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PHY 110: Astronomy and Cosmology

Stars and Galaxies

 

Fall 2008

Prof. Matilsky's Website • Astronomy at Rutgers • Department of Physics & Astronomy • Rutgers University

Last updated November 17, 2008

1. At First Glance

Instructor

Prof. Terry Matilsky; Office hours: Wednesday 9:50 am to 11:10 am (Period 2) and by appointment.

 

 

Class Hours and Venue

Wednesdays, Period 3 (11:30 am-12:50 pm),
Friday, Period 4 (1:10-2:30 pm)
Scott Hall Room 123

Homework Deadline

11:59 pm each Wednesday.

Exams

Midterm Exam: Friday, October 17th.
Final Exam: Thursday, December 18th, 8-11 AM.
Make-up: Monday, December 15th, 12-3 PM.

 

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2. Course Description

This course describes the structure and evolution of stars, the properties of galaxies and clusters of galaxies, and the past, present and future of the Universe. There are no college-level prerequisites, but typical high school algebra and science preparation are assumed. The companion course, PHY109, covers the historical foundations of astronomy, the tools and techniques used by modern astronomers, the planets, moons, and minor bodies of our solar system, and the processes by which they formed. The two courses are independent; if you wish to take both, they can be taken in either order or concurrently.

Note that this course is intended for non-science majors. Students with college-level math and science credits should consider taking PHY341 and/or PHY342, instead. Those courses cover much of the same material as PHY110 and PHY109, but at a more advanced level.

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3. Instructor

This is the official website of Section 1 of PHY110. The instructor for this course and section (and the author of this website) is:

Prof. Terry Matilsky
Room 304
Physics and Astronomy Building (Serin Labs), Busch Campus
Phone: (732)-445-3876

In addition to my regularly scheduled office hours, I am available to offer help and answer questions for a few minutes just before, or just after, each lecture. You can also make an appointment to see me at times other than my scheduled office hour.

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4. Office Hours

My office hour is Wednesday period 2 (9:50-11:10). During that time, I can be found at the above location.

I prefer not to provide individual help with course material by email. However, questions on logistics, etc, can be sent to me at:

matilsky@physics.rutgers.edu

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5. Lecture Schedule

The lecture schedule is posted below, along with the relevant material from the textbook.

and links to the lecture notes. Notes for each lecture will generally be posted by noon on the day that the lecture is given. To download the notes, you will be prompted for a username and a password; the username is PHY110 (capital letters), and the password will be given in class.

Downloading the notes from the web is not a substitute for attending class: the material is discussed in much more detail in class than it is in the notes. In addition, animations and movies, which are sometimes shown in class, are not included in the notes. Several questions on the exams will be based on these videos and movies.

LECTURE

DATE

TOPICS

MATERIAL

NOTES

1

Sep 3
(Wed.)

INTRODUCTION.
COURSE OVERVIEW AND GOALS.

 

individual slides

all slides

2

Sep 5
(Fr.)

CELESTIAL SPHERE, MOTIONS AND CYCLES

Chapters 1,2

individual slides

all slides

3

Sep 10
(Wed.)

ECLIPSES AND THE MOON

Chapter 3

no new slides....

4

Sep 12
(Fr.)

ORBITS AND GRAVITY

Chapter 4

individual slides

all slides

5

Sep 17
(Wed.)

GRAVITY

Chapter 4

individual slides

all slides

6

Sep 19
(Fr.)

LIGHT

Chapter 5

individual slides

all slides

7

Sep 24
(Wed.)

TELESCOPES

Chapter 6

individual slides

all slides

8

Sep 26
(Fr.)

THE SUN

Chapter 16

individual slides

all slides

9

Oct 1
(Wed.)

OBSERVING THE STARS

Chapter 17

individual slides

all slides

10

Oct 3
(Fr.)

OBSERVIING THE STARS

Chapter 17

individual slides

all slides

11

Oct 8
(Wed.)

STAR FORMATION

Chapter 18

individual slides

all slides

12

Oct 10
(Fr.)

STELLAR EVOLUTION

Chapter 19

individual slides

all slides

13

Oct 15
(Wed.)

STELLAR EXPLOSIONS

Chapter 20

individual slides

all slides

 

Oct 17
(Fr.)

Midterm Exam

 

14

Oct 22
(Wed.)

NEUTRON STARS

Chapter 21

individual slides

all slides

15

Oct 24
(Fr.)

BLACK HOLES

Chapter 22

individual slides

all slides

16

Oct 29
(Wed.)

THE MILKY WAY

Chapter 23

individual slides

all slides

17

Oct 31
(Fr.)

THE MILKY WAY

Chapter 23

individual slides

all slides

18

Nov 5
(Wed.)

NORMAL GALAXIES

Chapter 24

individual slides

all slides

19

Nov 7
(Fr.)

ACTIVE GALAXIES

Chapter 25

individual slides

all slides

20

Nov 12
(Wed.)

STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE

Chapter 26

individual slides

all slides

21

Nov 14
(Fr.)

COSMOLOGY

Chapter 26

individual slides

all slides

       22

Nov 19
(Wed.)

COSMOLOGY.

Chapter 27

individual slides

all slides

       23

Nov 21
(Fri.)

COSMOLOGY.

Chapter 27

no new slides....

 

Nov 26
(Wed.)

No Lecture

 

 

Nov 28
(Fri.)

No Lecture: Thanksgiving Recess

 

24

Dec 3
(Wed.)

LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE.

Chapter 28

individual slides

all slides

25

Dec 5
(Fr.)

LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE.

Chapter 28

individual slides

all slides

26

Dec 10
(Wed.)

END OF SEMESTER REVIEW

All Chapters

individual slides

all slides

 

Dec 18
(Thurs.)

Final Exam (8 am.)

 

 

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6. Homework Assignments

Homework will be assigned on weekly intervals, using the on-line WebAssign system. A description of WebAssign may be found here.

Homework questions will be drawn from both material covered in lectures and material in the relevant chapter(s) of the course textbook. You are expected to have done the appropriate readings and familiarized yourself with the material covered in class.

Deadlines: Assignments will be due at 11:59 PM. on Wednesday every week, beginning September 17th and ending on December 10th. Assignments will be graded and returned via WebAssign immediately after the due date.

IMPORTANT: because homeworks are handled by a computerized system, it is impossible to accept homeworks after the 11:59pm deadline. No exceptions can be made, no matter what the reason for the delay is. You are therefore strongly encouraged to submit your homework well in advance of the deadline.

Homework Scores: There will be twelve homework assignments. However, only your ten best homework scores will count towards your grade for the course.

Completing the homework assignments is essential is you wish to get a good grade in the course, for three reasons:

  1. Homework counts for 40% of the final grade for the course.
  2. It is easier to get a higher score in the homework than in the exams.
  3. Doing the homework will prepare you for the exams: many of the exam questions will test the material covered in the homework.

Homework

Assigned
6:00pm on Thursday

Due
11:59pm on Wednesday

1

09/11/2008

09/17/2008

2

09/18/2008

09/24/2008

3

09/25/2008

10/01/2008

4

10/02/2008

10/08/2008

5

10/09/2008

10/15/2008

6

10/16/2008

10/22/2008

7

10/23/2008

10/29/2008

8

10/30/2008

11/05/2008

9

11/06/2008

11/12/2008

10

11/13/2008

11/19/2008

11

11/20/2008

11/26/2008

12

12/04/2008

12/10/2008

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7. Examinations

There will be one mid-term exam, held on October 17th, during the regular class period. The final exam will be on December 18th at 8 am.. Note: this is scheduled by the University, so don't blame me! Both the final exam and make-up ARE CUMULATIVE! The make-up exam will be given on December 15th, for both the midterm and the final exam. This will be the same exam for either missed test; i.e. if you missed the mid-term exam, you will take an exam that covers ALL the material. Note also that if you missed the mid-term exam, you will be required to take BOTH exams, one of which will count for your mid-term grade, the other of which will count for your final exam grade.

Only those people who are unable to attend the regular exams because of a class conflict, a medical/family emergency (which must be documented, for instance by a doctor's note), or other serious and unforeseen event (which must be documented) will be allowed to take the make-up exam.

Both exams (midterm and final) will be multiple choice, computer graded, and closed book. Calculators are not required, though you may bring one to the exam if you wish.

The midterm exam will be based on the material found in Lectures 1-13 (inclusive) and Chapters 1-6, and 16-20 (inclusive).

In preparing for the first midterm, you may wish to practice on the midterm from a previous year.

In preparing for the final exam, you may wish to practice on the final from a previous year.

And once again, the final exam will be cumulative ( Life is cumulative.)

IMPORTANT: During the midterm and final exams, you will be asked to present the appropriate identification: i.e., a valid Rutgers student ID card. Students lacking the appropriate identification may not be allowed to take the exam!

IF YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE THE MAKE-UP, YOU MUST  HAVE A VALID CONFLICT AND GET PERMISSION FROM ME PRIOR TO THE END OF CLASS ON DECEMBER 10TH!!!!

 Date

Mid-term Exam

 Location

October 17 (Friday)

1:10-2:30 pm (i.e. standard class time)

SC-123

 

Final Exam

 

December 18th (Thursday)

8:00 - 11:00 am

SC-123

 

Mid-term and Final Exam (Make-up)

 

December 15th (Monday)

12:00 – 3:00 pm

SEC-211

 

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8. Grades

The course grade will be determined by your overall score out of 500, which is made up as follows:

Mid-term exam:

Up to 100 points

Final exam:

Up to 200 points

Homework:

Up to 200 points

NOTE: the cumulative homework score (out of 200 points) is given by the sum of your ten best homework scores (each of your homework assignments will be graded out of 20 points).

Note that the maximum score that can be obtained from the mid-term and the final exam is 300. Therefore it is impossible to get a good overall grade without a good homework score.

An approximate guide in calculating your final letter grade from the above system, the following table shows the conversion used in previous years. Note, however, that this conversion should be viewed only as an rough guide, and the final grades will be determined only after all scores exam and homework scores are available.

A

85% to 100%

B+

80% to 85%

B

70% to 80%

C+

65% to 70%

C

50% to 65%

D

40% to 50%

F

0% to 40%

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9. Other Texts

There are many other good textbooks available for introductory courses on astronomy and cosmology. You may want to consult some of these other books from time to time. I recommend:

  1. The Universe Revealed, by Chris Impey and William K. Hartmann. Published by Brooks/Cole.
  2. Astronomy: Journey to the Cosmic Frontier, by John D. Fix. Published by McGraw Hill.
  3. Astronomy: From the Earth to the Universe, by Jay M. Pasachoff. Published by Brooks/Cole.
  4. Foundations of Astronomy: by Michael A. Seeds. Published by Brooks/Cole.
  5. Astronomy Today, by Chaisson and McMillan. Published by Prentice Hall.

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10. How to Succeed in this Course

  • Read the appropriate text sections before each class so that you get the maximum benefit from the lectures.
    • Attend all lectures and come prepared with questions on the material.
  • After reading the material, try several of the sample questions at the end of each chapter of the text and check your answers against the solutions in the back of the book.
  • Do all of the homework assignments!
    • Do not wait until the last minute to submit your solutions with WebAssign.
  • If you have any questions/concerns about the material or content, talk to me during office hours or immediately before or after the lectures.
  • In preparing for the examinations, work through the past exams .
    • Be sure you understand how the answers are derived. Do not memorize answers!
    • Do not wait until the last minute to start preparing.
    • Do not skip questions you cannot do. See me instead. 

 

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11. Students with Disabilities

Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability, you are urged to speak to the course supervisor early in the semester to make the necessary arrangements to support a successful learning experience. Also, you must arrange for the course supervisor to receive a letter from your College's Disabilities Coordinator verifying that you have a disability. A list of the College Coordinators can be found here.

 

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Background image: Byakko, the white tiger of the West (Autumn), one of the talismanic animals that marked the four seasons and cardinal directions in Japanese astronomy.