Syllabus | Grading | Learning Outcomes | Student Resources
| Dates | Topic | Text Reference |
|---|---|---|
Astronomy | ||
| Introduction: Overview of the Course, Syllabus, Grading Policy, Classroom Etiquette, Technological Skills | ||
| Lecture One: Introduction to Astronomy What is Astronomy? The Scale of the Universe. The History of the Universe. Spaceship Earth. | Chapter 1 | |
| Tues Aug 26th | Lecture Two: Patterns in the Sky Celestial Motion, Seasons and Earth's Tilt | Chapter 2: 2.1, 2.2 |
| Thurs Aug 28th | Lecture Three: Our Moon and Ancient Mysteries Moon Phases, Lunar Eclipses, Apparent Retrograde Motion of the Planets, Parallax | Chapter 2: 2.3, 2.4 |
| Tues Sept 2nd | Lecture Four: History of Astronomy Ancient Greece, Copernican Revolution | Chapter 3: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 |
| Thurs Sept 4th | Lecture Five: The Nature of Science Scientific Method, Limits of Science, Spotting Bad "Science" | Chapter 3: 3.4 |
| Tues Sept 9th | Lecture Six: Motion, Energy and Gravity Newton's Laws, Conservation Laws, Gravitational Force | Chapter 4: 4.1, 4.2 |
| Thurs Sept 11th | Lecture Seven: Light and Matter Spectrum, Parameters of Waves, Particle Properties, Interaction with Matter | Chapter 4: 4.3, 4.4 Chapter 5: 5.1, 5.2 |
| Tues Sept 16th | Lecture Eight: Light and Telescopes Light as Information, Thermal Radiation, Telescopes | Chapter 5: 5.3, 5.4 |
| Thurs Sept 18th | Exam One | Chapters 1 to 5 |
| Tues Sept 23rd | Lecture Nine: Tour of the Solar System Introducing Planets, Asteroids, Meteoids, and Comets | |
| Thurs Sept 25th | Lecture Ten: Earth and Venus | Chapter 7: 7.1, 7.4, 7.5 |
| Tues Sept 30th | Lecture Eleven: Mercury, Mars and the Moon | Chapter 7: 7.2, 7.3 |
| Thurs Oct 2nd | Lecture Twelve: Jovian Planets | Chapter 8 |
| Tues Oct 7th | Lecture Thirteen: Asteroids, Comets and Dwarf Planets | Chapter 9 |
| Thurs Oct 9th | Exam Two | Chapters 6 to 9 |
| Tues Oct 14th | Lecture Fourteen: Other Planetary Systems | Chapter 10 |
| Thurs Oct 16th | Lecture Fifteen: The Sun | Chapter 11 |
| Tues Oct 21st | Lecture Sixteen: Surveying the Stars | Chapter 12 |
| Thurs Oct 23rd | Lecture Seventeen: Elemental Synthesis in Stars | Chapter 13 |
| Tues Oct 28th | Lecture Eighteen: Stellar Evolution | Chapter 13 |
| Thurs Oct 30th | Lecture Nineteen: White Dwarf, Neutron Stars | Chapter 14: 14.1, 14.2 |
| Tues Nov 4th | Lecture Twenty: Black Holes | Chapter 14: 14.3, 14.4 |
| Thurs Nov 6th | Lecture Twenty-One: Our Galaxy | Chapter 15 |
| No Class Tuesday, November 11th, Vetran's Day | ||
| Thurs Nov 13th | Lecture Twenty-Two: Other Galaxies | Chapter 16 |
| Nov 14th Last Day to Drop | ||
| Tues Nov 18th | Lecture Twenty-Three: The Birth of the Universe | Chapter 17 |
| Thurs Nov 20th | Exam Three | Chapters 10 to 17 |
| Tues Nov 25th | Student Presentations | Students |
| No Class Thursday, November 27th, Thanksgiving | ||
| Tues Dec 2nd | Student Presentations | Students |
| Thurs Dec 4th | Student Presentations | Students |
| Exam Four ON BRIGHTSPACE | ||
| Tues Dec 9th | Course Review | All Chapters |
| Thurs Dec 11th | Departmental Final Exam | See List of Topics |
Departmental Policy
As part of a mandatory Physical Science & Engineering Department policy, students will be given a Department Final Exam on the last day of class at the time designated by the instructor within the section’s regularly scheduled hours. Students that are absent for the Department Final Exam for their section will receive a zero for the exam.