Astronomy 1010: Survey of Astronomy University of Toledo Department of Physics and Astronomy
Information Kathy Shan Office: MH 4008 Phone: 530 2226 Email: kathy.shan@utoledo.edu Email is the best way to contact me Office hours: Tuesday/Thursday 11:00-12:00 4:00-5:15 Or by appointment
Information Students need to purchase a clicker for this class Bring to class daily Personal code on back of clicker
Information To register your clicker with this course Send email to kw@zoomchute.com In the subject line of the email, separated by semicolons, exactly as shown: A1010; clicker code; Last name; first name; course section;; Example: A1010; ABC123; Shan; Kathy; 001;; Or A1010; ABC123; Shan; Kathy; 005;; There should be no body to the email Your course section is either 001 (9:30 am class) or 005 (2 pm class)
Information Deadline for clicker registration is January 14, 2011. Correct registration by deadline is graded (5 points or 0 points)
Information You are required to have access to Mastering Astronomy At www.masteringastronomy.com Check this website several times per week for assignments
Instructions for accessing Mastering Astronomy Go to www.masteringastrononomy.com Click on students in the register box If you have a Student Access Kit, click on Yes, I have an access code. and then click continue If you are buying access online, click on No, I need to purchase access online now. and then click continue. On the next page, click on I Accept to accept the privacy policy and license agreement
Instructions for accessing Mastering Astronomy If you are buying access to Mastering Astronomy online, please be sure to choose the correct textbook access. This is the textbook that corresponds with the University of Toledo edition of The Essential Cosmic Perspective
Instructions for accessing Mastering Astronomy You will be asked if you have a Pearson Education account Check the appropriate mark and follow instructions for creating a username and password Enter your access code from your Student Access Kit Click Next
Instructions for accessing Mastering Astronomy Fill in account information and click Next
Instructions for accessing Mastering Astronomy Click on Log in Now under Mastering Astronomy
Course Access in Mastering Astronomy Once you have logged in to Mastering Astronomy, you need to join a course. The Course ID for Astronomy 1010 is Astro1010Sec001 (for the 9:30 am section) Astro1010Sec005 (for the 2:00 pm section) Your Student ID for this course is your clicker number, on the back of your clicker. Click Save and then OK to go to the course homepage From here, you have access to online tutorials and study guides and you can complete assignments.
Class Policies Planetarium and Observing (10% of grade) Planetarium visits and observing are a required component of this course This is a departmental requirement of all Astronomy 1010 students Planetarium packets containing tickets to planetarium activities will be available in class One ticket for an in-class planetarium experience One ticket for a regularly scheduled evening planetarium show Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons One ticket for an evening of observing at the Brooks Observatory
Class Organization Planetarium and Observing For each planetarium visit, students are required to write a one page summary of the event Summary should be typed and include information about what you did and what you learned during the planetarium show This is due one week after the date of attendance
Class Organization Planetarium and Observing For each evening of observing, students are required to complete an observing log in addition to the typed summary Observing log is available as a pdf file on the class website astro1.panet.utoledo.edu/~kshan/astro1010/index.html The observing schedule will be posted on the class website as soon as it becomes available
Class Organization Lecture (10% of grade) Daily clicker quiz At the beginning of class Based on reading for that day or from previous lectures Graded for correctness Begins January 18 Frequent discussion questions With the clicker system Discuss in small groups Graded for participation Lecture Tutorials Written assignments Work on/discuss in small groups Graded for participation Has bearing on homework, quizzes, and exams
Class Organization Homework and Quizzes (15% of grade) Each week one or two homework assignments will be posted on Mastering Astronomy There will also be a weekly quiz posted on Mastering Astronomy These are to be completed outside of class and submitted by the due date posted and graded for correctness, unless otherwise noted
Class Organization Exams 3 midterm exams Multiple choice Due to time constraints, all topics in the textbook will not be covered in lecture. However, any topics in the textbook, lecture, homework, and quizzes are fair game for exams Total 45% of grade
Class Organization Final Exam Cumulative Multiple Choice Section 001 May 4, 8:00-10:00 am, MH 1005 Section 005 May 7, 12:30-2:30 pm, MH 1005
Class Policies Participation is required for this course Students will be expected to participate in all group activities Students will be expected to bring all required materials (clickers, Lecture Tutorials) to every class Laptop computers, ipads, netbooks, or other devices will not be allowed during class-time. Any exceptions need to be cleared with the instructor ahead of time Please turn off all cell phones before you enter the classroom
Class Policies Make-up exams will not be given except in accordance with the University of Toledo s missed class policy (outlined in the syllabus) Make-up for in class activities will not be provided at all no exceptions
Class Policies Please sign and return the last page of your syllabus indicating that you have read and understand the class policies.
Goals of the Course Help you develop A basic understanding of the central ideas of astronomy An appreciation for the role of astronomy in shaping the consciousness of the world in the past, at present, and what the future holds A real world perspective for how astronomy is connected to your daily lives The skills and motivation to pursue life long learning and become a valuable member of the workforce and society
CHAPTER 1: OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE
What is our place in the universe Our cosmic address
Scale of the Universe The numbers in astronomy are so large, and small, that astronomers use scientific notation 10 0 = 1 10 1 = 10 10 2 = 100 10 3 = 1000 5.8 x 10 3 = 5800 10 4 = 10,000 7.2 x 10 4 = 74,000 For small numbers 10-1 = 0.1 10-2 = 0.01 3.1 x 10-2 = 0.031 10-3 = 0.001 9.5 x 10-3 = 0.0095
Scale of the Universe Astronomical distances and sizes are very, very large. So astronomers use different units Astronomical Unit (AU) Average distance between the Sun and the Earth 93,000,000 miles 150,000,000 km = 1.5 x 10 8 km Light Year (LY) Distance light travels in one year 9.46 x 10 12 km 63,000 AU = 6.3 x 10 4 AU 0.307 parsecs (pc)
The Scale of the Solar System On a 1 to 10 billion scale The sun is the size of a large grapefruit Earth is the size of the tip of a ball point pen, 15 meters away Where would the nearest star to the Sun (Alpha Centauri another grapefruit) be?
How big is the universe The universe in powers of 10:
How big is the Milky Way Galaxy? The Milky Way has about 100 billion stars On the same 10 billion to 1 scale
How big is the universe? The Milky Way is one of about 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe 10 11 stars per galaxy x 10 11 galaxies = 10 22 stars It has as many stars as grains of (dry) sand on all of Earth s beaches
At the scale of the size of a planet or moon we describe things in terms of kilometers (km)
At the scale of the Solar System distances are described in terms of the Astronomical Unit or AU (average distance from Earth to the Sun).
At the scale of the Milky Way Galaxy distances are described in terms of Light-years which is the distance light travels in one year.
Thousands of km Astronomical Unit A few to about 1,000 Light-years 10,000 to 100,000 Light-years Millions of Light-years Billions of Light-years
How do human lifetimes compare to the age of the universe? The Cosmic Calendar Compress the history of the universe into 1 year