|
|
ASTR-214 is a 4-credit lecture/lab course, with 3 hours per week of lecture and a 2-hour laboratory session each week. It serves as an introduction to astronomy for science majors. Topics include, but are not limited to, sky and planetary motions, solar system bodies, the Sun, stellar properties and evolution, star systems, cluster, interstellar matter, Galactic Structure, external galaxies, and cosmology.
To be successful in ASTR 214 requires significant focus and maturity. Given the breadth of the course (the entire Universe!), we will not have time to cover all the material during lecture for every topic. Instead, we will focus on the most critical and challenging material. Each student is expecte to read all assigned material, including topics not discussed in class. General Astronomy includes the study of the nature of light; our Sun as a star; the birth, life and death of stars (including red giants, white dwarfs, black holes, and exploding stars known as supernovae); groups of stars known as galaxies; active galaxies such as quasars and radio galaxies; and the birth, life, and end of the entire universe. Throughout history, we human beings have sought to understand the nature of the universe and the physical principles that govern it. Our understanding of the physical universe is gained through a scientific study of nature.
It is important that students take responsibility for their education. Ask questions, both inside and outside the classroom. Discuss the material with friends and classmates how this course relates to the real world. Manage your time and do not cram for exams. The student and professor make a team, you both want to learn the material and earn a good grade. Click here to view a brief essay on how to achieve academic success.
The final grades will be determined from 500 possible points.
Your grade for the course will be determined by your ultimate point total in comparison with the rest of the class.
Course Component |
Points |
| laboratory assignments | 100 |
| best five of six tests, each worth 50 pts | 250 |
| final project | 75 |
| homework & in-class assignments | 75 |
Your grade for the course will be determined by your ultimate point total in comparison with the rest of the class.
All work turned in for a grade must be your own. No credit will be given for work that is not demonstrably your own.
I expect prompt and regular attendance. Lectures will largely follow the order of the book, though lecture content may differ somewhat from the text. Material presented in lecture takes precedence over the text. Students are advised to keep their notes up to date and to read the text as an accompaniment to their notes. Missed classes should be covered by obtaining notes from other students. In addition, there will occasionally be unscheduled activities distributed for completion during the same class period and counting toward your final grade.
You must be sure to attend all tests and the final exam at the scheduled times. If you are unable to take an exam with the rest of the class you must notify the instructor before the regularly scheduled exam time. The only makeup exams allowed after the class takes the test will be for students with a verified excuse of illness or extraordinary crisis. A missed exam will otherwise be scored as a zero.
I consider myself to be open and accessible to my students. You are always welcome to drop by my office to seek advice, discuss your progress, or ask questions. The schedule of my regular office hours is posted outside my office door. If my door is open and I am around, I will do my best to make time to speak with you whenever you visit. Anyone who finds that my regular office hours do not match their schedule can make an appointment at our mutual convenience.
The ASTR 214 lab component is integrated into the lecture. With the TCCW rooftop observatory unavailable this semester, we will make use of astronomical data obtained from other telescopes. Any uncompleted labs must be completed out of class, on your own time, and are due by the start of that week's Friday lecture.
week of: |
Monday afternoon laboratory topic |
| 24 Aug | not scheduled |
| 31 Aug | [5 pts] Hardin Planetarium: celestial sphere and coordinates |
| 07 Sep | [10 pts] spectroscopy |
| 14 Sep | [5 pts] interaction between light and matter |
| 21 Sep | [5 pts] nebular theory for solar system formation |
| 28 Sep | [10 pts] Light Curve and Spectroscopy for Binary Star |
| 05 Oct | [5 pts] Relativity |
| 12 Oct | [10 pts] Solar Cycle |
| 19 Oct | [10 pts] Stellar Spectral Classification |
| 26 Oct | [10 pts] Supernova Remnant |
| 02 Nov | [10 pts] Distance to Nearby Galaxy |
| 09 Nov | [10 pts] Hubble's Distance-Redshift Relationship |
| 16 Nov | [10 pts] Large Scale Structure |
| 04 Dec | virtual meeting via Zoom |
The questions will be primarily short answer or multiple choice, but will contain some quantitative problems.
A required component of this class incorporates our textbook's online component, known as MasteringAstronomy. There is a cost associated with access to this website. Students purchasing a new text will find a pasteboard inclusion that contains an access code to allow registration on MasteringAstronomy. An alternative way to pay for access to the site is to use a credit card through a secure online transaction. Students will irretrievably lose the opportunity to earn points if access to MasteringAstronomy is not accomplished by the start of the second week of class.
To access MasteringAstronomy you will need the following CourseID to sign into our online portal: .
There is a two week trial period before payment is due, so every student should register for MastringAstronomy, associate with our course, and complete the Introduction assignment before the first class meeting.
Assignments are set for almost every clkass meeting and will be posted online at our course site in MasteringAstronomy. Some of these assignments will only be available during the course meeting times. Other assignments will be assigned with at least a week's notice and must completed out of class.
Your gradebook will be kept on MasteringAstronomy, in addition to the regular (not quite daily) online assignments.
Students with disabilities who require accomodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Office for Student Disability Service, (270) 745-5004 V/TDD. Do not request accomodations directly from the professor without a letter from the office of Student Disability Services.
A weekly schedule of the material to be presented. Students should read the
appropriate pages from the textbook before that week's lectures.
Week of: |
Lecture Topic: |
Readings: |
Due Dates / Tests: |
| Aug 24 | 5-min per chapter tour of Universe, scaling | 1.1-2, 2.1, 2.4 | . |
| Aug 31 | lookback time, properties of light | 1.2-3, 5.1-2 | . |
| Sep 07 | astrophysics | 5.3-4, 4.1-4, 6.3-4 | . |
| Sep 14 | patterns in the solar system | 8.1-3 | Test #1 on Wednesday (Chs 1 - 6) |
| Sep 21 | atmospheres, climate catastrophes | 10.1-6, 11.2, 13.1-4 | . |
| Sep 28 | planets around other stars | Test #2 on Friday (Chs 7 - 13) | |
| Oct 05 | relativity, particle physics, quantum effects in astronomy | S2.1-4, S3.1-6, S4.1-4 | . |
| Oct 12 | our star, properties of stars | 14.1-3, 15.1-3 | Test #3 on Monday (Chs S2, S3, S4) |
| Oct 19 | birth and lives of stars, stellar corpses | 16.1-3, 17.1-4, 18.1-4 | . |
| Oct 26 | Milky Way Galaxy, its history & other galaxies | 19.1-4, 20.1 | Test #4 on Friday (Chs 14 - 18) |
| Nov 02 | Cosmic Distance Scale, galaxy evolution, AGN | 20.2-3, 21.1-3 | . |
| Nov 09 | Big Bang | 22.1-4 | Test #5 on Wednesday (Chs 19 - 21) |
| Nov 16 | Dark Matter, Dark Energy | 23.1-4 | Test #6 on Friday (Chs 22 - 23) |
| Nov 23 | no classes during week of Thanksgiving | . | . |
| Dec 03 | virtual class meetings: life beyond Earth | 24.1-5 | . |
| Dec 11 | Final Exam Week | . | present Final Projects, 10:30-12:30 on Friday 11 Dec |
Return to Richard Gelderman's homepage.
