Astronomy 101

Sections AB & AD with Phil Rosenfield

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Section Syllabus

Meeting times:
AB: TTh 8:30-9:20
AD: TTH 9:30-10:20

Meeting location:
T: PAA 210
Th: PAA 216

Download a copy of the Syllabus [pdf]

Meeting times: Tuesdays and Thursdays AB: 8:30-9:20; AD: 9:30-10:20
Room: Tuesdays: PAA-216; Thursdays: PAA210
Office Hours: (In PAA-216) M 3:00-4:00 pm, (in PAB-329) W 11:30-12:30, by appointment, or stop by PAB 329
Instructor:Phil Rosenfield
Office: PAB-329
Contact: Email: philrose at astro dot washington dot edu (best bet)
               Office ph: 206-543-9039
Text: The Essential Cosmic Perspective (4th edition) by Bennett, Donahue, Scheider, & Voit (available at the bookstore and in the Library)
Prerequisites: Interest

Introduction

How would humans react if the stars we saw at night came out only once every 10 years? How do we know that Earth is a planet, or even that it is spherical? How can you prove that the Sun is a star like any other we see at night? What is dark matter?

In this class, you will be introduced to the science of astronomy. The same laws of nature that keep us on the ground, attach magnets to our refrigerators, and bring light to our homes seem to exist everywhere in the Universe. We will learn how stars are thought to form, how we can observe the life histories of galaxies, how astronomers know the fate of our Universe, and much more.

My Goals

This is a "general education" class, I interpret that to mean "teach science through astronomy." Below is a list of what I'd like you to leave this course knowing.

1.Science is not a collection of facts, but a process through which we try to understand our Universe
2.Anyone can understand our Universe through science
3.We are part of the Universe and learning about it can affect our personal worldviews and help us understand our origins
4.This course is only the beginning of your lifelong learning of astronomy

My Expectations

I expect each student will:

1.Actively engage in daily learning activities
2.Carefully study the text
3.Ask questions and come to office hours often
4.Come to class ready to learn

On Work Submitted

Collegiate quality: All work must be neat and easy to read, well organized, and demonstrate mastery of the subject. Submitted work must be on clean white (or lined) paper without torn edges, must be stapled, and preferably, all text typed. If you don't type the text, be sure you write as neatly as possible.
All answers and other writing should be self-contained: Imagine that a friend is reading your work and ask yourself whether the friend would understand exactly what you are trying to say.
Other Notes: Clearly show your work. Word problems should have word answers. Express numbers in a way that is meaningful to most people, for example 168 hours should be expressed as 1 week. And 9,964,543.2353 years should be expressed as "nearly ten million years" or 10⁷ yr.

Messy work won't be graded

Important Things That Need to be in a Syllabus

Late Policy: No late homework will be graded
Plagiarism: Please do your own work! Any cheating, plagiarism, or improper collaboration will be reported. Any plagiarized, cheated, or improperly collaborated work submitted will receive a zero. Any person involved with such a submission may also automatically fail the course. Simply put: Do not turn in anything that is not from your own mind without giving proper credit