Astronomy 115: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmos Instructor Dr. Hillary Stephens Phone (253) 964-6540 office Office RAI 471* E-mail hstephens@pierce.ctc.edu Meeting Times M-Th: 11 12:15 pm in RAI 35 Office Hours * M, W: 3-4 pm T, Th: 12:30-1:30 pm F: 12-1 pm *I may occasionally hold office hours after class in the classroom on T & Th. On M,W,F I may hold office hours in my other classroom R467 please check there if I am not in my office. I enjoy teaching and I enjoy talking with you too! If you have questions or just want to explore and idea do not hesitate to see me. Text: Lecture Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy, 3 rd Edition, by Prather, et al. The Cosmic Perspective w/mastering Astronomy, 7 th ed, (Vol 2 or Complete) by Bennet et al Resources: Lectures, Resources and Grades are posted on Canvas: pierce.instructure.com Online Homework is done through Mastering Astronomy: Materials: www.masteringastronomy.com Course ID STEPHENSASTR115S15 1 package of 3x5 note cards Description: During this class we set off on a voyage that will take us from our home planet, Earth, to the farthest reaches of the known universe! On this adventure we will explore how stars are born, live and die, our own and distant galaxies and the structure and birth of the universe. We will do this from the inquisitive perspective of a scientist through laboratory exercises and historical accounts, Course Content: A. Introduction to the cosmos B. History of astronomy, the space programs, and the tools of astronomy C. Atoms, gravity, motion, time, and light D. Properties and evolution of stars E. Milky Way and other galaxies F. Cosmology and the origins of the universe Class Structure: As part of this class you are expected to be part of an active learning community. We will explore concepts and problem solving strategies as a class and you are expected to fully participate. This includes coming to class prepared; thoughtfully reading the assignment ahead of time, bringing any questions you have to class and being prepared to share them and having your textbook ready as a reference. Be prepared to question, discuss, explain and THINK! Page 1
Grades: Warm-up Questions* 10% In-Class/Lab Activities* 30% Online Homework* 20% Project 10% Exams* 30% % Decimal 98.8 4.0 92.5 3.5 86.3 3.0 80 2.5 % Decimal 73.8 2.0 67.5 1.5 61.3 1.0 57.5 0.7 *Lowest Score Drop Policy: Everyone has a rough day, gets sick, a family emergency or that wedding that they just can t miss every now and then. For this reason the lowest score(s) in the marked categories is(are) dropped. Your lowest TWO In-Class/Lab Activities will be dropped, lowest FOUR Warm Ups and lowest ONE homework. For the Exams category this includes the Final. If your lowest exam score is the final (which is typically worth twice as much as a Mid-Term Exam) then it will be equally weighted with the other exams instead of twice as much. Example1: StudentA was the maid of honor in her best friend s wedding and missed Exam 3.. Her exam grade is calculated using the following weights: Exam 1 (7.5%) + Exam 2 (7.5%) + Final (15%) = Total (30%) Example 2: StudentB s lowest exam score was on the Final. His exam grade is calculated using the following weights: Exam 1(7.5%) + Exam 2(7.5%) + Exam 3 (7.5%) + Final (7.5%)= Total (30%) Absolutely no late work will be accepted. Make-up Labs, Exams, Warm-Up Questions, or In-class activities will not be allowed. Any person or persons caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive a *hard* zero for the assignment (meaning it cannot count as your lowest score to be dropped) on the first offense, on the second offense you will automatically fail the course. Disciplinary action according to college policies will be taken. Please refer to the Student Code of Conduct: http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/about/policy/studentrr Warm-up Questions: The beginning of every class will start with warm-up questions (1-3 brief questions) on the previous day s material. Half-points will be awarded for simply showing-up on time and answering the questions (This is in effect a way of taking attendance). The other half of the points are awarded for correct answers to the warm-up questions. Answers are given on 3x5 cards. Too sick to come to class? That s ok your lowest FOUR Warm-Up Question scores will be dropped from your final grade calculation. (But make sure you ask a fellow student what you missed). In-class/Lab Activities: We will frequently have in-class activities to help facilitate learning the material. These activities may include (but are not limited to) group work, guided practice, minilabs and tutorials. Some of these activities may be graded and some may not, but you are expected to fully participate in all activities. I may assign follow-up work to in-class activities as homework which will be due the next class day at the beginning of class. We will also spend time practicing science through laboratory exercises. Project: You will complete a project and make a presentation to the class on an astronomy topic. Details of the assignment will be available the second week of class. Page 2
Online Homework: At the core of astronomy (and all science) is problem solving. Homework problems are assigned via Mastering Astronomy, the online homework system that comes with your textbook so that you may practice problem solving. One of the biggest benefits for you to use online homework is that you get immediate feedback about whether or not you ve solved a problem correctly. Another benefit is that you will have an unlimited number of tries to get the correct answer. Homework is due online every week on at 11:59 pm Exams: Exams will be 75 minutes (except for the final which will be 2 hours) in length. One 3x5 handwritten note card is allowed on exams and two for the final. Exams will be a combination of multiple-choice, short answer and problem solving. There are 4 units which correspond to 3 exams and a final. Each exam will have content from the preceding unit, however since topics in astronomy build upon previous topics, knowledge of all previous material will be assumed. The final will be cumulative with emphasis on Unit 4. Extra Credit: Occasionally, I may offer extra credit. If I do, it will be an opportunity available for the entire class, but I reserve the right to be tricky about it. Pay attention during class, check the course website daily for opportunities. I encourage you to take part in it! CLASSROOM CONDUCT In general you are expected to be a responsible adult and will be treated as one. Anyone not acting like a responsible adult will be asked to leave class and come back when they are ready to act appropriately. Please come speak with me during office hours or by appointment if you have any issues, questions, comments or concerns. Laptop computers & tablets are not allowed. Cell phones are not allowed out during class unless they are being used as a tool approved by me. ACCESS AND DISABILITIES Your experience in this class is important to me, and it is the policy and practice of Pierce College to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you experience barriers based on disability, please seek a meeting with the Access and Disability Services (ADS) manager to discuss and address them. If you have already established accommodations with the ADS manager, please bring your approved accommodations (green sheet) to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. ADS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you and the ADS manager, and I am available to help facilitate them in this class. If you have not yet established services through ADS, but have a temporary or permanent disability that requires accommodations (this can include but not be limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are encouraged to contact ADS at 253-964-6526 (Fort Steilacoom) or 253-840-8335 (Puyallup). Page 3
*Tentative* Course Schedule: Day Date Topic Reading Due in class, Tutorials/Labs/Project/etc Due Online Unit 1: Our View 30-Mar- Introductions, Our place in Space (Science Dome) Chapter 1 31-Mar- Celestial Sphere, Star Charts (Science Dome) 2.1 Syllabus Quiz 1-Apr- What's in the Box Position, Star Charts 2-Apr- Motion, Retrograde Planets(Science Dome) 2.4 What's in the Box Lab HW1-6-Apr- The Copernican Revolution 3.1-3.5 Motion 7-Apr- 8-Apr- 9-Apr- Ecliptic & Seasonal Stars (Science Dome) 2.2 Kepler's Laws 4.1-4.5 Seasonal Stars How far away is that? Kepler's 2nd & 3rd Law HW2-13-Apr- Unit 1 Exam Parallax & Distance, The Parsec, Project Part 1 -Apr- 15-Apr- Unit 2: The Message of Starlight Electromagnetic Spectrum 5.1-5.2 How hot is that? 5.3-5.4 Electromagnetic Spectrum 16-Apr- Spectra: Elemental Fingerprints Blackbody Radiation HW3-20-Apr- Spectra Lab Types of Spectra & Light and Atoms 21-Apr- 22-Apr- Doppler Shift & Telescopes - part 1 Spectra Lab Telescopes 6.1-6.4 Doppler Shift Page 4
23-Apr- Measuring Stellar Properties 15.1 Telescopes and Earth's Astmosphere HW4-27-Apr- Unit 2 Exam Apparent & Absolute Magnitude, Project Part 2 Unit 3: Stars 28-Apr- Library Day - MEET IN LIBRARY 29-Apr- Our Star-The Sun & Fusion.1-.2 30-Apr- 4-May- The Sun Earth Connection Surveying the Stars 15.2-15.3.3 Sun Size HW5-5-May- Secret Lives of Stars (Science Dome) H-R Diagram 6-May- The Interstellar Medium & Star Birth 16.1-16.3 7-May- Life of a Low Mass Star 17.1-17.2 Star Formation and Lifetimes HW6-11- May- Life of a High Mass Star 17.3 12- May- Bizzare Binaries & the Stellar Graveyard 17.4, 18.1-18.4 Stellar Evolution 13- May- Space and Time S2 - May- Space and Time and Gravity, Black Holes (Science Dome) S3 Black Hole Video Questions HW7-18- May- Unit 3 Exam Project Part 3 Unit 4: To Infinity and Beyond 19- May- Home Sweet Home: Milky Way (Science Dome) 19.1-19.4 20- May- Galaxy Zoo Lab Milky Way Scales 21- May- 25- May- Galaxy Classification 20.1 Galaxy Zoo Lab NO CLASS HW8- Page 5
26- May- Galaxy Evolution 21.1-21.3 Looking at Distant Objects 27- May- 28- May- Hubble's Law 20.2-20.3 Expansion of the Universe Lab Hubble's Law HW9-1-Jun- The Big Bang, Nucleosynthesis Lab 22.1-22.4 Making Sense of the Universe and Expansion, Expansion of the Universe Lab 2-Jun- 3-Jun- 4-Jun- 8-Jun- 9-Jun- 10-Jun- Dark Matter 23.1-23.3 Nucleosynthesis Lab The Fate of the Universe 23.4 Dark Matter Astrobiology 24 HW 10 Project Presentation Day Review Day Project Part 4 FINAL EXAM: Cummulative, Emphasis on Unit 4, 12-2 pm Page 6