PHYS/ASTR 1060: THE UNIVERSE

Section 1: MWF 11:50 - 12:40 in JFB 103

Prep for first midterm and first midterm with solutions: PDF
Prep for second midterm and second midterm with solutions: PDF
Prep for third midterm and third midterm with solutions: PDF
Prep for fourth midterm and fourth midterm with solutions: PDF
rules for all midterms.

Welcome to The Universe. This is a comprehensive, one-semester course reviewing the modern scientific view of the universe we live in.

Some pointers about my course:
It is a science based course (physics and astronomy) - no astrology or reference to it. And even though scientists must now which object they are talking about and how to find it with a telescope, we will NOT learn how to identify constellations or how to locate specific stars or galaxies in the night sky. What we will learn about what stars and galaxies are, and what role they play in the universe. We will learn how ordinary or extraordinary our planet, our sun, and our galaxy are in this universe. Most importantly I will try to make clear how we know the things I will tell you about, which means I will try to make clear how science works and how it helps us understand the many beautiful vistas earth and space based telescopes let us see. This is a great time to be a scientist: With great success we use the knowledge harvested at particle accelerators here on earth to understand the far reaches of the heavens. And with great humbleness we recognize the limitations of the knowledge we acquired. It is a journey, and as a scientist I am still travelling on that long and winding road towards new vistas and hopefully new understanding. The course is about giving you insight into what my colleagues and I have learned, how we learned it, and where it puts you and me when we take it serious. Do not worry: I will not require calculus or even algebra from you - exponents and angles are the most ferocious mathematical monsters I will expect you to tame. Those we will need though to keep track of numbers big and small. Science is quantitative, and I would be cheating you if I would not justify my reasoning with verifiable numbers. That I call them verifiable is the key to science; it means they are also falsifiable, and the promise is that scientists will not use numbers that were falsified. One experiment is enough to destroy a theory, no number of experiments is sufficient to elevate a theory to dogma. That is the promise of science, and we will talk about it in the course. Please consult the syllabus below for specifics of what I hope to bring to you throughout the semester.

The Textbook for this course is the Sixth Edition of:
Astronomy Today by Chaisson and McMillan, published by Addison-Wesley. This is a one volume book. The book will serve you as an excellent reference; the measure of what was covered in the course is my lecture though, not the book. I strongly encourage you to attend the lectures. Midterm and homework questions will be based on the lecture materials.

One great service the department provides not only for you, the student in my course or our program, but also for your family, your friends and colleagues, in fact for every person interested are the Star Parties. If the weather is amenable they are held on Wednesday nights starting about 45 minutes after sunset, on top of the South Physics building. See this link for directions. If you attend one of these department sponsored star parties and write a suitable essay about the star party you attended and at least one of the objects you saw through our telescopes that night, you can make up for one homework assignment that way. Please be aware though that star parties are not held if viewing conditions are not good enough; so please do not plan on making up in the last week of the semester... And let me clarify again: Only one such substitution is allowed per student in my course.

Homework Postings:

The first homework was due on January 17, 2008: solution.
The second homework was due on January 24, 2008: solution.
The third homework was due on January 31, 2008: solution.
The fourth homework was due on February 14, 2008: solution.
The fifth homework was due on February 21, 2008: solution.
The sixth homework was due on March 6, 2008: solution.
The seventh homework was due on March 13, 2008: solution.
The eighth homework was due on March 27, 2008: solution.
The ninth homework was due on April 10, 2008: solution.
The tenth and last homework was due on April 17, 2008: solution.

The Syllabus:

Your Grades

Your grades will be calculated from your midterm and homework scores; there will be no final exam.

Midterms:

Four midterms are scheduled, all on Mondays:
February 4, February 25, March 31, and April 21
Your lowest midterm score will be dropped, and the remaining three midterm scores will each count 20 percent towards your final grade. The midterms are held in class; same time and room as the lecture.

Homework

Homework will be posted on this web page on Fridays (except before a midterm) and is due by Midnight of the following Thursday. Each homework assignment will contain five questions; for full credit it will be sufficient to answer four of them correctly. Solutions to the old homework will be posted on Fridays with the posting of the new homework. Your solutions to the homework have to be submitted as the simple ASCII main body of an e-mail to the following e-mail address: kai-1060-hw@physics.utah.edu
Appendices to your e-mail will not be opened!!! If your e-mail arrives before the due deadline, it will be graded and you will get the graded homework back via reply to your original e-mail.
The homework due dates are Midnight (MST,MDT respectively) of the following Thursdays:
January 17, January 24, January 31, February 14, February 21, March 6, March 13, March 27, April 10, and April 17.
Each homework assignment will count 4 percent towards your final grade.
One (not two or more) homework assignment can be substituted by a visit to a Star Party. As star parties depend on the weather, do not count on visiting one during the last (two) week(s) of classes - you could get lucky, but then again... Star Parties are fun, and you get to look through real telescopes at real objects in the sky - that's why they only take place when the weather is reasonable. To make up for the homework assignment you will have to identify yourself to the person who runs the star party, so that he or she can report that back to me. You will also have to write a short one page essay about your star party experience that night and submit it to the homework e-mail address. Any submissions after Midnight MDT, Wednesday April 23, 2008, will not be accepted any more.

My office hours:
Mondays: 3pm - 4pm
Wednesdays: 10am - 11am
Thursdays: 2:30pm - 3:30pm

Here PDF files for my lecture presentations:
January 7, 2008 January 9, 2008 January 11, 2008 January 14, 2008 January 16, 2008 January 18, 2008 January 23, 2008 January 25, 2008 January 28, 2008 January 30, 2008
February 1, 2008 February 6, 2008 February 8, 2008 February 11, 2008 February 13, 2008 February 15, 2008 February 20, 2008 February 22, 2008 February 27, 2008 February 29, 2008
March 3, 2008 March 5, 2008 March 7, 2008 March 10, 2008 March 12, 2008 March 14, 2008 March 24, 2008 March 26, 2008 March 28, 2008
April 2, 2008 April 4, 2008 April 7, 2008 April 9, 2008 April 11, 2008 April 14, 2008 April 16, 2008 April 18, 2008 April 23, 2008

Related Links:
For section 2 (M,W 6pm - 7:15pm) by Anthony Pantziris please see this web page.

Kai Martens' web page and e-mail.
Please use the course number 1060 to start your subject line when you send e-mail to me.

Last modified: Wed Apr 23 14:14:18 MDT 2008