AY 101 Section 002: Intro To Astronomy
Spring 2012
3 Credit Hours
Primary Instructor: Dr. Ronald Buta
Core Designation: Natural Science
Syllabus subject to change.
The course is focussed on learning basic concepts in astronomy, ranging from our own solar system to stars, galaxies, and cosmology. The class will be lecture style and will feature in-class demonstrations related to the topics under discussion. Additionally, clickers will be used to allow class participation and interaction.
No knowledge of astronomy is needed as a prerequisite. This is a survey course, so there will not be many details. The course will also be mostly descriptive, with no mathematics for most topics, and a minimal amount for some topics. We are living in a golden age of astronomy where new discoveries are constantly being made. The course will describe how our view of the universe has changed over time and cover new discoveries as they occur.
Class meeting time: MWF, 10:00-10:50am, Room 227 Gallalee Hall.
The main objectives of AY101 are to give students a basic qualitative understanding of astronomy and to provide the necessary background for taking related courses (like the night lab, AY 203) if desired.
After taking AY 101 you should be able to
1) identify key concepts in the arts, sciences, and humanities to provide a broad perspective on the human condition.
2) recognize and explain the scientific method, and evaluate scientific information.
3) characterize the appearance and motion of celestial objects.
4) identify the key conceptual advances (and associated figures) in the history of astronomy.
5) understand the relationship between light, matter, and energy in an astronomical context.
6) understand how telescopes function to collect data on celestial objects and how the atmosphere affects the way we see the Universe.
7) understand the content, formation and evolution of planetary systems.
8) understand the nature and evolution of stars.
9) understand the nature and evolution of galaxies.
10) understand the nature and evolution of the Universe.
11) understand how the concepts of living organisms on Earth might be applied to life on other worlds.
The schedule is for the adopted textbook: "The Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals" by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and Voit, 1st edition.
Jan 11 - Introduction to the class
Jan 13 - Chapter 1 Review of basic concepts in astronomy
Jan 16 - NO CLASS - MLK DAY
Jan 18 - Chapter 1,2 Definition of Planets, Seasons, Celestial Sphere
Jan 20 - Chapter 2 Lunar Phases, Eclipses
Jan 23 - Chapters 2,3 Planetary Motion, Stellar Parallax, Geocentric vs. Heliocentric models
Jan 25 - Chapter 3 Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion, Gallileo's Discoveries, Newton's Law
Jan 27 - Chapter 3 Telescopes, Hallmarks of Science
Jan 30 - Chapter 4 Introduction to the Solar System,
Feb 1 - Chapter 4 Conservation Laws, Formation of the Solar System,
Feb 3 - Chapter 4 Age of the Solar System
Feb 6 - Chapter 5 Properties of Terrestrial Planets, Properties of Light
Feb 8 - EXAM 1: Chapters 1-4
Feb 10 - Chapter 5 Atmospheres, Greenhouse effect, Evolution of Terrestrial Planets
Feb 13 - Chapter 5,6 Evidence of Global Warming, Properties of Jovian Planets
Feb 15 - Chapter 6 Properties of Jovian Moons, Rings,
Feb 17 - Chapter 6 Asteroids and Comets and the Mass Extinctions
Feb 20 - Chapter 7 Introduction to Extra Solar Planets, Doppler Effect,
Feb 22 - Chapter 7 Characteristics and Theory of Extra Solar Planets
Feb 24 - Chapter 8 Introduction to the Sun, Spectroscopy,
Feb 27 - Chapter 8 Properties of Stars, Measuring Mass, Luminosity, and Surface Temperature
Feb 29 - Chapter 8 The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
Mar 2 EXAM 2: Chapters 5-8
Mar 5 - Chapter 9 Introduction to Stellar Revolution, Star Birth,
Mar 7 - Chapter 9 Main Sequence Stars, Stellar Death
Mar 9 - Chapter 9 Testing Stellar Models with Star Clusters
Mar 12 - NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK
Mar 14 - NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK
Mar 16 - NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK
Mar 19 - Chapter 10 White Dwarfs
Mar 21 - Chapter 10 Neutron Stars
Mar 23 - Chapter 10 Black Holes
Mar 26 - Chapter 11 The Milky Way Galaxy
Mar 28 - Chapter 11 External Galaxies
Mar 30- Chapter 11 Quasars
Apr 2 - Chapter 12 Measuring Distances to Galaxies
Apr 4 - EXAM 3: Chapters 9-11
Apr 6 - NO CLASS - HONORS DAY
Apr 9 - Chapter 12 Expansion of the Universe
Apr 11 - Chapter 12,13 Galaxy Evolution, The Big Bang
Apr 13 - Chapter 13 The Cosmic Background Radiation
Apr 16 - Chapter 13 Inflationary Model
Apr 18 - Chapter 14 Dark Matter
Apr 20 - Chapter 14 Large Scale Structure of the Universe
Apr 23 - Chapter 14 Dark Energy
Apr 25 - Chapter 15 Life in The Universe
Apr 27 - ALIEN DAY - Chapter 15 The Search for Intelligent Extraterrestrial Life
May 1 - FINAL EXAM, 11:30am-02:00pm, Room 227 Gallalee Hall
There will be three in-class exams as follows:
Exam 1, chapters 1-4 of text: Wednesday, February 8
Exam 2, chapters 5-8 of text: Friday, March 2
Exam 3, chapters 9-11 of text: Wednesday, April 4
The final exam will have two parts: Part 1: covering topics in Chapters 12-15, and Part 2: a comprehensive exam on Chapters 1-11.
Date of Final Exam: Tuesday, May 1, 11:30am - 02:00pm, Room 227 Gallalee Hall
All exams will be graded in a multiple choice format. For each exam there will be a study guide to provide some focus since the amount of material is so large. NOTE: NO exam scores will be dropped!
Homework and reading exercises will be assigned regularly. Late homework will have a graduated penalty. All assignments will be carried out through Mastering Astronomy. Follow the instructions in this file:
http://bama.ua.edu/~rbuta/spr12/ay101-002/instructions.doc
Regular in-class quizzes will be given almost every class period using the clickers from TurningPoint Technologies. These are required for the class and are available at the UA Supply Store (and other local bookstores) and cost $52 new and $39 used. The clicker comes with a lifetime user's license. An explanation of how these clickers are used is provided on
http://frc.ua.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2009/09/ttstudentguide.pdf
To use your clicker, you must register it for the class. This is done on the class eLearning website which you can access through mybama.ua.edu. Find the class in the eLearning section and in the left bar click on "Course Content." There you will see an icon labeled "Register Clicker Here." There is no extra charge for registering the clicker. Please have your clicker by Wednesday, January 18. The Response Device ID is the 6-digit ID under the barcode on the back of your clicker.
The receiver in Room 227 is on Channel 27. To register your responses in this room, you must change your clicker to this channel. To change channels:
- press menu
- press "yes" (down button) until "Change Channel" is highlighted
- press "Enter"
- Type "27"
- press "Enter"
- you should see "Channel Changed," "Receiver Found"
- use a similar procedure to set the clicker for "Presentation Mode": Menu--> Yes -->"Presentation" --> Enter. You should see "Presentation Mode, Channel 27". To test this, press any number key. You should see "Not accepting answers!" If you see "Sending ... No receiver on channel XX within range," then you are on the wrong channel.
Homework: 15%
In-class clicker quizzes: 10%
Exam 1: 15%
Exam 2: 15%
Exam 3: 15%
Final exam, Part 1: 15%
Final exam, Part 2: 15%
There will be no makeup homework, but if for a legitimate reason you miss an in-class exam, you must let me know no more than one class period after the test so I can schedule a timely make-up. Exams missed without explanation will be assigned a zero.
There is only one way to take this class, and that is: SERIOUSLY. Being serious means attending class on its scheduled days, and being there when the class is supposed to start and staying in the class until it is finished for the day. Late arrivals or early departures, as well as taking naps, surfing the internet, looking at iPads, etc., are disruptive practices that should be avoided. If you miss classes you will miss the in-class clicker quizzes, which is not recommended because they will be given almost every class period. However, the five lowest clicker quiz scores will be dropped to have some flexibility in this matter. Another reason for regular attendance is that the schedule of chapters is only approximate, and if you miss classes you will not be able to keep up with the topics that actually are covered.
It is expected that students will read the scheduled textbook sections BEFORE class in order to be prepared for the topics to be discussed. These sections are listed in the outline of topics.
There are no course materials needed other than the textbook, a TurningPoint Technologies clicker, and Mastering Astronomy.
Possible opportunities for extra credit will be discussed during the semester. Often, these will involve observing sessions with one of the departmental telescopes, either on top of Gallalee Hall or at Moundville Archaeological Park. Announcements of these will be made in class and through the class elearning website.
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The Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Policy will be followed in the event of academic misconduct.
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