Introduction to Astronomy (Physics 1040)

Instructor: Daniel Schroeder, Physics Department, Weber State University

Office: Science Lab (immediately south of Lind Lecture Hall), room 208

Office phone: 626-6048

Email: dschroeder at weber dot edu

Office hours: MWF 10:00-11:00 and TTh 1:00-2:00. I apologize that I cannot be available for any but the quickest questions immediately before or after our class. However, I can be available by appointment in the early morning or late afternoon. My full schedule is posted next to my office door.

Course web page: http://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/astro/

Prerequisites: This course has no college-level prerequisites. However, if you have been placed into developmental English or math courses, it means that you are not yet prepared to get the most out of this course (or most other courses). In that case you may want to consider postponing this course until your developmental work is complete.

Textbook: I have asked the WSU Bookstore to stock a beautiful coffee-table book on astronomy, Universe: The Definitive Guide, written by a committee of British astronomers and science writers headed by Martin Rees, published by Dorling Kindersley. This book is amazingly affordable, but you don't have to buy it. You can use any book or books you like for this course, as well as a variety of web sites. In fact, you'll need to use a variety of sources. See below for details.

Course Overview

This course is an introduction to astronomy, the study of the universe beyond earth. There's a lot out there, so we won't have time to learn every detail. But we will choose topics from the following:

Course Format

Until last year I taught this course in "death by PowerPoint" format, with little time for class discussion. This semester we will instead spend our class time mostly on discussion and hands-on activities. This means that it will be your responsibility to learn as much as you can about each topic before class, by reading books or using the internet.

Also, in the past, I've based grades mostly on exams. This semester we won't have any closed-book exams. Instead your grade will be based on the following:

Daily reading assignments

To prepare for each class session I will provide you with written guidelines that ask you to read about a certain topic in astronomy. The guidelines will also suggest some starting points for where you might find information on that topic. I'll frequently recommend:

But your assignment will not be simply to read a set of predetermined pages. Rather, you are to read whatever you have to, to understand the topic at hand. This means that some of you will have to read more than others, and that it is your responsibility to decide exactly what you need to read. Some sources (like Wikipedia) will be full of more advanced material that you'll need to skim. Other sources may be too elementary or incomplete, so you'll need to look further. And some sources are not reading per se, but images or web animations or even web programs. The most appropriate sources for another student may not be at the right level for you, so you'll need to choose which sources work best for you. You'll also have the flexibility to pursue the specific topics that interest you most.

Daily reading notes

To help focus your reading, and to show me what you've gotten out of it, you will prepare a page (or so) of notes on each assignment. Each day's reading notes should include each of the following:

  1. A summary of the main things you learned from your reading, written in complete sentences (not a mere list of keywords).
  2. A list of the sources of information that you found most helpful. These will ordinarily be web sites or pages from your textbook (or some other book). Please specify the source accurately enough to allow someone else to find it easily.
  3. One or more questions that you have after doing your reading. These could be about things that you didn't understand, or just further questions that your reading didn't answer. But in either case, they should be questions that genuinely interest you. Try to make your questions as specific as possible, not general ones like "Could you explain stars?". You must come to class each day prepared to ask at least one good, specific question. I may call on you!
Your reading notes must be typed, brought to class (for your reference during our discussion), and turned in before you leave. (Sorry, notes submitted by email or slipped under my office door will not be accepted.) Be sure to save a copy for yourself as well. I will grade your reading notes based on your apparent effort--not just on how knowledgable you appear to be. Each day's reading notes should be about a page long, double spaced. If you have more to say than that, single spacing is ok. Please do not turn in more than one page of notes each day.

Weekly homework

To encourage you to participate more actively in your learning, I will assign weekly homework exercises, usually due on Tuesdays. The exercises will emphasize the more quantitative aspects of the subject, and we will often get started on them during class. I encourage you to discuss the homework with your classmates and check your answers with them (or with me). The work you turn in, however, must be your own.

Review exercises

Every few weeks, instead of an ordinary homework assignment, I will hand out a "review exercise" in the form of a take-home test. You may refer to any published resources (books, web sites, etc.) when you work these exercises, but you may not discuss them with your classmates or with anyone else.

Observational projects

A major portion of your grade will be based on two observational projects. This is your chance to actually look at the sky yourself, record your observations carefully, and describe what you did in the form of a short paper. A separate document gives full instructions and a list of possible projects from which you can choose.

Boilerplate notices

Academic dishonesty of any sort will not be tolerated in this course. You are responsible for understanding what constitutes academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and fabrication of data. Penalties for academic dishonesty will range from a zero score on the assignment to failure in the course. In some cases, an incident may also be reported to the appropriate hearing committee for further sanctions.

Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability must contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) in the Student Service Center. SSD can also arrange to provide course materials (including this syllabus) in alternative formats if necessary.