COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY

SYLLABUS – Last Modified 11/8/11

Note: this syllabus may be updated throughout the semester. Please check http://carsonjc.people.cofc.edu/astro129 for the latest version. Course Title: Astronomy I (ASTR 129) Class Location: RHSC 125 Instructor: Dr. Joseph Carson Semester/Year: Fall 2011 Office Location: 122 RHSC Class Time: TR 12:15-1:30 Telephone: (843) 953-3643 Office Hours: TR 10:00-11:30, Email: carsonjc@cofc.edu or by appointment. Pre-requisite: A working knowledge of high school algebra. Co-requisite: ASTR 129L It is the student’s responsibility to satisfy pre- and co-requisites. Required Material: The textbook Universe, 9th ed; authors: Roger A. Freedman & William J. Kaufmann III. A scientific calculator capable of computing exponential functions. Content: This course reviews the Solar System: Chapters Covered: 1 through 4 and 7 through 16. This translates to roughly one chapter per week. Some chapters will be covered in more depth than others and some sections will be omitted. Exams, Homeworks, and Quizzes: There will be 3 midterm exams over the semester. Your lowest midterm exam score will be dropped. Homework will be assigned regularly and should be turned in by the next class unless stated otherwise. In-class exercises or quizzes will be given often. Missed in-class assignments will receive a zero. There will be no makeups. I will discard your two lowest scores for these assignments. The final exam will focus most strongly on lecture material, but may also include material not discussed in lecture, but covered in the text. Extra Credit: You may obtain extra credit by delivering a 5 minute summary to the class on a recent astronomy-related news article. You must schedule such presentations with me in advance of the class. Advanced approval of presentations is up to my discretion and may depend on scheduling constraints and number of student requests.

Some Astronomy News Resources • Sky and Telescope News Website: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news • NASA News Website: http://www.nasa.gov/news/index.html • European Southern Observatory News: http://www.eso.org/public/news/ • New York Times Science Page: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/ Percentage weights for final grade calculations: Final Exam: 20%; Midterms: 40%; Quizzes and in-class exercises: 15%; Homework: 25%. Exam Makeup Policy: A makeup exam will only be given for extraordinary circumstances. If you do miss an exam because of such a circumstance, and you would like to request a makeup exam, you must contact me by the next class after the exam. You may be required to present written verification of your excuse. Attendance Requirement: You are expected to attend all lectures. In-class quizzes and exercises will be given to help assess your class attendance. Please turn cell phones to off or to silent-mode during lectures. Please do not text during lectures. Special Needs: If you have any special needs or disabilities that might require special arrangements to be made for any aspect of this course, please let me know at the beginning of the semester or as soon as you become aware of them. Extra Help: In addition to myself and your classroom peers there are other resources available if you need help with the material: • the Center for Student Learning (CSL) - 1st floor, Addlestone Library, 8:30am-9:00pm M-R, and 8:30am-5:00pm F. • the Math Lab (part of the CSL). • private tutors (a list of private astronomy tutors is available in the Physics department office) Course Goals: The purpose of this course is to review the current body of knowledge regarding the nature of the solar system we inhabit. In doing so, I hope that the following will be achieved: • You gain important knowledge and insights about our Solar System. • You learn to think critically about our celestial surroundings and understand how astronomy inquiry is carried out. This includes using physical and mathematical principles to solve problems and reach conclusions. • You are inspired by the universe around you and continue your interest after you have left this class. To help achieve these goals, you will be participating in both the teaching as well as the learning. Interspersed throughout lectures, you will be asked to work in small groups both to solve problems as well as explain lecture concepts to your peers. In order to be successful in this class, you must take active participation in such exercises.

Teaching Philosophy: It is a great honor for me to work with you this semester. You might be here because of your intense interest in astronomy or because of a college requirement. In either case, the fact that you are here means you are a bright person who has the ability to speak, read, and think critically. I hope that my lectures will help clarify some difficult concepts. But ultimately, what you gain from this class will depend largely on you. We will be covering a great deal of material and many of the concepts may seem foreign or difficult to grasp. You must follow the reading if you expect to keep up with this material. Unfortunately, I cannot cover all the material in the chapters, so I will rely on your work outside the class to help complete the learning process. I strongly encourage you to work together on homework assignments and studying for exams. Your peers are one of the strongest resources you have and you should take advantage of that. With regards to homework assignments, please note that the work you submit must be your own. I enforce a strict policy in this regard. Please do not hesitate to approach me if you need help for any reason. We will be covering in a few months what it took human beings thousands of years to comprehend. This can be a daunting challenge so I hope that I may help you either in or out of class. My official office hours are TR 10:00-11:30, but please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to arrange to meet at another time. Academic Honesty: Violations of the College of Charleston Honor Code (including cheating or attempted cheating) will be referred to the Office of Student Affairs for adjudication. Examples of cheating relevant to this course include copying test or quiz answers, using cellular technology to communicate information during a test or quiz, or copying homework answers verbatim from an external source.

Tentative Class Schedule Date Material Covered August 23 Ch. 1: Astronomy & the Universe August 25 August 30 Ch 2: Knowing the Heavens September 1 September 6 Ch. 3: Eclipses & the Motion of the Moon September 8 September 13 September 15 Test, Ch 1-3 September 20 Ch. 4: Gravitation September 22 September 27 September 29 Ch. 7: Comparative Planetology October 4 Ch. 8: Comparative Planetology II October 6

October 11 Test Ch 4, 7, 8 October 13 Ch. 9: The Living Earth October 18 Fall Break Holiday October 20 October 25 Ch. 10: Our Barren Moon October 27 Ch. 11: Mercury, Venus, & Mars November 1 November 3 Ch. 12: Jupiter & Saturn November 8 Ch. 13: Jupiter & Saturn November 10 Ch. 14: Uranus, Neptune, & Pluto November 15 November 17 Test, Ch. 9-14 November 22 Ch. 15: Vagabonds of the Solar System November 24 Thanksgiving November 29 Ch. 16: Our Star, the Sun December 1 December 13 (12:00-3:00) Final Exam (cumulative)