"Stars and Galaxies and Beyond"
Instructor: Dr. Ran "Ron" Sivron
Email:rsivron@bucknell.edu; Phone: 577-3767; web: www.eg.bucknell.edu/physics/rsivron
Official office hours: (Olin 174) M 3-4:52, R 10:30-11:52
Class times (Olin Science 268): MWF 1-1:52 pm
Astronomy Labs (Olin Science 269): one of these: TR 1-3:52 pm (instructor: Ron). WF 2-4:52 (instructor: Prof. Ned Ladd).
Observation (Evening) Labs: The Bucknell Observatory, MTWRF 7:00-10:00 (Not all of them, don’t worry… See notes below).
Required Texts: J.M. Pasachoff: Astronomy: From the Earth
to the Universe (FEU) + Red Shift 2 CD-ROM, T.Ferris: The Whole
Shebang! (TWS)
Introduction: This course is an introduction to the wonderful worlds of astronomy and cosmology, but it is much more than that. Astronomy and cosmology teach us how to think. Most disciplines, from chemistry to political science and from ecology to economics, use the methods that were developed by astronomers and physicists.
Astronomy uses systematic observations of objects in the universe to explain how these objects work. These "objects" include gas clouds in empty space, stars, extra-solar planets, brown dwarfs, red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, novae, super-nova remnants, galaxies, quasars, gamma ray bursts, and much more. By figuring out how to look at these objects humans invented and improved many practical fields of science. Careful inspection and analysis of those unbelievable observations taught us what made those objects "tick." Similar types of inspection and problem solutions are used in many other fields.
Cosmologists look at the universe as a whole. Their accurate observations may give PRACTICAL answers to some of the most fundamental questions of humanity: How did the universe begin? Why is the universe expanding? What was it like in the beginning? Why did it start in the first place? Practical answers about the big-bang theory? YES! Just hang around, and you will find out more.
Yes, we will enjoy this class! You will sweat every now and then, but
I will be ready with the towels (hey, figuratively speaking, if you don’t
mind). I will be there for you to assist in any way I can, so if you need
me come to my office, approach me in the cafeteria, stop me in the corridors,
or stop me right after class. Please do not hesitate to ask about anything
under the sun (and stars)! Please be considerate with the few hours that
I have reserved for other efforts (see the schedule on the web or on my
door.)
Prerequisites: Elementary algebra, geometry and trigonometry.
I will do my best to help you refresh your memory as far as the very
little math, used in this course is concerned.
Lectures: If you want to pass this course with flying colors - come to class! There is no rule that requires you to come to class, but I have some incentives: demonstrations, discussions and challenges that you cannot learn from the books will be part of the lecture. Many exam and HW questions will relate directly to examples and demonstrations from the lecture hall. Other exam questions will be directly related to the lab. My class notes will be available on the web -- but these notes are not meant to be a replacement for your notes.
Every Wednesday of even weeks there will be an in-class for credit tutorial.
Every Friday of odd weeks there will be a 10 minutes quiz at the end of
the class. I will choose the best 4 out of 6 tutorials and the best 4 out
of 6 quizzes to count towards 10% of your grade. If you have to miss an
occasional class I suggest that you not only take the notes from a classmate,
but also email me, and come to my office to check the notes.
Afternoon Labs: Observations of stars and galaxies were always anchored in careful experiments here on earth. That is why we would like you to experiment before you figure out what’s going on (7 indoor labs and 1 outdoor lab). The handouts for the lab will be due at the end of the lab period – so read the assigned lab ahead of time! There will be questions in those handouts that you will not have the time to answer during the lab period! Also: Roughly 10% of the questions in the exam will be directly related to the labs.
I will choose the best seven out of eight labs. So if you get a perfect
score on the first seven labs you may skip the last lab, or replace a missed
observation lab. However, every lab that you missed out of the necessary
seven will lower your total grade in the class by 1/3 of a letter grade.
Observation Labs
It is funny to talk about the stars without seeing them, so we would
like you to perform some nighttime observations (3 observation labs that
may take one or more nights to complete). The labs will help you familiarize
yourself with techniques and tools necessary to do astronomy. Read the
assigned experiment ahead of time! These labs are due at the end of the
month (see calendar, www.eg.bucknell.edu/astronomy/as102-spr00/jan/jan00.html),
so that you may peak at the sky after the observation and correct mistakes
that you made during the official observations. The rule for afternoon
labs holds here too: every lab that you missed out of the necessary three
will lower your total grade in the class by 1/3 of a letter grade. You
can make up an observation lab by doing all eight afternoon labs.
HW & Writing Assignments: HW will count towards 24% of your grade. Problem solving is the cornerstone of astronomy and science, and I want you to try hard.
I advise you to talk about the assigned problems with a classmate before submitting your assignment. This is the best course of action. To learn how to collaborate is to learn how to operate in the modern world! You should not, however, look at what your classmate actually wrote in his/her final draft.
The best way to solve problems is the following: First try to solve the problems on your own (for a minimum of 20 minutes per problem!) Next, talk about the problem with a classmate. At that point you may compare notes, although its best if you try to show what you have done on blank paper or a blackboard. The HW grade will reflect on the accuracy of your science and the soundness of your reasoning.
I will choose the best 6 out of 8 HW assignments. These will count towards 25% of your grade. No late assignments are accepted, so you may miss 2 HW assignments out of 8 and still get a full grade (if you did a good job).
I have also added a new feature in Astronomy 102 as part of the HW assignments.
There will be two writing assignments. You will be asked to evaluate several
chapters in the book "The Whole Shebang" in a scientific manner. The grade
for this part will reflect on the accuracy of your science, as well as
on your professional writing capabilities. I will NOT grade your English,
but I have spoken with the writing center and they promised to help you
organize your papers. Since this is part of the HW the same rules apply.
Assessment & Exams: Roughly 50% of the grade is awarded for understanding the concepts, 50% for problem solving and up to 3% for extra effort. Exams, HW assignments, labs, and in class tutorials will include conceptual understanding and problem solving capabilities. Extra effort projects will be outlined in the class.
In all exams you may use your notes, your book and anything else (not anyone else!) that you may find helpful. Roughly three quarters of the questions in the exams will be qualitative (i.e., no calculations in them) and one quarter will be quantitative.
The rule in Bucknell is that if you miss an exam you will have to go to the assistant dean for academic affairs. If they allow you to take a make up exam, that exam will be an oral exam in my office. I am not allowed to give you a makeup exam without the approval of the dean.
The university will determine the date of the final exam in the third
week of classes.
WE ARE Wired: http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/physics/astronomy/as102-spr00. It is my opinion that a guided use of the Internet is crucial for developing your critical thinking capabilities. However, in a class of this size there is a limit to what we can do. So in this course we will have:
1. My class notes will be available on the web. (These class notes are
not meant to be a replacement for your notes. Rather, they should serve
as a reminder.) 2. Email will be used for inquiries, discussion
questions, and ALL personal problems that you may encounter. 3.Your
own web page for solutions to extra credit assignments and your own
extra credit research (I will handout material on how to set your own home
page).
Grading: Exams: (3 including the final) 51% (15,16, 20%)
Labs: 15%
HW 24%
Quizzes & Tutorials 10%
Extra credit (optional) up to 3%
Grades scale:
A 92-100 C+ 76-78
A- 89-91 C 72-75
B+ 86-88 C- 69-71
B 82-85 D+ 66-68
B- 79-81 D 60-65
Important Dates:
January 19, 2000 – First day of classes
February 16, 2000 – First Hour Exam.
March 11-19 - Spring Recess
March 29, 2000 – Second Hour Exam
May 2, 2000 – spring semester ends.
May 4-11 – Final exams period
Where you will also find my notes, assigned HW, solved exams, and more.
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Jan 19-21 |
Chap 1 |
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Jan 24 – Jan 28 |
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Jan 31 – Feb 4 |
Chap 4, 22, 23 (FEU) |
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Feb 7 – Feb 11 |
Chap 4, 26 (FEU) |
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Feb 14 – Feb 18 |
Chap 24 (FEU) |
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Feb 21 – Feb 25 Exam 1: Oct 1 |
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Feb 28 – Mar 3 |
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Evening lab #1 due, Feb 29, 5pm. |
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Mar 6 – Oct 10 (Spr. break: Mar11-19) |
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Mar 20 – Mar 24 |
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Mar 27 – Mar 31 |
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Apr 3 – Apr 7 |
Chap 33, 35 (FEU), Chap 1,4,7 (TWS) |
Evening lab#2 due, Apr 3, 5pm. |
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Apr 10 – Apr 14 |
Chap 34,36 (FEU) , chap 2 (TWS) |
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Apr 17 – Apr 21 |
Chap 36 ,37 (FEU) chap 3 (TWS) |
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Apr 24 – Apr 28 |
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May 1 – May 2 |
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