Download PHYS 200 - Understanding the Universe

COURSE SYLLABUS FORM
American University of Beirut
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Department: Physics
Course Number and Title: Phys 200, Understanding the Universe
1. Course Learning Outcomes
This course is a science elective given to students majoring in Arts or Humanities. It
deals with basic concepts in Astronomy in a descriptive way without using calculus. The
students after completing this course should be able to:
• grasp how physical principles are applied to understand cosmic objects.
• Gain appreciation for science and scientific methods and to realize that progress in the
understanding of the Universe is achieved by continual questioning of current knowledge.
• Report on: what makes up the solar system, what is the physical difference between
planets and stars, whether stars live forever, and what makes up our Milky Way Galaxy.
• Comprehend that cosmic bodies are always in motion relative to each other. That for
example the relative motion of the Earth, Moon and Sun explains the eclipse phenomena.
• Appreciate the revolution in human understanding of the structure of the solar system
led by great scientists like Copernicus, Galileo , Kepler and Newton who have struggled
and succeeded to completely modify the view of the old Greeks about the Universe.
• Learn basic physical properties of light and its interaction with matter and that this is a
powerful tool to explore stars and galaxies.
• Learn about the components of our living Erath, especially how the Earth’s atmosphere
is made to protect our life. Understanding the Earth will be a reference point to
understand other planets.
• Focus on understanding how our star the Sun is functioning physically. That the Sun is
a fusion reactor hold by gravity which makes a fundamental difference to planets.
• Find out how stars are observed and characterized. How do they form and evolve and
reach their end stages as White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars or Black Holes.
• Finally combine the knowledge gained to get some insight into the structure of our big
home the Milky Way Galaxy.
2. Resources available to the students
Main text book: Universe
By R. Freedman and W.J Kaufmann III
Freeman, 2002, 6th edition
This books has his own web site and contains many Astronomy web sites as well.
3. Grading Criteria
Three quizzes are given and a final comprehensive exam. The two best quizzes are
selected and have equal weight of 20% each, while the final exam has a weight of 40%,
and 10% are given for attendance and project assignments. The final grade is determined
on the basis of an adjusted normal curve.
4. Schedule
Week
Topic
Assignments
1
Astronomy and the Universe:
A General Introduction
Reading: Why Astronomy (Essay).
Get familiar with the CD-ROM
(“Starry Night”) delivered by with the
text book
2 -3
Knowing the Heavens:
Celestial Sphere, Constellations,
Seasons, Time Keeping and Calendars
Solar and Lunar Eclipses
Reading:
Why Astrology is not a Science
(Essay). How to predict solar eclipses
Use “Starry Night” to observe diurnal
motion of stars
4
The Copernicus Revolution:
Geocentric Model of the Universe
Heliocentric Model of the Universe
The Kepler’s laws
The Newton Laws
5-6
Nature of Light:
Speed of light , Blackbody Radiation,
Radiation Laws, Particle Nature of
Light, Simple Atomic Structures,
Spectral Lines, Doppler Effect
7
Telescopes:
Refracting Telescopes,
Reflecting Telescopes,
Angular Resolution,
Radio Telescopes
8
Our Solar System:
Terrestial and Jovian Planets
General Characteristics of Planets
Asteroids, Comets and Meteorites
Reading:
Newton’s laws in everyday life.
Using Kepler’s laws
Reading:
Light Scattering and why is the sky
blue.
Atoms and the Periodic Table of
Elements.
Application of Doppler Effect
Reading:
Telescopes in Space.
Use CD-ROM to simulate the view of
small telescopes.
Reading:
Alien Planets (Essay)
9
Our Living Earth
Structure of the Earth’s Atmosphere
(Greenhouse Effect, Ozone layers )
Earth’s Magnetosphere,
Structure of the Earth’s Interior
Use CD-ROM to watch the Earth from
Space (project 44)
10
Our Star, the Sun:
Fusion Reactor in the Sun’s Interior,
Physical Model of the Sun,
External Layers of the Sun:
Photosphere, Chromospheres, Corona
and Solar Wind.
Reading:
Converting Mass into Energy
Searching for Neutrinos from the Sun
11-12
Nature of the Stars:
Measuring Distances to the Stars,
Luminosities and Magnitudes,
Color of the Stars and their Surface
Temperature, Spectral Classes and the
“Hertzsprung-Russell” Diagram,
Binary Stars.
Project(63):
Use the CD-ROM to study the brightest
Stars.
13
Stellar Evolution and the Death of
Stars:
Birth of stars, Evolution from the
Main-Sequence to Red Giants,
Testing Stellar Evolution using
Observed Star Clusters,
Evolution to White Dwarfs, Neutron
Stars or Black Holes
Project (45):
Observing Stellar Evolution using the
CD-ROM utilities
14-15
The Milky Way Galaxy:
Discovering the Size of the Milky
Way,
The Shape of the Milky Way , Spiral
Structure and Rotation Curve,
Dark Matter in the Milky Way
Reading:
Estimating the mass inside the orbit of
the sun.
5. Course Policy
Regular attendance. No make up of the quizzes. Make up of the final exam only with
legal justified reasons. Cheating in the exams is prohibited and can lead to expelling the
student from the course.