Download (NATS) 1585 3 - York University – Faculty of Science

COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC STANDARDS, CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY
TEMPLATE
NEW COURSE PROPOSAL FORM
Faculty:
Indicate all relevant
Faculty(ies)
FSC
Department:
Indicate department and
course prefix (e.g.
Languages, GER)
Natural Science (NATS)
Course Number:
Special Topics courses
Include variance (e.g.
HUMA 3000C 6.0,
Variance is “C”)
Var:
1585
Course Title:
Astronomy:
The official name of the
course as it will appear in
the Undergraduate
Calendar and on the
Repository
Short Title:
Appears on any
documents where space
is limited - e.g.
transcripts and lecture
schedules - maximum
40 characters
Date of Submission:
26 September 2013
Academic Credit Weight:
Indicate both the fee, and
MTCU weight if different from
academic weight (e.g. AC=6,
FEE=8, MET=6
3
Exploring the Universe
Astronomy: Exploring the Universe
With every new course proposal it is the Department’s responsibility to ensure that new courses do not overlap with
existing courses in other units. If similarities exist, consultation with the respective departments is necessary to determine
degree credit exclusions and/or cross-listed courses.
1
Brief Course
Description:
Maximum 2000
characters
(approximately 300 words
including spaces and
punctuation).
The course description
should be carefully written
to convey what the course
is about. It should be
followed by a statement of
prerequisites and corequisites, if applicable.
This description appears
in the calendar.
For editorial consistency,
and in consideration of the
various uses of the
Calendars, verbs should
be in the present tense
(i.e., "This course
analyzes the nature and
extent of...," rather than
"This course will
analyze...")
This course explores the universe beyond our solar system. We begin
by studying how gravity triggers fusion reactions in stars that create
heat, light, and every element in our bodies except hydrogen: overall,
stars shine by converting mass into energy (Einstein’s E=mc2). We
discuss how we can use the corpses of stars (white dwarfs, neutron
stars, and black holes) to probe how space and time are related via
Einstein’s theories of relativity. We examine how stars are bound
together into galaxies by gravity and how to use various wavelengths of
light to determine why there are different types of galaxies: elegant
spirals, massive ellipticals, and faint dwarf galaxies. We learn how the
Doppler effect reveals that dark matter must produce some of the gravity
that binds stars into galaxies, galaxies into clusters of galaxies, and
clusters of galaxies into superclusters. We explore how we can use
distant galaxies to study the development of the universe over its entire
history, including the increasing importance of dark energy. We confront
both the earliest instants and the far future of our universe’s history:
what we know, what we still hope to learn, and what we think we can
ever learn. Finally, we join some modern scientists in the speculation
about whether or not other universes might exist beyond the one we can
perceive.
Course credit exclusions: NATS 1740. NCR Note: No credit will be
retained if this course is taken after SC/PHYS 1070 3.00 or SC/PHYS
1470 3.00. Not open to any student enrolled in the Astronomy stream.
Minimal simple arithmetical calculation at about the Grade 10 level.
2
Generic Course
Description:
This is the description of
the “Parent / Generic
course” for Special Topics
courses under which
variances of the “Generic”
course can be offered in
different years (Max. 40
words). Generic course
descriptions are published
in the calendar.
List all degree credit
exclusions, prerequisites,
integrated courses, and
notes below the course
description.
3
Expanded Course
Description:
Please provide a detailed
course description,
including topics / theories
and learning objectives,
as it will appear in
supplemental calendars.
This course will convey to students our current understanding of what
the universe beyond our solar system is like and how it works and will
use the universe to teach students about logic and scientific reasoning.
We will share colour photos and detailed computer simulations of
intriguing phenomena (such as black holes, interacting galaxies, and
gravitational lenses) as an introduction to what these features of our
universe are and how they work.
The course will emphasize that everything we see, everywhere, can be
studied using the same physical laws that apply on Earth, and that
scientists use informed guesses and logic to extend those laws as needed.
Throughout the semester we will point out connections between the
universe and the world we can study here on Earth.
Covering the basics of matter and light will lead to a discussion of how
stars are born and die. Matter is made of atoms. Each atom is a nucleus
surrounded by electrons. Nuclei colliding at high enough temperature
can fuse into new nuclei by converting a tiny amount of mass ‘m’ to
energy ‘E’ (E=mc2). When gravity pulls a large enough clump of matter
together, the temperature at the clump's center becomes high enough for
fusion, and a star is born, with fusion balancing gravity.
When nuclei as heavy as iron collide, however, their fusion absorbs
energy. If a star reaches the point where it is trying to fuse iron, it has no
support against gravity, and it will be crushed into a neutron star or
black hole.
Understanding how atoms work also helps us understand galaxies
(collections of stars held together by gravity). When electrons adjust
their positions around nuclei, they release energy in the form of light.
The wavelength (colour) of light can tell us what element produced the
light.
We can also use the Doppler effect (which applies to light the same way
it applies to sound) to determine how fast an object emitting light is
moving relative to us.
We will discuss how this simple concept led to the realization that our
universe is filled with dark matter: matter we cannot see or touch, but
whose gravity affects us just like the gravity of normal matter does.
Building on our ability to infer what we cannot see directly, we will
discuss the history of our universe, starting with the Big Bang and
including the evidence that a mysterious force called dark energy is
causing the expansion of our universe to accelerate.
Key Learning Outcomes
4
By the end of this course, you will be able to do the following. Your
mark in the course will reflect how well you are able to do the following.
• Determine the relative strength of gravity between two pairs of objects,
based on their masses and separations.
• Identify which elements are present in an object given the patterns of
light absorbed or emitted by those elements and the object.
• Rank the lifetimes of stars based on their masses at birth.
• Describe the life of a low-mass star like our Sun (long life, giant phase,
planetary nebula, white dwarf remnant).
• Describe the life of a much higher-mass star (short life, supergiant
phase, explosion, neutron star or black hole remnant).
• Rank the relative time dilation for astronauts travelling at velocities
near the speed of light, or at various distances from a black hole.
• Determine the relative amounts of star formation ongoing in galaxies
from colour photographs of them.
• Describe how the Doppler effect for light is used to determine how fast
a distant object is approaching us or receding from us.
• Demonstrate (by drawing arrows on 3 galaxies lined up in a row) how
all galaxies move away from each other as the universe expands.
• Describe why we cannot directly see the universe as it was before
the light we see as the cosmic microwave background radiation was
emitted.
• Plot the expansion histories of universes with dark energy, without
dark energy, and with an arbitrarily large amount of dark matter.
• Sketch why our observable universe is finite even if our universe is
infinite in size.
• Describe at least one of the ways in which other universes,
inaccessible to our own, may exist without violating our understanding of
the laws of nature.
5
Course Design:
Indicate how the course
design supports students
in achieving the learning
objectives. For example,
in the absence of
scheduled contact hours
what role does student-tostudent and/or student-toinstructor communication
play, and how is it
encouraged?
Detail any aspects of the
content, delivery, or
learning goals that involve
"face-to-face"
communication, noncampus attendance or
experiential education
components.
Alternatively, explain how
the course design
encourages student
engagement and supports
student learning in the
absence of substantial oncampus attendance.
Three lecture hours per week, plus on-line e-learning assignments
reviewed and extended in 4-6 tutorial activities.
Instruction:
1. Planned frequency of
offering and number of
sections anticipated
(every year, alternate
years, etc.).
2. Number of department
members currently
competent to teach the
course.
3. Instructor(s) likely to
teach the course in the
coming year.
4. An indication of the
number of contact
hours (defined in terms
of hours, weeks, etc.)
involved, in order to
indicate whether an
effective length of term
is being maintained OR
in the absence of
scheduled contact
hours a detailed
breakdown of the
estimated time
students are likely to
spend engaged in
learning activities
required by the course.
1. 1 section per year
Lecture hours will be a mix of audio-visual presentations, concept
review, and in-class activities (such as ranking tasks) marked using
clickers. These sessions will cover important concepts and applications
from the textbook, which will be reinforced by on-line e-learning
assignments. The results of the clicker quizzes and on-line assignments
will be reviewed, and tutorial activity modules will be chosen to target
those topics most in need of revisiting.
The intent of this structure is to have 3 large-group interactions per
week, plus bi-weekly e-learning assignments reinforced by small-group
tutorial activity interactions a week or two later.
Tutorial activities will be designed both to reinforce concepts and to
challenge top students (80% of the mark from high-value basic
questions and 20% of the mark from a large number of low-value
challenge questions).
Students will also have the option of a short essay on a specific section
of a specific supplemental reading book, with no duplication of such
assignments allowed.
2. Several (Pat Hall, Norbert Bartel, Paul Delaney, and others)
3. Pat Hall
4. Three lecture/activity hours per week, 1-hour e-learning exercise
every 2 weeks, and 2-hour tutorial every 2-3 weeks. Students will
also have extensive contact through discussion boards in Moodle for
independent study activities.
6
Evaluation:
A detailed percentage
breakdown of the basis
of evaluation in the
proposed course must be
provided.
If the course is to be
integrated, the additional
requirements for
graduate students are to
be listed.
If the course is amenable
to technologically
mediated forms of
delivery please identify
how the integrity of
learning evaluation will
be maintained. (e.g. will
"on-site" examinations be
required, etc.)
Bibliography:
A READING LIST MUST
BE INCLUDED FOR ALL
NEW COURSES
The Library has requested
that the reading list
contain complete
bibliographical
information, such as full
name of author, title, year
of publication, etc., and
that you distinguish
between required and
suggested readings. A
statement is required from
the bibliographer
responsible for the
discipline to indicate
whether resources are
adequate to support the
course.
Also please list any online
resources.
If the course is to be
integrated (graduate/
undergraduate), a list of
the additional readings to
be required of graduate
students must be
included. If no additional
readings are to be
required, a rationale
should be supplied.
LIBRARY SUPPORT
STATEMENT MUST BE
INCLUDED.
30% tutorial/lab activities
10% participation (in class and some online)
10% independent study topics (online study or book chapter report)
20% midterm
30% final
Required Textbook:
ASTRO, First Canadian Edition (Backman, Seeds, Ghose, MilosevicZdjelar & Read), 2013. This textbook is designed for one-semester
courses, emphasizes Canadian astronomy achievements, and is written
by two experienced astronomy textbook writers and three Canadian
astronomers.
Supplemental readings:
* Carl Sagan, ‘Cosmos’, ‘The Demon-Haunted World’, etc.
* Stephen Hawking, ‘A Brief History of Time’, 1988 (or the 10th
anniversary edition, 1998)
* Kip Thorne, ‘Black Holes & Time Warps’, 1995
* Ken Croswell, ‘The Alchemy of the Heavens’, 1996
* Brian Greene, ‘The Elegant Universe’, 1999
* Stephen Hawking, ‘The Universe in a Nutshell’, 2001
* Bill Bryson, ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’, 2003
* Neil Degrasse Tyson & Donald Goldsmith, ‘Origins’, 2005
* Neil Degrasse Tyson, ‘Death by Black Hole’, 2007
* Paul Steinhardt & Neil Turok, ‘Endless Universe: Beyond the Big
Bang’, 2008
* Phil Plait, ‘Death from the Skies!’, 2008
* Leonard Susskind, ‘The Black Hole War’, 2009
* Brian Cox & Jeff Forshaw, ‘Why Does E=mc2?’, 2010
* Dave Goldberg, ‘A User’s Guide to the Universe’, 2010
* Lawrence M. Krauss, ‘A Universe from Nothing’, 2012
* Brian May, Patrick Moore & Chris Lintott, ‘Bang! The Complete
History of the Universe’, 2013
* Bennett et al., ‘The Essential Cosmic Perspective’, 2012 [could be
alternate textbook via custom version with selected chapters]
7
Other Resources:
A statement regarding the
adequacy of physical
resources (equipment,
space, etc.) must be
appended. If other
resources will be required
to mount this course,
please explain
COURSES WILL NOT BE
APPROVED UNLESS IT
IS CLEAR THAT
ADEQUATE
RESOURCES ARE
AVAILABLE TO
SUPPORT IT.
Course Rationale:
The following points
should be addressed in
the rationale:
How the course
contributes to the
learning objectives of the
program / degree.
The relationship of the
proposed course to other
existing offerings,
particularly in terms of
overlap in objectives
and/or content. If interFaculty overlap exists,
some indication of
consultation with the
Faculty affected should
be given.
The expected enrolment
in the course.
Normal classroom facilities and classrooms for the tutorial sessions.
This course provides another one-semester NATS course option for students
interested in astronomy. It addresses many of the ‘big picture’ topics in
astronomy: What exists outside our solar system? What do we understand about
the past and future of our universe? What might have existed before our
universe, and what might exist beyond it? These are questions of considerable
public and scientific and interest, with new developments every year which can be
incorporated into the course.
This course’s content parallels that of the second semester of NATS 1740, hence
the course exclusion for NATS 1740.
However, the course content has minimal overlap with NATS 1880 ‘Life in the
Universe’. No exclusion for that course means that interested students will have
the option of taking both those courses.
This course also provides a natural complement to NATS 1570 ‘Exploring the
Solar System’ for students interested in astronomy but whose schedules or
preferences deter them from enrolling in a full-year course. Basic concepts about
the workings of our physical world will be covered in both courses, but with
different examples and in very different contexts. Repetition of these concepts will
reinforce them for students who take both courses, making this area of overlap
pedagogically useful.
Expected enrollment: 250-300 students
8
Faculty and
Department
Approval for Crosslistings:
If the course is to be
cross-listed with
another department,
this section needs to
be signed by all
parties. In some
cases there may be
more than two
signatures required
(i.e. Mathematics,
Women’s Studies). In
the majority of the
cases either the
Undergraduate
Director or Chair of a
unit approves the
agreement to crosslist. All relevant
signatures must be
obtained prior to
submission to the
Faculty curriculum
committee.
Dept: _________________________
Signature (Authorizing cross-listing)
____________________ _________
Department
Date
Dept: __________________________ ___________________ __________
Signature (Authorizing cross-listing)
Department
Date
Dept: __________________________ ___________________ __________
Signature (Authorizing cross-listing) Department
Date
9
STEACIE SCIENCE & ENGINEERING LIBRARY
YORK UNIVERSITY
MEMORANDUM
To:
Paul Delaney, Director, Division of Natural Science, Faculty of Science & Engineering
From:
Sarah Shujah, Science Librarian
Re:
NATS1585 – Astronomy: Exploring the Universe
Date:
September 20, 2013
I have reviewed the course proposal and attached bibliography for NATS1585 – Astronomy: Exploring the
Universe and can state that the York University Libraries have the required resources to support this
undergraduate level course.
Please be aware that the library offers the following services to help students with their research:
• A librarian can go to the classroom or tutorial and introduce students to the various resources
available at the library including electronic journals, newspaper indexes and other databases.
• A librarian is also available for individual consultations with students to help them find the
materials they need for their research.
• A librarian can be available as a user on the course Moodle page to answer student questions
using the Forum discussion, provide links to resources in the course, and post handouts
presented in face-to-face instruction.
The following electronic resources licensed by the library may be of help to the students in this course:
• Scopus is the world’s largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. It has
many articles that are relevant to natural science and specifically, astronomy. Additionally, it
contains citation information.
• Web of Science is an extensive database that has very good coverage of sciences including
astronomy and physics. Additionally, it allows for citation search.
• General Science Abstracts: This database indexes general science topics such as astronomy. It
is appropriate for beginning undergraduate natural science students.
• Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics: A comprehensive reference in the field of
astronomy and astrophysics. This will be a good resource for first year undergraduate students to
help understand major astronomy concepts.
• Nasa Astrophysics Data System: Indexes the literature in astronomy, astrophysics,
instrumentation, physics and geophysics.
A more complete listing of resources is available at the following LibGuides:
• Natural Science LibGuide http://researchguides.library.yorku.ca/natural science
• Astronomy LibGuide http://researchguides.library.yorku.ca/astronomy
Please note that the Steacie and Scott Libraries have extensive collections of books and reference materials
that are relevant to this course.
In summary, I state that we are well positioned to support this course.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Sarah Shujah, Science Librarian
Steacie Science & Engineering Library
416-736-2100 x33945
[email protected]