A Survey of Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe
| INSTRUCTOR: | Dr Mike Fanelli |
| EMAIL: | fanelli@unt.edu |
| PHONE: | 940 - 369 - 7653 |
| OFFICE: | EESAT Building, Room 310M |
| OFFICE HOURS: | Monday & Wednesday, 2-3 PM |
TEXT: "ASTRONOMY TODAY",
by Chaisson & McMillan, 5th edition
ATTENDANCE: I expect students to participate in the class. As a general rule, students who attend class perform better on tests than those who do not attend. I do not take roll on a regular basis, and attendance is not factored into your grade. Note that a substantial amount of material will be presented only during lectures. That material
will be included in the exams.
LABORATORY: A one-credit laboratory course, Physics 1061, is offered to complement this lecture course. Most students take
the lecture and laboratory simultaneously. You must register
separately for the lab -- you are NOT automatically registered for
the lab when you sign up for the lecture. The lab is graded separately.
CLASS WEBSITE: http://www.phys.unt.edu/~fanelli/p1060_f04.html
CONTACTING ME:
If you have questions about the course material, test policies,
grading, etc, the best method for contacting me is to send an email
query to fanelli@unt.edu
or visit during office hours. If you leave
a phone message, please state your return phone number slowly and
clearly. Email gets answered within a few days.
CLASS FORMAT:
The format for this class will be lectures and discussion accompanied
by audio/visual material (animations, videos, Internet based material).
We will cover material at a pace of approximately one
chapter per week. The list of chapters covered is given at the end of
this syllabus. I will generally follow the text, highlighting important points and
relationships. Make an attempt to read each chapter prior to class so
that you will be familiar with the material when it is discussed.
Material from the text will be supplemented by lecture notes. Please
note that the lectures are not a substitute for reading the text, nor
is just reading the text a substitute for the lectures. Animations and
videos are an essential element in an astronomy survey course. Given our
50-minute class length, we will use the Media library to view video material
a few times during the semester. I will place videos on reserve, and you can
view them individually or in small groups. Video viewing will sometimes replace
a class – details will be provided on the "News and Events" web page.
CLASS CONTENT:
Physics 1060 is the second half of a two-semester survey course covering
astronomy at an introductory level. This course describes patterns and
objects visible in the night sky, covers experimental techniques and physical
principles important in astronomy, then examines the nature and evolution
of stars, stellar systems, the gas and other matter between the stars, and the
universe overall. I will supplement the textbook with current science events
relevant to the exploration of space, and provide background on what I refer
to as the “societal” aspects of astronomy. While this course is a largely
descriptive survey, some mathematical relationships will be presented.
An important goal of any science course is learning to reason quantitatively.
ASSIGNMENTS:
The basic assignment is to read about one chapter (~20 pages) per week
and complete the questions at the end of each chapter. These questions
are designed to improve comprehension of the material and prepare you
for quizes and tests. Additional readings from web-based sources may
be assigned; the links will be provided in class. I will also assign 1-3
math problems from the list at the end of each chapter. Solutions to the math
problems will be posted on the webpage and discussed in class.
GRADING FORMAT:
Option I
Exams consist primarily of multiple choice
questions and a few calculations (answers also expressed in a multiple choice
format). Exam questions are derived from the review material at the end of
each chapter and from class notes.
FINAL LETTER GRADE SCALE:
Letter grades will be assigned by taking your accumulated total points,
dividing by 11, and applying this grade scale:
A small adjustment (i.e., a "curve") may be applied to this grade scale after the final, when I assign letter grades.
EXAM MAKE-UP POLICY:
PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY !! ,
IMPORTANT ACADEMIC DATES
PREPARATION FOR EXAMS:
Questions posed on the exams are derived from the questions at the end of each
chapter in the text. I do not emphasize memorization of definitions, rather I want
you to think about the material and understand the concepts. Exam questions will
test your understanding not your ability to memorize facts.
MATH CONTENT:
Many students register for science courses with trepidation, due to usually
exaggerated fears of the math content of the course. In this class, a small
amount of quantitative material will be included, since nature and physical laws
are often described mathematically. But there will no calculus or even algebraic
problem solving. We will cover scientific notation, ratios, and interpretation of
straightforward physical relationships.
THE ASTRONOMY ENTERPRISE:
Most of you are taking this course to meet a science requirement.
"Astronomy" should be viewed not just as a science but as an
exploration of nature-humanity's search for the nature and operating
principles of the universe in which we find ourselves. This
exploration is an ongoing enterprise; there are many unanswered
questions "out there". Some of the material in your text is already
outdated, replaced by new knowledge gained through the endeavors of
astronomers, geologists, and planetary scientists. I will emphasize
this ongoing activity during the course, highlighting the various
space missions and new Earth-based observations that promise to
continue to rewrite the textbooks for many years to come. Through
this class you will gain an appreciation of the astronomy enterprise
and follow these missions and new discoveries in the future.
Purchase EITHER the full hardback version, if you intend to take
Physics 1050 after completing this course, OR the paperback, Volume II,
"Stars and the Universe". You do NOT need both books.
The text has
a webpage that you should find useful --
Astronomy Today Fifth Edition
Your grade is based on the total points accrued from the hourly exams, the
final exam, and any extra-credit work which may be offered. Your final letter
grade is based on a total of 1000 points. All assigned reading and material
discussed in class, including audio/visual presentations, may show up in an
exam. I will call attention to any material not explicitly discussed in the
text for which you will be responsible.
To allow for some flexibility in this class, there are two grading formats –
each student can choose their format. Four hourly exams will be given plus
a comprehensive final. Each of you can choose to drop one test score — the
choice is made at the final exam. Or you choose to count all four tests.
Dropping a test score allows students who did poorly in one test or missed
the test entirely to still have a chance for a good grade. A more detailed
discussion of these grading options is located on this webpage, by clicking
on the link "Exam Information" from the main page.
Option II
The Final Exam will be comprehensive.
A: 100 - 88 ,
B: 87 - 78 ,
C: 77 - 65 ,
D: 64 - 55 ,
F: < 55
(1) If an exam date coincides with a scheduled, University-approved
activity, you may take the exam prior to the time when exams are returned
(generally one week later). You MUST notify me BEFORE
the exam to schedule a makeup.
(2) Since there is an option to drop one test, there will be
NO makeup exams for unplanned absences.
(3) A make-up exam may be permitted for a serious
illness to the student; these will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
(4) If an exam cannot be taken before graded exams are returned, it may be made
up during the study week at the end of the semester.
(5) Note that in the case of a chronic medical problem, which
affects a student’s academic work for a significant portion of a semester,
the appropriate action is to withdraw from the course. Incompletes cannot be
assigned unless the student has completed a significant portion of the work
in a class.
| Sep 8 | - | Genesis Mission Solar Wind Sample Return to Earth |
| Oct 7 | - | Scheduled launch of SWIFT, NASA’s next mission, to study gamma-ray bursts |
| Oct 27 | - | Total lunar eclipse, visible to Texans |
| Nov 17 | - | Leonid meteor shower peaks |
| Dec 25 | - | Release of Huygens Probe from Cassini |
| Dec 30 | - | Scheduled launch of Deep Impact; designed to intercept Comet Tempel 1 (7/05) |
| Jan 14 | - | Huygens Probe descends to the surface of Titan |