ASTRONOMY – STARS AND GALAXIES
15-PHYS-121
WINTER QUARTER 2006
Instructor: Dr. Michael L. Sitko
Office: 446 Geology-Physics
Office Hours: MW @ 2-3 PM or by appointment
Phone: 556-0642
Email: 
Course Web Page: http://www.physics.uc.edu/~sitko/Winter06/winter06.htm
Textbook: Discovering the Essential Universe (2rd
ed.) – Comins
Other Materials: Calculator - calculator that can do squares, trig
functions, and preferably statistics. These can be found at many places for
$15-$20. Learn how to use it.
Special Dates
Monday January 16th
– HOLIDAY (no class)
LAST DAY TO DROP COURSE
– MARCH 1
FRIDAY MARCH 17 - FINAL
EXAM 8:00-10:00
Grades: Your quarter grade will consist of the numerical sum
of your Exam, Homework, and in-class activity scores. The 2 Mid-Term Exams and
the Final Exams will each count for 30% of your grade The combined homework and
in-class activities for a total of 10%. Grade cutoffs are as follows: 85%+ A;
70-84% B; 55-69% C; 40-54% D; <40% F. Makeup exams are usually ORAL exams,
one-on-one, in my office. Most students find these very unpleasant!
DonÕt miss an exam if at all possible.
Homework: There will be occasional homework problems assigned
during the lecture. These questions may be collected and graded.
Films: Films may be shown during the course. Students are
responsible for the material covered on the films.
Text Reading: Any material in the textbook may appear on exams. NOTE:
For any 3-credit class, students are expected to spend about
6 hours/week reading the book, studying their notes, etc. Because each section
of material builds on earlier material, it is virtually impossible to
"cram" for the exams. Don't even try to pass this course by
cramming - you will be wasting your time!
Class Notes: Class notes and other related class materials (old
exams, questions related to films, etc.) are available at my personal web site
for this class (listed above).
Goals of This Lecture Course
The goals of this course are to understand the basic
workings of stars (including our own Sun), galaxies, and the universe as a
whole. Topics will include: studying the center of the Sun from the bottom of a
mine shaft, the formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems, black
holes & worm holes, and the fate of the universe: Òfade, bounce, crunch or
rip?Ó
Approximate Schedule for Lectures and Textbook Chapters
This schedule is subject to changes and updates that
will be announced in class.
|
Approximate
Schedule |
||
|
M |
W |
F |
|
|
4 January Introduction |
6 Light (Ch. 3, Sec 1-4, 17-23) |
|
9 Light |
11 Gravity |
13 The Sun (Ch. 7) |
|
16 HOLIDAY |
18 The Sun |
20 Stars (Ch. 8) |
|
23 Stars |
25 REVIEW |
27 EXAM 1 |
|
30 The Interstellar Medium (Ch. 9) |
1 February Star Birth |
3 Mature Stars |
|
6 Star Death (Ch. 10) |
8 Star Death |
10 Relativity |
|
13 Black Holes |
15 REVIEW |
17 EXAM 2 |
|
20 The Milky Way Galaxy (Ch. 11) |
22 The Milky Way Galaxy |
24 Other Galaxies |
|
27 Other Galaxies |
1
March Active Galaxies Last Day to Withdraw |
3 Expansion of the Universe (Ch. 12) |
|
6 Cosmology The Big Bang |
8 Accelerating Universe? WMAP, The Big Rip |
10 REVIEW |
|
|
|
17 FINAL EXAM 8:00--10:00 |
A Note on Exams - Always bring Number 2 pencils and student ID card
to class on exam days. You must clear your desks of all notes, books, backpacks
etc., during the exam. You may leave the exam area when you are finished. Once
the first person has left the exam room, no one else will be allowed to enter
the room and begin the exam. There are no exceptions to this rule. If you
miss this deadline by even 5 seconds, you are out of luck and must take a
makeup exam. It is your
responsibility to be in the exam room on time.