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Astronomy 109 Spring 2020
(subject to revisions)
Astronomy 109 Spring 2020 Web Page www.physics.rutgers.edu/~croft/A109-20.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: 01-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 To Be Determined
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 21 Introduction & celestial motions 1,A1-A3
1 2 F Jan 24 Seasons and eclipses 1
2 3 T Jan 28 Ancient & Greek astronomy 2 Additional Reading
2 4 F Jan 31 Earth centered universe 2 HW1
3 5 T Feb 4 The Copernican revolution 2 Galileo?s d=at2/2 experiment and graph
3 6 F Feb 7 Kepler's Laws & Galileo's telescope 2 HW2 Galileo?s inclined plane demo
4 7 T Feb 11 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 14 Light: continuous spectra 3 HW3 Law of Inertia - moving
5 9 T Feb 18 Atoms: emission & absorption lines 4
5 10 F Feb 21 Telescopes and instruments 5 HW4 force direction (torque)/rotation
6 11 T Feb 25 Solar System: Overview & Formation 6 ang mom demo-1 ang mom demo-2 rotation demo Torque-rotation video
6 12 F Feb 28 Solar System: Overview & Formation 6 HW5
7 13 T Mar 3 The Earth: atmosphere and tides 7
7 14 F Mar 6 The Earth: interior & geology 7
8 15 T Mar 10 MIDTERM PLH 12:00-1:20 PM
8 16 F Mar 13 The Moon 8
9 Mar 14-22 Spring recess
10 17 T Mar 24 Mercury 8
10 18 F Mar 27 Venus: greenhouse effect 9 HW6
11 19 T Mar 31 Mars: geology of a mid-sized planet 10
11 20 F Apr 3 Mars continued 10 HW7
12 21 T Apr 7 Jupiter. a gaseous giant 11
12 22 F Apr 10 Jupiter's moons: mini solar system 11 HW8
13 23 T Apr 14 Saturn & its rings 12
13 24 F Apr 17 Uranus & Neptune 13 HW9
14 25 T Apr 21 Solar Syste Debris 14
14 26 F Apr 24 The Sun: our star, solar activity 16 HW10
15 27 T Apr 28 The Sun: cont. 16
15 28 F May 1 Exoplanets 15 HW11
CUMULATIVE FINAL EXAM Thurs. May 7 12-3 pm
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 available subsequently Friday and thereafter. 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