ASTRONOMY

Syllabus

A descriptive course intended to familiarize students with the various celestial bodies and to provide an understanding of the structure and the operating principles of the universe. As part of the laboratory sessions, students will be taught to distinguish planets and stars, identify the constellations, and use a star map. The course is designed for students who need a laboratory science to complete their curriculum as well as for students who wish a science elective. There are no prerequisites. There is some math in the laboratory.

Objectives

To familiarize the student with the following concepts:

a. Newton's Laws of motion and gravitation.

b. The historical development of astronomy

c. The development of Kepler's laws and an understanding

of planetary motion

d. The celestial sphere

e. The location of constellations, planets, and stars

f. The use of star maps and coordinate systems to

locate celestial bodies

g. The solar system

h. The terrestrial and Jovian planets

I. The measurement of stellar parameters

j. Stellar evolution

k. The Hertzsprung?Russell diagram

m. Galaxies

n. Optics and the telescope

o. Measurement and uncertainties

p. Exponential arithmetic

q. Simple arithmetical operations

r. An introduction to models and paradigms and the

scientific method

Course Evaluation

1. Evaluation will be based on the following:

Examinations...................50%

Laboratory.....................25%

Homework.......................10%

Term Report....................15%

2. The lecture evaluation will consist of four seventy-minute examinations. Each examination will be scored using 100 points as the maximum score.

3. Homework will be assigned and collected at periodic announced intervals. All homework so collected will constitute 10% of the final grade.

4. Extra credit is available at the discretion of the instructor.

5. Grading scale:

100.0-90.0 A

89.0-80.0 B

79.9-70.0 C

69.9-60.0 D

59.9- 0 F

A. Attendance Policies

Attendance in lecture and laboratory classes is expected. According to the policy in the Student Handbook, each unexcused absence may reduce the final grade.

B. Academic Regulations and Policy on Attendance

Students are required to attend every class session except in cases of an emergency or illness. Students cannot make-up absences; however, permission to make-up assignments will be granted only at the instructor's discretion. Students must notify their instructor as to the reasons for an absence from class. The instructor may require such evidence as he/she sees fit to justify an absence. Unexcused absences may adversely affect a student's grade in a course. If an instructor does not appear in class within ten minutes after the scheduled starting times, representatives of the class should attempt to locate the instructor by visiting his/her office and the Office of the Vice President of Instructional Affairs. If the students cannot locate the instructor by these means, the students may consider the class session canceled.

When the number of student's absences is such that the instructor believes that the student cannot successfully complete the course in the time remaining, the instructor may drop the student from the class roll. If the student is dropped after the last day for withdrawal from a course with a "W", a grade of "F" will be recorded. If the student has registered in an audit status, a grade of "W" will be recorded.

Document Bibliography

Astronomy. Monthly

Clayton, Donald D. Principles of Stellar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983.

Coles, P. and Lucchin, F. Cosmology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995.

Danby, J. M. A. Fundamentals of Celestial Mechanics. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1962.

Fairall, Anthony. Large-Scale Structures in the Universe. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998.

Kaler, James B. Stars and Their Spectra. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Mason, Stephen F. Chemical Evolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Melosh, H. J. Editor. Origins of Planets and Life. Palo Alto, Ca: Annual Reviews, 1997.

Peterson, Ivars. Newton=s Clock: Chaos in the Solar System. New York: W. H. Freeman & Co., 1993.

Schutz, Bernard F. A First Course in General Relativity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Sky and Telescope. Sky Publishing Company. Monthly.

Szebehely, Victor G. Adventures in Celestial Mechanics. Austin, Tx: University of Texas Press, 1989.

Weedman, Daniel and Routly Paul Rae. Quasar Astronomy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986.