| Date
| Topics
| Reading
| Assignment Due
|
| Aug 27 |
Introduction |
Syllabus, Essentials I |
|
|
Aug 29 |
Night Sky |
Ch 1-1 to 1-4 |
|
|
Sept 1 |
Labor Day -- no class |
|
|
|
Sept 3 |
Phases of the Moon |
Ch 1-5 to 1-8 |
|
|
Sept 5 |
Eclipses |
Ch 1-9 to 1-11, 2-1 |
|
|
Sept 8 |
Planetary Motion |
Ch 2-1 to 2-3 |
|
| Sept 10 |
Kepler's laws |
Ch 2-3, 2-4 |
|
|
Sept 12 |
Galileo and Newton |
Ch 2-4, 2-5 |
HW 1 |
|
Sept 15 |
Newton's Laws |
Ch 2-5, 2-6 |
|
| Sept 17 |
Gravity and Planet Motion |
Ch 2-6 and Toolbox 2-2 |
|
|
Sept 19 |
Introduction to the Solar System |
Essentials II 4-5 |
HW 2 |
| Sept 22 |
Solar System Composition, Earth as a Planet |
Ch 4-5, 5-3 |
|
|
Sept 24 |
The Earth and the Moon |
Ch 5-1 to 5-6, 8-7, 8-9, 8-10 |
|
|
Sept 26 |
The Moon, the Inner Planets: I |
Ch 5-7, 5-8, 6-1, 6-2, 6-5, 6-6, 6-7, 6-8 |
HW 3 |
| Sept 29 |
Inner Planets: II |
Ch 6-9 thru 6-14 |
|
|
Oct 1 |
Outer Planets |
Ch 7-1 thru 7-17 |
|
|
Oct 3 |
Asteroids & Comets |
Ch 8-1, 8-3, 8-4 thru 8-8, Toolbox 4-2 |
HW 4 |
| Oct 6 |
Formation of the Solar System |
Essentials II-1 thru II-5 |
|
|
Oct 8 |
Exoplanets |
Essentials II-6 |
|
|
Oct 10 |
Hour Exam 1 |
|
Oct 13 |
The Sun |
Ch 9-1 to 9-6 |
|
|
Oct 15 |
The interior of the Sun |
Ch 9-6 to 9-9 |
|
|
Oct 17 |
Solar Energy |
Ch 9-7, Ch 4-5 |
|
| Oct 20 |
Fusion in the Sun |
Ch 9-7, 9-8, 9-9 and Toolbox 9-1 |
|
|
Oct 22 |
Properties of light |
Ch 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4 |
|
|
Oct 24 |
Telescopes |
3-5 thru 3-12 |
HW 5
|
| Oct 27 |
Light and atoms |
Ch 4-1 thru 4-4, 4-6 |
|
|
Oct 29 |
Properties of Stars |
Essentials III-1, Fig III-3, Ch 10-1 thru 10-4 |
|
|
Oct 31 |
Masses and Lifetimes of Stars |
Ch 10-7, 10-8 |
HW 6 |
| Nov 3 |
Stellar Life Cycle: 1 Msun |
Ch 11-1, 11-7, 11-9, 11-10, 12-1, 12-2 |
|
|
Nov 5 |
Stellar Life Cycle: Massive Stars |
Ch 11-6, 11-11, 11-12, 12-4, 12-5, 12-6, 12-7 |
|
|
Nov 7 |
Neutron Stars |
Ch 12-9, 12-10, 13-1, 13-2 |
HW 7
|
| Nov 10 |
Black Holes: I |
Ch 13-1, 13-2 |
|
|
Nov 12 |
Black Holes: II |
Ch 13-3 to 13-8 |
|
|
Nov 14 |
Hour Exam 2 |
| Nov 17 |
The Search for Extraterrestrial Life |
18-1 to 18-6 |
|
|
Nov 19 |
The Milky Way Galaxy |
Essentials IV-1 to IV-2 Ch 14-1 to 14-7 |
|
|
Nov 21 |
Galaxies |
Ch 15-1 to 15-9
|
|
|
Nov 24-Nov 29 |
Thanksgiving Break |
|
|
|
Dec 1 |
Active Galaxies and Clusters |
Ch 16-1 to 16-6 |
|
| Dec 3 |
The Big Bang |
Ch 15-10 to 15-12, 17-1 to 17-5 |
|
|
Dec 5 |
The Primeval Fireball |
Ch 17-9, 17-11 |
HW 8
|
| Dec 8 |
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis |
Ch 17-8, 17-13 to 17-15 |
|
|
Dec 10 |
Finale: The Very Early Universe |
Ch 17-8 |
|
|
Dec 12 |
Review |
|
HW 9 |
|
7:00-10:00 pm, Monday December 15 |
FINAL EXAM |