Spring Quarter, 2011

• Welcome to the Web page for PHY 303 - The Universe in Ten Weeks.
• Instructional Philosophy of the Course

• CURRENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
  

  I will communicate with you frequently via your Cal Poly e-mail address, so read your e-mail regularly (at least once per day!) If you bought the optional textbook, The Cosmic Perspective: Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology, you can sign up to access the online portion of the course here. (The "Course ID" is P303S11)

• Course Syllabus
• Schedule of Activities and Assignments
  

  Class Date	Suggested on-line reading quizzes and tutorials (in green) will be helpful in mastering the material (either before or after that topic is covered in class) - found on the Mastering Astronomy website Assignments will be updated regularly so check back frequently
  Before the first class	Purchase the required text "Lecture Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy"; bring the "Lecture Tutorials" to every class Purchase student response system ("clicker") Register your "clicker" at the i>Clicker website (use your BroncoID for the student ID field). If you have difficulty, let me know (alrudolph@csupomona.edu). Bring your clicker to the first class (1 pt course grade bonus if you do!) If you purchase a new copy of the optional textbook, The Cosmic Perspective: Stars, Galaxies and Cosmology – 6th Edition, feel free to enroll online at the text website (optional). Use the Access Code that came with your text and then sign up for "Course ID" P303S11 All in-class activities are indicated in red (LT=Lecture Tutorial; RT=Ranking Task) All recommended reading assignments (in green) are optional All recommended tutorials (in blue) are from the Mastering Astronomy (MA) website
  Monday Mar. 28	I will be away; Dr. Small will be available to answer questions
  Wednesday Mar. 30	Optional reading "How to Succeed in Your Astronomy Course", pp. xxviii-xxix in the textbook Chapter 1 - Our Place in the Universe Recommended MA tutorials: Scales of the Universe Tutorial Size and Scale RT #1, 2 A1_ClassIntro_B1_Size_and_Scale.web.pdf
  Monday Apr. 4	Optional reading: Chapter 3 - The Science of Astronomy Recommended MA tutorial: Orbits & Kepler's Laws Tutorial Kepler's 2nd Law (LT, pp. 21-24) Kepler's 3rd Law (LT, pp. 25-28) C2_Kepler.web.pdf KeplerOrbitalMotion_1.pdf KeplerOrbitalMotion_2.pdf KeplerOrbitalMotion_5.pdf
  Wednesday Apr. 6	Optional reading: Chapter 4 - Making Sense of the Universe: Motion, Energy, and Gravity Recommended MA tutorial: Motion & Gravity Tutorial Newton's Law and Gravity (LT, pp. 29-32) D3_Newton.web.pdf Gravity_2.pdf Gravity_3.pdf Gravity_4.pdf
  Monday Apr. 11	Optional reading Chapter 5 - Light and Matter Recommended MA tutorial: Light & Spectroscopy Tutorial EM Spectrum (LT, pp. 45-48) Light and Atoms (LT, pp. 63-68) E4_Light_and_Matter_I.web.pdf
  Wednesday Apr. 13	No Optional Reading Recommended MA tutorial: Doppler Effect Tutorial Types of Spectra (LT, pp. 61-62) Dopper Shift (LT, pp. 63-68) F5_Light_and_Matter_II.web.pdf DopplerShift_2.pdf DopplerShift_3.pdf DopplerShift_4.pdf
  Monday Apr. 18	Midterm Exam #1 (Chaps. 1, 3, 4, 5) Optional reading: Chapter S2 - Space and Time G6_Relativity.web.pdf
  Wednesday Apr. 20	Optional reading: Chapter 6 - Telescopes Recommended MA tutorial: Telescopes Tutorial Telescope and Earth's Atmosphere (LT, pp. 49-52) H7_Telescopes.web.pdf
  Monday Apr. 25	Optional reading: Chapter 14.1-14.2 - Our Star Recommended MA tutorial: Sun Tutorial Sun Size (LT, pp. 105-108) Parsec (LT, pp. 35-38) I8_Sun_Stars_I_Lum_Dist.web.pdf
  Wednesday Apr. 27	Optional reading: Chapter 15 - Surveying the Stars Recommended MA tutorials Measuring Cosmic Distances Tutorial HR Diagram Tutorial Luminosity, Temperature, & Size (LT, pp. 53-56) Blackbody Radiation (LT, pp. 57-60) J9_Stars_II_Mass_Temp_Rad.web.pdf
  Monday May 2	Optional reading: Chapter 16 - Star Birth H-R Diagram (LT, pp. 109-110) Star Formation and Lifetimes (LT, pp. 111-112) K10_Stars_III_HR_diag_L10_Star_Formation.web.pdf Luminosity_2.pdf Luminosity_3.pdf Luminosity_4.pdf StellarEvolution_1.pdf
  Wednesday May 4	Optional reading: Chapter 13 - Other Planetary Systems Bennett TCP 5e Chapter 13.pdf Recommended MA tutorials: Formation of the Solar System Tutorial Detecting Extrasolar Planets Tutorial Temperature and Formation of the Solar System (LT, pp. 103-104) Motion of Extrasolar Planets (LT, pp. 117-120) M11_Extrasolar_Planets.web.pdf
  Monday May 9	Midterm Exam #2 (Chaps. 6, 13, 14, 15, 16, S2)
  Wednesday May 11	Optional reading: Chapter 17.1-17.3 - Star Stuff Recommended MA tutorial: Stellar Evolution Tutorial Stellar Evolution (LT, pp. 121-122) N13_Stellar_Evolution.web.pdf StellarEvolution_2.pdf StellarEvolution_3.pdf
  Monday May 16	Optional reading: Chapter 18 - The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard Optional reading: Chapter S3 - Spacetime and Gravity Recommended MA tutorial: Black Holes Tutorial O14_Stellar_Remnants.web.pdf
  Wednesday May 18	Optional reading: Chapter 19 - Our Galaxy Optional reading: Chapter 20.1 - Types of Galaxies Galaxy Classification (LT, pp. 127-130) Milky Way Scales (LT, pp. 123-126) P15_Galaxies_MW.web.pdf
  Monday May 23	Optional reading: Chapter 20.2-20.3 - Galaxies and the Foundation of Modern Cosmology Recommended MA tutorial: Hubble's Law Tutorial Expansion of the Universe (LT, pp. 133-134) QR16_MW_Abundances_Galaxies_Cosmology.web.pdf
  Wednesday May 25	Optional reading: Chapter 22 - Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe Recommended MA tutorials Detecting Dark Matter in Spiral Galaxies Tutorial Fate of the Universe Tutorial Looking at Distant Objects (LT, pp. 131-132) S17_Dark_Energy_&_Matter_Lookback.web.pdf StellarEvolutionLookbackTime.pdf
  Monday May 30	NO CLASS - Memorial Day
  Wednesday Jun. 1	Optional reading Chapter 23 - The Beginning of Time Evaluations General Q&A - bring all your questions from the quarter that never got answered! T18_Big_Bang.web.pdf
  Monday Jun. 6	COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM in 3-2870 (1:40-3:40pm) GOOD LUCK!

Instructional Philosophy of the Course

The overarching goals of this course are for students to understand the nature of science through the eyes of astrophysics; to develop their abilities as critical thinkers by giving them guided practice at taking apart and understanding complex astronomical phenomena; and to develop in them a lifelong interest in astronomy and current events surrounding astronomy.  To meet these three goals, we use a carefully designed a sequence of learning tasks and assessment procedures as outlined in the syllabus.  These learning tasks were developed at the University of Arizona by a group led by Dr. Ed Prather, who is a leader in the field of astronomy education.  We have also collected data on a national research study utilizing the Light and Spectrocsopy Concept Inventory, designed to determine the effectiveness of these, and other learning techniques.

• College of Science Emergency Procedures
  All students are responsible for being aware of these Emergency Procedures.
  Please take the time to familiarize yourself with them.