. Feel free to record audio of the lectures to playback later; whatever helps you learn, I'm on board with it.
During the semester, we will cover the following topics:
- Introduction to Astronomy
- Stars
- Galaxies
- Cosmology & the Evolution of the Universe
Each exam will consist of roughly 30 multiple choice questions. The solutions to each exam must be recorded on Scantron sheets, so make sure you buy at least 2 for this class! The midterm will cover roughly the first half of the material, while the final exam will cover roughly the second half of the material. The final exam will not be cumulative; it will only be on material covered after the midterm.
Before each exam, there will be a review of the material. The review will consist of roughly 40 multiple choice questions that I will write, which represent the types of questions you could expect to see on the upcoming exam. The exam content will break down in the following way:
- Midterm: Chapters 1 - 5, 16 - 17
- Final: 19 - 27
At the start of every week, on a Monday unless otherwise stated, we will have a short quiz at the end of the first class. This quiz will have two multiple choice questions. Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped in the calculation of your final grade.
Tentative Course Schedule:
Updated Wednesday June 13
| WEEK | MONDAY | WEDNESDAY |
|---|---|---|
| May 14 | Ch. 1: Charting the Heavens | Ch. 2: The Copernican Revolution |
| May 21 | Ch. 2: The Copernican Revolution | Ch. 3: Radiation |
| May 28 | Memorial Day | Class Cancelled |
| June 4 | Ch. 3: Radiation / Ch. 4: Spectroscopy | Ch. 4: Spectroscopy |
| June 11 | Ch. 5: Telescopes / Ch. 16: The Sun | Ch. 16: The Sun |
| June 18 | Ch. 16: The Sun / Ch. 17: The Stars | Ch. 17: The Stars / Ch. 19: Star Formation |
| June 25 | Review for Midterm | Midterm |
| July 2 | Ch. 19: Star Formation / Ch. 20: Stellar Evolution | July 4th |
| July 9 | Ch. 21: Stellar Explosions / Ch. 22: Neutron Stars & Black Holes | Ch. 22: Neutron Stars & Black Holes |
| July 16 | Ch. 23: The Milky Way Galaxy / Ch. 24: Galaxies | Ch. 24: Galaxies / Ch. 25: Galaxies & Dark Matter |
| July 23 | Ch. 26: Cosmology | Ch. 26: Cosmology / Ch. 27: The Early Universe |
| July 30 | Ch. 27: The Early Universe | Final Exam Review |
| August 6 | Final Exam | Classes End |
Grading Scheme:
| Quizzes | 20 points |
| Project 1 | 20 points |
| Project 2 | 20 points |
| Midterm | 20 points |
| Final Exam | 20 points |
| Total | 100 points |
|---|
Grading Sale:
| Letter Grade | Points Earned |
|---|---|
| A | 85.0 - 100.0 |
| B | 75.0 - 84.9 |
| C | 65.0 - 74.9 |
| D | 55.0 - 64.9 |
| F | < 55.0 |