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Astronomy 109 Spring 2019
(subject to revisions)
Astronomy 109 Spring 2019 Web Page www.physics.rutgers.edu/~croft/A109-19.html
Instructor:Prof. Mark Croft/Serin113/848-445-8746/croft AT physics.rutgers.edu/TF noon-1:20 PM
Text: ASTRONOMY TODAY V.1:SOLAR SYSTEM 9th edition by Chaisson & McMillan Pearson [ISBN: 9780134566221]
Lectures: Tues. Fri. 12:00-1:20 PM
Office hours: 1 hour before and after every Lecture (PLH)
lecture notes are on Sakai
Note: lec-01...pdf means pdf-file of lecture number 1.
!!Announcements:
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Note: Cell phone/wireless connected devices on one's person during the tests
is an immediate honor code violation. Such devices must be turned-off and stored
out of sight in a backpack/bag.
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0] CUMULATIVE FINAL EXAM Thursday, May 9 noon-3pm PHY LH
1] Homework/Quizzes are a major part of the grade! Do not fail to do them !!
2] Lecture Notes in the lecture note directory linked above.
3] Follow space in the news and current sky charts at: Sky & Telescope
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Schedule
Wk Lect Day Date Subject Chapt. HW Due Readings & Demonstrations
1 1 T Jan 22 Introduction & celestial motions 1, A1-A3
1 2 F Jan 25 Seasons and eclipses 1
2 3 T Jan 29 Ancient & Greek astronomy 2 Additional Reading
2 4 F Feb 1 Earth centered universe 2 HW1
3 5 T Feb 5 The Copernican revolution 2 Galileo?s d=at2/2 experiment and graph
3 6 F Feb 8 Kepler's Laws & Galileo's telescope 2 HW2 Galileo?s inclined plane demo
4 7 T Feb 12 Newton: mechanics & Gravity 2 Good Hume & Ivey reference frames video
human rocket demo Force/reaction-force demo video.
wine-glass-waiters tray demo cannon recoil in movie
4 8 F Feb 15 Light: continuous spectra 3 HW3 Law of Inertia - moving
5 9 T Feb 19 Atoms: emission & absorption lines 4
5 10 F Feb 22 Telescopes and instruments 5 HW4 force direction (torque)/rotation
6 11 T Feb 26 Solar System: Overview & Formation 6 ang mom demo-1 ang mom demo-2 rotation demo Torque-rotation video
6 12 F Mar 1 Solar System: Overview & Formation 6 HW5
7 13 T Mar 5 The Earth: atmosphere and tides 7
7 14 F Mar 8 The Earth: interior & geology 7
8 15 T Mar 12 MIDTERM PLH 12:00-1:20 PM
8 16 F Mar 15 The Moon 8
9 Mar 16-24 Spring recess
10 17 T Mar 26 Mercury 8
10 18 F Mar 29 Venus: greenhouse effect 9 HW6
11 19 T Apr 2 Mars: geology of a mid-sized planet 10
11 20 F Apr 5 Mars conturd 10 HW7
12 21 T Apr 9 Jupiter. a gaseous giant 11
12 22 F Apr 12 Jupiter's moons: mini solar system 11 HW8
13 23 T Apr 16 Saturn & its rings 12
13 24 F Apr 19 Uranus & Neptune 13 HW9
14 25 T Apr 23 Solar Syste Debris 14
14 26 F Apr 26 The Sun: our star, solar activity 16 HW10
15 27 T Apr 30 The Sun: cont. 16
15 28 F May 3 Exoplanets 15 HW11
CUMULATIVE FINAL EXAM Thursday, May 9 noon-3pm PHY LH
Readings: The weekly reading assignments from the book are listed on the syllabus and should be
completed before the corresponding lectures. Additional reading assignments from the web will be in the lecture notes.
Homework: Complete Homework questions must be submitted before 12:00 noon on Date Due (see above).
Homework will be assigned in Sakai on a roughly weekly basis, and will be due before the start
of class on Friday. Assignments will consist of multiple choice questions that assess your
understanding of material covered by the previous week's lectures and assigned reading.
Solutions will be posted later on Fridays. Your one lowest homework score will be droped in
computing your semester average.
Examinations: A 80 min. Midterm; and a final (Final) 180 min. exam. The exams
are closed book.
A simple calculator (for selected problems) and a no. 2 pencil are needed for the exams.
The exams are multiple choice. The exam dates are noted on the syllabus.
Grades: The course grade will be determined by your scores on:
Homework (25%); Midterm (25%); Final (50%).
In determining your Homework grade the one lowest score will be droped.
Class Policies and Resources: click here