Phys 202:  Astronomy, Fall 2007

Dr. Laura Van Wormer, x5249, 108 Gerstacker, email: vanwormerla@hiram.edu

Meeting times are unusual!!  On Mondays and Wednesdays, we will have class from 9:20-10:50 am in Colton 2 -- this is 10 minutes earlier than the usual Hiram schedule.  On Fridays, we will meet for lab from 8:50 am until 10:50 am and meet in Colton 17.  We may also schedule an evening session so that we can do some observing.  

Text: Universe: Stars and Galaxies, 3rd Ed. by Freedman and Kaufmann III

Goals and Objectives:

I have several goals for this course, some are academic and some are not. The non-academic goals that are very important to me are showing you how much fun astronomy (and physics!) can be, how fascinating it is and how much of it you can understand!  Our semester will be a mixture of lecture, group work, discussions, activities and demonstrations, and its success will depend on your participation. Questions are welcome ANY TIME. 

Some of the topics that we will investigate include the celestial sphere and our night and day sky, gravitation, light and optics, the nature an d life cycles of stars, galaxies and the origin and evolution of our universe.

In this course, you will carry out experiments including studying light and optics in which quantitative data is directly acquired.  You will acquire and analyze data from a simulated remote telescope exactly as an astronomer would who has requested telescope time.  You will make regular observations and keep an observing log.  If the weather cooperates, we will occasionally observe at our telescope -- to be recorded in your observation log.  As a consequence, you will understand how astronomical measurements are uncertain and how that limits our knowledge about such things as the distance to another galaxy or the size of the universe. 

I hope that you will understand that the physical world can be described in terms of a small set of fundamental principles which provide a conceptual framework for analyzing any physical situation, no matter how complex.

Following is how your grades will be determined (subject to change until class begins!)

30% Observation reports--Any time you are observing, record your location, the date and the times that you observe an object.  You should always note what you see, the object's location in the sky and its description, if appropriate, and whether or how it is moving.  You will probably want to keep a section of your notebook for this purpose.  Some of the following observations will go throughout the semester.  You will need to keep track of them and be able to determine how things change, in what ways and by how much so be specific.  Observing activities  

For public viewing nights and other information, check out our observatory web page:  www.stephensobservatory.org

20% Homework -- one late work homework assignment accepted, no matter what the reason -- after that, no late assignments accepted, no matter what the reason!

15% Midterm

15% Final: Tues. 20 Nov, 1-3 pm

20 % a two to three page paper and a 5-8 minute presentation.   You will be able to review an article from a science magazine (such as Scientific American, Discover etc not Time or Newsweek!) or journal (Science, Nature, The Astrophysical Journal, Astronomy and Astrophysics etc) from within the past year or respond to one of the web questions that I will identify.

The paper should consist of any background information that the reader will need to understand your topic (a good guide might be whatever questions you had to find the answers to in order to understand the subject) [a paragraph or two at most--but don't neglect it, this is an important part of the paper], a summary of the article or of what you learned from your web searching [the main part of the paper], and a conclusion which might discuss the importance of the topic to research or to the general public or perhaps your opinion on the effectiveness of your sources in conveying their information and relevance or even why you were interested in that topic. Your presentation should follow the same outline, but be given without reading it or using note cards.  You may use PowerPoint -- but cannot read from your slides!  If you choose not to use PowerPoint, other visual aids should be employed where they will help the audience's understanding.  The presentation should be between 5 and 8 minutes long.  If you have questions, you are always welcome to stop by or email. 

Note:  All written material that is turned in (papers, answers to homework questions etc) should be typed, double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font, spell checked and grammatically correct!

My expectations are that you will keep up with the reading. By that I mean, have the chapter we will be talking about read before you come to class. That will mean that I won't have to lecture as much, and therefore you won't be as bored! We can move on to doing other things.  If you want to email me with questions ahead of time, that would be awesome.  They might be about material you didn't understand in the chapter or for further information than the text provided (no promises, but I'll do my best.)