Course Syllabus

Syllabus for spr 2013 PHS207-02 & -S2.docx

PHS 207-01   Astronomy -- Salem State University --- Spring 2013  Dr. Frank Nigh x6236 email: fnigh@salemstate.edu

Classroom MH 542:    Monday 6 – 8:30 pm         Final Exam (in MH542) :  Monday, May 6, 2013 6 – 8:30 pm            

Office(MH 419, Physics Prep Room. If the door is not open, just knock):  Monday 4 – 5:30 pm or by appointment 

 Course Description:

Introduction to modern astronomy topics for the enthusiastic novice are: the life cycles of stars from nebulae to novae and dwarfs; the structure of the galaxies and universes; current theories of cosmology; the origin and the evolution of our solar system; the search for extra-solar planets; the search of extraterrestrial life, and space travel; techniques and technologies for making for making these discoveries; and identification of stars, constellations, and Messier objects with periodic visual observations in the telescope in Collins Observatory and through binoculars.

 Course Goals: “What do we know? How do we know? What are the present research fields?”These three astronomy questions form the basis of our gradually more intensive study of the universe.

 In WHAT we examine what we can see in the sky first without optical aids and consider the atmospherically, geographically, and seasonally limitations to develop a map of our night sky through prescribed constellations.  We also learn the definitions and applications of astronomical terms before delving into the specific physics and chemistry of the universe and evolutionary theories of the universe.

 In HOW we consider how what we know occurs through study and application of Newton’s laws, gravity, fission, fusion, different forms of radiation that we can detect, special and general relativity, and the Big Bang theory. Thus scientists and amateur astronomers have assumed and have no evidence to contract the assumption that these same theories and laws apply through the universe.

 In RESEARCH by analyzing websites and reading and discussing journal articles by scientists and amateur astronomers, we learn about the universe, Earth, and our solar system through increasingly more sensitive and sophisticated instruments. Thus we will be able to study websites and scholarly articles with a general understanding of terms and figure out unfamiliar ones.

 Course Objectives:

The student will be assessed through class discussion, home work, quizzes, exams, and observatory observations to: (The student will be able to do are noted in this font.)

--- identify specific constellations to locate portions of our night sky (look into a clear night sky and in few minutes determine the season and roughly her/his present location and the time and know where to locate phenomenon described in the media and scientific journals).

--- demonstrate a knowledge of how an optical, a radio, other frequency, ground and orbiting telescopes work including the characteristics (advantages and disadvantages) and the advances made using digitized data and computer analysis (understand the contribution of the telescope and other instruments to our accepted understanding of the universe and explain it to a curious inquirer).

--- describe how the Sun produces energy and what kinds of energy, the life cycles of stars (especially our Sun), the formation and properties of stars, their radiation properties and classification (know the dangers of looking into the sun especially during an eclipse, differentiate between fission and fusion energy, with a spectrometer identify chemical elements of a star and a planet and its distance from us).

--- solve simplified astronomical problems with Newton’s laws, gravity, fission and fusion reactions, special and general relativity using high school arithmetic, geometric, and algebraic skills (to develop a plausible explanation for an observation of the night sky).

--- describe our understanding of galaxies, clusters, nebulae, novae, supernovae, and black holes, and dwarfs, their formation, classification, and their apparent motion, and the structure of the Milky Way (describe the Big Bang theory and effects of gravity and fusion on the development of the Universe)

--- explain the apparent motion in our Solar System, the Earth, Sun, Moon, and Planets (understand planetary and orbital motion and the forces and the complexity involved to explain in general terms to a curious but unknowledgeable listener)

--- describe the formation of asteroids, meteors, comets, and planets (relate that to the evolution of the Earth and its life forms)

--- explore satellites, human space travel and life on other planets (understand the requirements for life as we know it and the limitations and possibilities of human space travel).

 Course Requirements: Mathematical (in part from University of Oregon Astronomy 101 website): :

In this course will be working with large numbers and simple linear and inverse square equations. Any problems may require you to do simple algebra. You need NOT be proficient, but you need to be familiar with the skills listed below. Most state high school graduation standards require proficiency in:

• apply arithmetic operations with fractions and integers with a calculator
• use exponents and scientific notation
• use the correct order of arithmetic operations
• correctly perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division that includes variables
• understand exponents, roots and their properties solve linear equations
• solve simple problems through the use of geometric construction
• are able to convert between decimal approximations and fractions
• understand relative magnitude
• know how to make and use estimations
• know the definition of a mathematical expression (a statement using numbers and symbols to represent mathematical ideas and real world situations)
• understand the appropriate uses of such symbols (e.g., equal signs, parentheses and superscript)
• understand and use data represented in various ways (e.g., charts, tables, plots and graphs)

 Methods of Instruction:

The course is taught with informal discussion/presentations by the instructor and interactive.. Presentations will incorporate websites, PowerPoint, CMAP, GoToMeeting, and other web based tools.

To a successful student  you need to complete the daily reading assignment BEFORE class to participate in class dialogue and correctly complete daily quizzes that may begin or during class.

        Methods of Evaluation:Grades are determined by a total of 100 points and follow the Salem State grading scale.

      Exam 1                                                                                                15%

      Exam 2                                                                                                15%

      Exam 3                                                                                                15%

      Final Exam                                                                                           20%

      Quizzes on homework*, reading material, and class discussions         20%

      Collins Observatory Observations                                                       15%

Weather permitting we will conclude all classes with the last 30 minutes in the Collins Observatory. With inclement weather we will work with Stellarium^tm in the class. There will be one afternoon observation of the Sun for approximately one hour. That date to be determined.

There are likely to be daily class quizzes. The three lowest quiz scores will be dropped.         

 *Homework (will be assigned, discussed, in some instances collected and graded as a quiz, and incorporated into the quiz score.)

 CONDITIONS: If a student scores poorly on Exam 1, Exam 2, or Exam 3 but has an 85% or better class attendance and participation AND has an 80% or better score on the quizzes, the Final Exam can replace the score for one of the Exams. (The three lowest quiz scores will be dropped in determining the 80% for condition of the replacing an earlier exam grade with the final exam one.) In other words, if a student is performing well in the rest of the course but not so well on an earlier exam(s), that student’s final exam grade can be 35 points of the grade rather than 15 points.

 All EXAMS and QUIZZES are NOT open book but a student is allowed one (8 ½” x 11”) sheet of paper for notes on both sides.  Calculators are acceptable, but sharing a calculator is not.

 To receive any credit for an answer to an exam or quiz question, a sufficient explanation, written and/or equations, must be shown to determine the your answer. 

 A Textbook, Numerous websites & Web-based Interactives 

Primary text for vocabulary and concepts:

Astronomy : a self-teaching guideby Dinah L. Moché 7^th ed. John Wiley & Sons 2009

 Class Attendance and Schedule:

Class attendance will be noted. No classes will be repeated. The schedule may change as the course progressed.

Class/Date	Lesson/Topic	Activities/ Descriptions	Assignments/ Objectives
	I. Starry Sky - Basics of Celestial Motion & Star Identification		Moché Chapter 1
#01 Mon Jan 14	Celestial Sphere	Celestial sphere NAAP simulations & animations B. NAAP labs:	How to find your way around the sky    Declination    Ascension
	B.Constellations & Stellariumtm (Virtual sky on your PC)	Brightest stars (in each season) & Constellations are like road markers	What we can & can’t see.
	C.Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Skyserver or SDSS/SS	Accumulation on the Web of world-world academic and amateur investigations and results
#02 Mon Jan 28	D.Enhanced Sky Sensing		Moché Chapter 2
	Telescopes    How we see what is in the sky.	NAAP   Telescope simulator	Telescopes of different types & focal arrangements Powers of a telescope   Light gathering power   Resolving power   Spectrographs
	Satellites		Gamma, X-ray, IR, UV, & Optical
#03 Mon Feb 4	D.The Sun		Moché Chapter 4
	1. Features   (it is our first example of a star and shows how one typical star functions.)	I. Spectra generated by     Nuclear fusion II.  Motions of the Sun Overview               1. Ecliptic           2. Seasons           3. Hours of daylight              a. Solar              b. Sidereal day       B. NAAP simulator	NAAP   Sun & Solar energy   Nuclear energy    Thermal  transport   Hydrostatic equilibrium   Sunspots   Differential rotation   Charged particles in magnetic fields
	2. Monitoring	Sun Strata    Photosphere    Chromosphere
#04 Mon Feb 11	1st Exam	Basic Celestial Motion, Our viewing, the Sun, & Star Identification	Moché ch. 1, 2, & 4 & class presentations
#05 Mon Feb 25	II. Stars		Moché ch. 3
	A.Luminosity & Spectra	Star characteristics/signatures in luminosity and spectra Atoms, Spectra, & Stellar Spectroscopy (from UR -University of Rochester, NY)	NAAP           EM Module      Spectrum Explorer      Three Views of Spectrum    Blackbody curves & UBV filters
	B. Determining the distance to stars	Measuring distance              with parallax                   Arc-minute                   Arc-second                   Parsec Stellar Parallax fm U of R Cephid Variable star photometry	Doppler shift & proper motion
#6 Mon Mar 4	Stellar Evolution		Moché ch. 5
	Birth of stars	Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram NAAP H-R Diagram Explorer Star creating sequence  1st generation star  2nd generation star  3rd generation star
	Nebulae
	Death of stars	Death Neutron stars, Novae, black holes	H-R evolution tracks: core stages, planetary nebulae, supernovae, end states of stars.
#7  Mon Mar 18	2nd Exam	Stars & Stellar Evolution as observe it in spectra, luminosity, distance, & lifetime (birth through death)	Moché ch. 3 & 5
	III. Galaxies, the Universe, & Cosmology
#8 Mon Mar 25	Our Milky Way	Milky Way Shape, Size, composition Star nursery, Black holes, & WM rotational velocity	Moché ch.6 Characteristics of halo and disks, rotation curves,spiral arms, & variable stars
	Other Galaxies	Types of galaxies and their characteristics, the Hubble Tuning Fork Diagram, galactic evolution, active galaxies, & quasars
#9 Mon Apr 01	The Universe	Ballooning universe	Moché ch. 7
	Cosmology	The Big Bang, Characteristics of the expansion, & the Hubble Constant
#10 Mon Apr 8	3nd Exam	Galaxies, the Universe, & Cosmology
	IV. Solar System
#11 Mon Apr 22	Planetary motion and evolution	Planet formation temperature plot    Solar system properties    Planetary orbit simulation.    Kepler’s Laws	Moché ch. 8 Planetary configurations
	Terrestrial Planets	Orbits of planets, characteristics ot terrestrial and jovian ones,	Moché ch. 9 Developing a planet characteristic table Periods of rotation & revolution, evolution, retention of planetary atmospheres, & cratering rate
	Gaseous or Jovian Planets	Gaseous “frost line”	Class Action Jovian planets & their moons
	Our Moon	NAAP   Lunar phase simulations   Lunar phase vocabulary   Moon phases & the Horizon	ClassAction Lunar Phases, eclipses, synchronous rotation, and tides
	Comets, Meteors, & Asteroids  – Other bodies orbiting our solar system	NAAP Meteors, meteorites, asteroids, comets, Kuiper Belt	ClassAction
#12 Mon Apr 29	V. Life in Other Worlds	Life requirements & searching for exoplanets	NAAP  Circumstellar Habitable Zone simulations.     Exsolar planets
	VI. Space Travel	Less than 60 years
#13 Mon May 6	FINAL EXAM	Exam will be on the whole course with emphasis on the final four units: Solar System, Life, & Space Travel

 

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1.  All students are expected to be familiar with the academic regulations, including those regarding Academic Integrity, for Salem State University as published in the college catalog.  In addition, each student is responsible for completing all course requirements and for keeping up with all that goes on in the course (whether or not the student is present).  

 2.  Salem State University is committed to providing equal access to the educational experience for all students in compliance with Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act and The Americans with Disabilities Act and to providing all reasonable academic accommodations, aids and adjustments. Any student who has a documented disability requiring an accommodation, aid or adjustment should speak with the instructor immediately. Students with Disabilities who have not previously done so should provide documentation to and schedule an appointment with the Office for Students with Disabilities and obtain appropriate services. 


 3.   In the event of a university declared critical emergency, Salem State University reserves the right to alter this course plan. Students should refer to salemstate.edu for further information and updates. The course attendance policy stays in effect until there is a university declared critical emergency. In the event of an emergency, please refer to the alternative educational plans for this course located at/in [faculty member determines this]. Students should review the plans and gather all required materials before an emergency is declared. THE END