Download Physics 1114OL - Normandale Community College

NORMANDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
PHYSICS 1114 ONLINE “Introductory Astronomy”
Dr. Mark Hollabaugh, Instructor
Office: S1307
Office Phone: 952-358-8461
Email: [email protected]
SYLLABUS
This syllabus is divided into two major sections: Course Adminstrative Policies and Procedures and
Course Outline. The hyperlinks in the document should be active if you have a Web connection. You can
easily print this document for offline use.
Course Adminstrative Policies and Procedures
Course Description: PHYS 1114 is an online introductory course in astronomy covering the tools and
methods of astronomy, and the physics of the solar system, stars, galaxies, and the universe. Laboratory
activities include data collection and analysis, and night sky observations. This course is especially
recommended for future teachers or students intending to major in science or engineering fields.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Two on-campus sessions are allowed for an online course. You will have an oncampus proctored mid-term exam and an on-campus proctored final exam. Details will be posted on NCC
Online (i.e., D2L, https://normandale.ims.mnscu.edu/index.asp).
Course Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to
1. Identify significant persons responsible for the development of modern astronomy,
2. Explain the use of the basic tools of astronomical measurement and research, and the application of
the laws of physics to those measurements,
3. Explain the importance of principal astronomical discoveries,
4. Identify, classify, and name the features of various astronomical objects (planetary, stellar, galactic,
cosmological),
5. Describe the evolution of the universe and entities within the universe such as planets and stars,
6. Use astronomical terms intelligently,
7. Relate and apply textbook and classroom material to laboratory experiences,
8. Communicate his or her findings, analyses, and interpretations and discuss the accuracy of
measurements and meaning of the results of laboratory work,
9. Perform simple calculations related to astronomy and interpret graphical representation of data, and
10. Master the specific unit learning outcomes.
Prerequisite: MATH 0700 with a grade of “B” or better and READ 960. High school geometry
recommended.
ADA Statement: This course is available in alternate media by request.
Required Materials:
th
 Universe, 9 edition, Freedman, Geller and Kaufmann, W.H. Freeman & Co, ISBN 978-1-42923153
 Calculator: You will need a basic, inexpensive scientific calculator such as the TI-30 series. A
graphing calculator may be used but is not required. Only traditional calculators may be used on the
mid-term and final exams. You may not use the calculator function of a cell phone, PDA or similar
device.
 Computer: A Windows PC with high-speed Internet access and a sound card. Your computer will
need the current free versions of QuickTime and Adobe Acrobat Reader. It also must be able to run
JAVA applets.
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

Videos: There are several videos you will want to watch. All are available in the Normandale
Library, or if you wish, many of them are available for online viewing for a small fee.
Testing: The Mid-term Exam and the Final Exam are administered in a proctored environment at
Normandale. Details will be posted on D2L. If you are not close enough to take the exams at
Normandale at the times provided, you will need to make arrangements for taking the exams at
another testing center at your own expense.
Recommended: Depending on where you purchased your textbook, there may be a copy of Starry Night
packaged with Universe. (Used books may not have the software intact and the college bookstore is not
responsible for missing software in used books.) Starry Night is an excellent program and I encourage you to
use it. It is available through the Normandale Bookstore, or directly from the publisher
(http://www.starrynight.com/). Stellarium is a free open source planetarium program for your computer. It
shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. To
download it go to http://www.stellarium.org/.
Mid-Term Exam and Final Exam: If you are unable to take the mid-term and final exams at Normandale,
they MUST be taken in an approved testing center. Each student is responsible for locating a testing location
that will administer and proctor the exams. Most MnSCU colleges and universities can accommodate a
request for proctored testing. Many community colleges will offer this service. Students deployed with the
military who wish to take the course may request proctoring by a superior officer. The purpose of this
requirement is to insure the integrity of the testing procedure and that each student’s work is only his or her
own effort. More information will be available on D2L.
Important grading policy: Any request for a reconsideration of the grading of any graded assignment or
exam must be made within two class days of the return of the item in question, the posting of a grade on
D2L, or prior to taking the final exam, whichever comes first.
Laboratory: There are twelve lab exercises. You will receive points for each lab by successfully
completing a short online quiz based on the lab. Currently (2011) the labs are from the Online Labs for
Introductory Level Astronomy from The Nebraska Astronomy Applet Project.
Observations: You must make 10 observations of the night sky in conjunction with the labs and complete
an observation report for each observation. Many of your observations can (and will) be “naked eye.” If you
have access to binoculars, use them. Even small, low power binoculars will be helpful. Observing ideas
specific to the semester in which you take the course will be posted on D2L. Please note that observing
means actually looking with your eyes at something in the sky, not on a computer screen.
Phases of the Moon: You must record the appearance and location of the Moon for one lunar month. You
must complete this activity in order to get an A or B in the course.
Policy on Missing Labs: Because this is a lab course, you cannot successfully complete the course without
completing all the labs. If you have not completed three labs, your grade will be lowered one letter grade. If
you are missing four, or more, labs, your final grade will be “F”.
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Evaluation & Grading Breakdown: Specific grading requirements for labs, observations, discussion, etc.,
will be explained in D2L.
Labs (12  5 points)
60
Observations (10  2 points)
Syllabus & Unit Online Quizzes (15  5 points)
Online Discussions (15  3 points)
Phases of the Moon Observations
Mid-term Exam
Final Exam
Total Points
20
75
45
20
50
80
350
Grading Scale:
Average (%) Letter Grade
80-100
A
70-79
B
55-69
C
50-54
D
<50
F
Policy on Incompletes: Generally we assign an “I” grade when a student has extenuating circumstances that
cause him or her to miss significant portions of a course. The “I” is an alternative to a “W” when the student
has demonstrated a mastery of the material and only will miss a part of the course. An agreement between
the instructor and the student is made as to the nature of the work to be made up and when it will be
completed. I use the “I” very rarely and only upon extensive consultation with the student well in advance of
the end of the semester. Extenuating circumstances include jury duty, military duty, and extraordinary family
situations. A decision on a request for an “I” is handled on a case by case basis. Example 1: A student is in
the National Guard and her unit is called to active duty for a brief deployment. In the tenth week of the
semester she notifies me that she will miss the last quiz and final exam in the course. To date, all her work
has been satisfactory. She agrees to take the last quiz and final exam upon her return. Her request is granted.
Example 2: A student has not submitted any observations, missed submitting several labs and the mid-term
exam. His performance in the course does not demonstrate an understanding of the material. The day before
the final exam, he emails me requesting an “I” so he can better prepare for the final exam and not harm his
GPA. His request is denied due to the untimely request and current standing in the course.
From the Normandale Community College Catalog: “Normandale Community College believes that
every person’s education is the product of his/her own intellectual efforts. Each student who enrolls and
remains at Normandale, therefore, understands that to submit [individual] work which is not their own
violates the purpose of the college and of his/her presence here. No intellectual community can maintain its
integrity or be faithful to its members if violations of its central purpose are tolerated. In case such violations
do occur, the instructor has the prerogative to take appropriate action.” Appropriate action may mean an “F”
in the course and referral to the Dean of Students for further action.
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COURSE OUTLINE
Texbook readings refer to chapters and sections in Freedman, Geller and Kaufmann, Universe, 9th Ed.
Note: Textbook readings also include the “boxes” and essays contained in those chapters. Preface each
learning objective with “You should be able to....”
Unit 1 Introduction, Positional Astronomy, Calendars and Time.
Key Concepts: latitude, longitude, celestial sphere, celestial pole, celestial equator, solstice, equinox, zenith,
meridian, transit, horizon, circumpolar, sunrise, noon, sunset, zodiac, Polaris, retrograde motion, day, month,
year, ecliptic, vernal equinox, orbital plane, seasons, equinox, solstice, precession of the equinox, calendar,
solar day, Universal Time, local Standard Time, Daylight Savings time, time zones, right ascension and
declination, altitude and azimuth, small angle formula.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Describe the daily motions of the sun, moon, stars, and planets relative to the horizon from a midnorthern latitude.
2. Describe the seasonal positions of the sun—at sunrise, noon, and sunset—relative to the horizon
from a mid-northern latitude.
3. Describe the motions of the sun and the moon, as seen from the Earth, relative to the stars of the
zodiac.
4. Define the astronomical events or cycles that set the following time intervals: day, month, and year.
5. Define the ecliptic and describe its approximate position in the sky.
6. Define zodiac and list the constellations on the zodiac.
7. Explain what causes the seasons on Earth.
8. Explain what is meant by precession of the equinox and how it effects the calendar.
9. Define celestial pole, celestial equator, solstice, equinox, zenith, meridian, and transit.
10. Convert between UT and a local time zone such as CST or CDT.
11. Recognize the units of right ascension and declination on a star chart.
12. Explain altitude and azimuth.
13. Use World Wide Web resources or a computer program such as Starry Night (optional) to produce
star charts and determine the timing of celestial phenomena.
14. Use the small angle formula.
Textbook:
1-1 to 1-8
2-2 to 2-8
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
1:1,2,3,4,16,20,21,25,30
2:4,5,11,14,15,17,18,19,20,27,28,37,40,46,56.
Other Learning Resources:
Video: From Here to Infinity QB981 F8.6
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 1.1 Astronomical Distances - The Light-Year
Animation 1.2 Small-Angle Formula
AIMM 1.1 Small-Angle Formula
Animation 2.1 The Celestial Sphere
Animation 2.2 Apparent Motion of Stars
Animation 2.3 Sidereal Time
Animation 2.4 Why Diurnal Motion Happens
Animation 2.5 The Seasons
Animation 2.6 Sun’s Path Across the Sky
Animation 2.7 Precession
Interactive Exercise 2.1 Celestial Coordinates
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Unit 2 Motions in the Sky: Phases of the Moon and Eclipses.
Key Concepts: lunar synodic and sidereal months, phases of the Moon, synchronous motion, waxing,
waning, crescent, gibbous, total solar eclipse, total, partial, and penumbral lunar eclipse, partial eclipse,
annular eclipse, node, line of nodes, regression of the line of nodes, eclipse “seasons”, saros cycle, lunar
calendars, archaeoastronomy, ethnoastronomy, astronomical alignment, heliacal rise.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Explain why the Moon goes through monthly phases.
2. Given the phase of the Moon, tell when and where it will be seen in the sky.
3. Describe the Moon’s rotation and why we always see the same face of the Moon.
4. Explain the difference between a lunar sidereal month and a lunar synodic month.
5. Explain what happens during a lunar eclipse.
6. Describe total, partial, and penumbral lunar eclipses.
7. Explain what happens during a solar eclipse.
8. Describe total, partial, and annular solar eclipses.
9. Explain how often lunar and solar eclipses occur on a repeating cycle.
10. Use World Wide Web resources or a computer program such as Starry Night (optional) to predict
future or summarize past eclipse phenomena.
Textbook:
3-1 to 3-5
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
3:4,5,12,13,18,19,21,26,27,28,34,39,45,48,51
Other Learning Resources:
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 3.1 Phases of the Moon
Animation 3.2 Moon’s Rotation
Animation 3.3 Sidereal vs. Synodic Month
Animation 3.4 Solar Eclipse Viewed from Space
Interactive Exercise 3.1 Moon Phases
Interactive Exercise 3.2 Conditions for Eclipses
Interactive Exercise 3.3 Lunar Eclipses
Unit 3 Explaining the Sky: The Greeks, Motions of the Planets, Native American Astronomy,
Kepler’s Laws, & Newton’s Laws.
Key Concepts: Aristotle’s geocentric model, Ptolemy, deferent, epicycle, annual stellar parallax, Copernican
heliocentric model, revolution, rotation, rotational axis, superior planet, inferior planet, greatest eastern
elongation, greatest western elongation, conjunction. opposition, sidereal and synodic periods, Tycho Brahe,
Johannes Kepler, Astronomical Unit, properties of ellipses, planetary orbits, perigee, perihelion, perilune,
aphelion, apogee, apolune, Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, scientific model, Galileo’s telescopic
discoveries, Newton’s laws of motion, gravity, Newton’s Law of Gravitation, mass, weight.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify and describe at least one specific astronomical achievement or practice of a Native
American culture.
2. Explain what is meant by astronomical alignment of an archaeological site.
3. Describe the motions of the planets, as seen from the Earth, relative to the sun and the stars of the
zodiac, with special attention to the retrograde motion of Mars.
4. Describe the motion of Venus as it goes from one greatest elongation to another and the
configurations in which Venus can be seen as a morning star and as an evening star.
5. Define sidereal and synodic periods for a planet and calculate a sidereal period from a synodic period
for a planet.
6. Explain the methods Greek astronomers used to calculate the size of the Earth.
7. State the assumptions and physical basis for Ptolemy’s geocentric model.
8. Describe the difference between a sun-centered solar system model and an Earth-centered one with
respect to an annual stellar parallax.
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9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Explain why the Copernican model explains the major motions in the sky.
Describe the work of Tycho Brahe and how he influenced Kepler.
Describe the important geometric properties of ellipses and apply these to planetary orbits.
State Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion and apply them to appropriate astronomical situations.
Do calculations involving Kepler’s Third Law.
Calculate planetary sidereal periods from synodic periods and vice versa.
Describe the impact of telescopic observations on scientific models.
Describe Galileo’s important telescopic discoveries and their impact on the controversy over the
Copernican and Ptolemaic models.
17. Cite Newton’s three laws of motion, describe each in simple terms, provide concrete examples, and
apply them to astronomical and everyday cases.
18. Describe Newton’s Law of Gravitation in simple physical terms, and apply this law to the concept of
weight.
Textbook:
2-1, 3-6
4-1 to 4-8
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
4:1,4,8,9,10,11,15,16,20,24,33,38,39,46,49
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 4.1 The Greek Geocentric Model of the Universe
Animation 4.2 Path of Mars 2009-1010 and 2011-2012
Animation 4.3 A Geocentric Explanation of Retrograde Motion
Animation 4.4 A Heliocentric Explanation of Retrograde Motion
Animation 4.5 Synodic and Sidereal Periods
Animation 4.6 Kepler’s First and Second Laws
Animation 4.7 An Explanation of Orbits
AIMM 4.1 Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
Interactive Exercise 4.1 Planetary Orbits and Configurations
Interactive Exercise 4.2 Conic Sections
Animation 11.1 Elongations of Mercury and Venus
Animation 11.2 Orbits of Earth and Mars
Animation 11.3 Prograde and Retrograde Rotation
Unit 4 Seeing the Sky: Electromagnetic Radiation, Stefan-Boltzmann Law, Planck’s Radiation,
Wein’s Laws, Optical & Radio Telescopes.
Key Concepts: temperature, aperture, wavelength, frequency, speed of light, electromagnetic spectrum,
ultraviolet light, infrared light, relationship between color and temperature, Doppler effect, Planck blackbody
curve, continuous, absorption, and emission spectra, spectroscope, Doppler shift, chemical compositions,
telescope, light-gathering power, resolution, magnifying power, resolving power, exit pupil and f/ ratio,
eyepiece, objective, chromatic aberration, reflecting and refracting telescopes, Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector,
space telescope, focal length, radio telescope, radio interferometer, observatory.
Learning Outcomes:
1. State the speed of light and describe how it was first measured.
2. Explain the dual nature of light (as particles and as waves).
3. Describe the types of radiation that make up the electromagnetic spectrum.
4. Describe the three temperature scales in common use and do conversions between them.
5. Define blackbody radiation and recognize the Planck blackbody curve.
6. Do calculations with Wien’s law and the Stefan-Boltzmann law.
7. Explain what spectral lines are and how they are used to identify the chemical elements.
8. Describe how a refracting telescope works.
9. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of refracting telescopes.
10. Describe the difference between magnification and light-gathering power.
11. Explain what chromatic aberration is and how it is corrected.
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12. Describe how a reflecting telescope works.
13. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of reflecting telescopes.
14. Describe the difference between reflecting and refracting telescopes.
15. Calculate the magnification and resolving power for a telescope or binoculars.
16. Explain what light pollution is and be able to describe the methods used to overcome it.
17. Describe how adaptive optics work.
18. Explain what a radio telescope is and the kind of information it provides.
19. Explain why we place telescopes in orbit.
20. Explain the Doppler effect and use it to compute velocities.
Textbook:
5-1 to 5-9
6-1 to 6-7
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
5:5,7,8,12,14,15,24,31,33,41,45
6:1,7,22,33,43,45
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 5.1 Continuous Spectra, Absorption Line Spectra, and Emission Line Spectra
Animation 5.2 Absorption and Emission of a Photon
Animation 5.3 Blackbody Curve
AIMM 5.1 Blackbody Curves
AIMM 5.2 Wien’s Law
AIMM 5.3 The Doppler Effect
Interactive Exercise 5.1 Kirchoff’s Laws
Interactive Exercise 5.2 Electron Transitions in Hydrogen
Animation 6.1 Refracting Telescope
Animation 6.2 Reflecting Telescopes
Animation 6.3 The James Webb Space Telescope
Video 6.1 The Arecibo Radio Telescope
AIMM 6.1 Telescope Magnification
Interactive Exercise 6.1 A Refracting Telescope
Unit 5 Comparative Planetology, Earth-Moon System, Lunar Features & Origin of the Moon.
Key Concepts: igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, interior structure of the Earth, age of the Earth,
radioactive decay and half-life, magnetic field, atmosphere, surface environment, tectonics, greenhouse
effect, global warming, cratering of planetary surfaces, Moon’s surface and interior, Apollo missions to the
Moon, maria, highlands, farside, four models of the Moon’s origin, geomagnetism, magnetic reversals,
aurora borealis, inner planet, outer planet.
Learning Outcomes:
1. List the planets of the solar system in order of increasing distance from the Sun.
2. Name the seven largest planetary satellites in our solar system and which planets they orbit.
3. Explain how spectroscopy is used to reveal the chemical composition of the planets’ atmospheres
and solid surfaces.
4. Compare and contrast the compositions of the terrestrial and Jovian planets.
5. Explain how temperature affects the atmospheres and surfaces of the planets.
6. State the many factors that make Earth unique in the solar system.
7. State the three basic types of rocks and how they form.
8. Explain how the study of earthquakes has revealed Earth’s interior structure and be able to describe
that structure.
9. State the major ideas of plate tectonics.
10. Explain the role of plate tectonics in shaping Earth’s surface.
11. Describe the chemical composition, structure, and behavior of Earth’s atmosphere.
12. Describe Earth’s magnetic field and magnetosphere.
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13. Describe the surface of the Moon.
14. Describe how craters, maria, and highlands formed on the Moon.
15. List the major missions to the Moon and state what they accomplished.
16. Describe what we know about the Moon’s chemical composition and internal structure.
17. State the major kinds of rocks found on the Moon.
18. Describe how scientists determined the ages of lunar rocks.
19. Explain the giant impact (i.e., collisional-ejectional) model of the Moon’s origin.
20. State the general outline of the Moon’s geological history.
Textbook:
7-1 to 7-8
9-1 to 9-7
10-1 to 10-5
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
7:2,3,7,8,9,10,12,15,29,32,39
9:1,3,8,15,17,19,22,26,27,28,39,44,45,50
10:5,6,8,14,17,22,25,37,39
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 7.1 Planetary Orbits
Interactive Exercise 7.1 Our Solar System: Terrestrial or Jovian?
Animation 9.1 The Greenhouse Effect
Video 9.1 An Oasis in the Solar System
Video 9.2 The Aurora Borealis
Interactive Exercise 9.1 The Mechanism of Plate Tectonics
Interactive Exercise 9.2 Earth’s Magnetosphere
Animation 10.1 The Libration of the Moon
Animation 10.2 The Formation of the Moon
Video 10.1 The Whole Moon
Video 10.2 Ranger 9 Strikes the Moon
Video 10.3 An Apollo Astronaut on the Moon
Video 10.4 Gathering Moon Rocks
Interactive Exercise 10.1 Crater Formation on the Moon
Unit 6 The Terrestrial Planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars.
Key Concepts: Mercury, Mars, Venus, Greenhouse effect, mass and density, escape speed, terrestrial
planet, missions to Mercury, Venus and Mars, permafrost, extrasolar planets, Mariner, Viking 1 and 2,
Pathfinder, Phoenix, Magellan.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Explain why there is such a tremendous difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures on
Mercury.
2. Describe Mercury’s surface.
3. Describe the similarities and differences between Mercury’s surface and that of the Moon.
4. Describe Mercury’s internal structure.
5. Explain why Venus appears featureless through Earth-based telescopes.
6. Describe Venus’s rotation, and why it is unusual.
7. Describe the greenhouse effect on Venus.
8. State the composition of Venus’ atmosphere.
9. State the major features of the surface of Venus.
10. Understand the configurations under which Mars is best observed from Earth.
11. Explain the similarities and differences among volcanoes found on Mars, Earth, and Venus.
12. Describe the evidence that water once flowed on Mars.
13. Explain the composition of the Martian atmosphere.
14. Explain how the atmospheres of Venus, Mars and the Earth evolved differently.
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15. Describe seasonal variations on Mars.
16. Describe the experiments that have been conducted to search for life and water on Mars, as well as
their results.
17. Describe the Martian moons.
18. Describe the 21st century explorations of Mars.
Textbook:
11-1 to 11-7
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
11:1,4,10,16,19,20,21,22,23,24,26,27,32,34,38,49,50,61,65,79
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 11.5 Mercury’s Magnetic Field
Animation 11.6 Magellan Maps a Planet (Venus)
Animation 11.7 The Topography of Mars
Video 11.1 An Immense Chasm on Venus
Video 11.2 Mercury’s Cratered Surface
Video 11.3 Valles Marineris and the Giant Volcanoes of Mars
Video 11.4 A Martian Chasm
Video 11.5 A Martian Panorama
Video 11.6 A Martian Dust Devil
Interactive Exercise 11.1 The Internal Structures of Mercury and Earth
Unit 7 The Jovian Planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Trans Neptunian Objects.
Key Concepts: Jovian planet, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, magnetosphere, planetary magnetic fields,
planetary atmospheres, planetary ring systems, Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo, Cassini, Huygens, Galilean
satellites of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto; Titan, Miranda, Triton, Kuiper Belt objects, TransNeptunian Objects.
Learning Outcomes:
1. State the best configuration for observing Jupiter from the Earth.
2. Describe Jupiter’s chemical composition.
3. Describe what the Galileo probe discovered about Jupiter’s atmosphere.
4. Explain what causes Jupiter’s strong magnetic field.
5. Describe the surface of Io.
6. Describe the effects of Jupiter’s magnetic field on Io.
7. Describe the surface of Europa.
8. Explain why Europa might be the only world in the solar system other than Earth where life could
evolve.
9. Describe Jupiter’s ring and its other satellites, especially their orbits.
10. Describe Saturn’s atmosphere and how it is similar to and different from the atmosphere of Jupiter.
11. State when Saturn’s rings are best seen from Earth.
12. Describe the composition of the Saturnian rings.
13. Explain how Saturn’s rings might have formed.
14. State the principal findings of the Cassini-Huygens mission.
15. Explain how, by whom, and when Uranus and Neptune were discovered.
16. Describe the atmosphere of Uranus.
17. Explain what is unusual about Uranus’s rotation.
18. Describe Neptune’s atmosphere and explain how it differs from that of Uranus.
19. Describe the compositions of Uranus and Neptune and how they differ from those of Jupiter and
Saturn.
20. Describe the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune and compare them to the other Jovian planets
and Earth..
21. Describe the ring systems of Uranus and Neptune and how they were discovered.
22. Describe what is unique about Miranda’s surface and how scientists explain its unusual features.
23. Describe Triton’s surface and orbit.
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24. Describe how Pluto and Charon were discovered.
25. Describe what is known about the surfaces, compositions, and orbits of Pluto and Charon.
26. Describe what a Kuiper Belt objects are and explain how they are related to the trans-Saturnian
planets.
Textbook:
12:1-10
13:1-10
14:1-10
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
12:1,3,8,9,15,20,23,25,29,30,31,34,38,57,60
13:4,6,9,11,20,27,28,31,50,51,58
14:2,6,9,10,11,21,28,34,40,43,49
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 12.1 The Changing Appearance of Saturn’s Rings
Video 12.1 Jupiter from Voyager 1
Video 12.2 Saturn from Voyager 2
Video 12.3 The Great Red Spot
Video 12.4 Lightning Sounds from Saturn
Video 12.5 Saturn from the Hubble Space Telescope
Video 12.7 Jupiter’s Main Ring
Video 12.8 Shaping Saturn’s F Ring
Video 12.9 A Moon Makes Waves
Video 12.10 Spokes in Saturn’s Rings
Interactive Exercise 12.1 Jupiter and Saturn’s Internal Structure
Interactive Exercise 12.2 Jupiter’s Magnetosphere
Animation 13.1 The Orbits of the Galilean Satellites
Video 13.1 Jupiter’s Moon Io
Video 13.2 A Simulated Flight Over Io
Video 13.3 The Io Torus
Video 13.4 Jupiter’s Moon Ganymede
Video 13.5 An Infrared Movie of Titan
Video 13.6 Descending with Huygens to Titan’s Surface
Interactive Exercise 13.1 Interiors of the Galilean Satellites
Interactive Exercise 13.2 Jupiter’s Galilean Satellites
Animation 14.1 Exaggerated Seasons on Uranus
Animation 14.2 How the Rings of Uranus Were Discovered
Animation 14.3 The Orbit of Sedna
Video 14.1 Neptune’s Dynamic Atmosphere
Video 14.2 Neptune from Voyager 2
Video 14.3 Neptune’s Rings
Video 14.4 Uranus’s Moon Miranda
Video 14.5 Neptune’s Moon Triton
Video 14.6 A Simulated Flight Over Triton
Video 14.7 Pluto and its Moon Charon
Video 14.8 Pluto and Charon
Interactive Exercise 14.1 The Magnetic Fields of Five Planets
Unit 8 Minor Planets: Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids; Origin of the Solar System, Other solar
systems.
Key Concepts: Kuiper Belt, KBOs, Oort Cloud, Pluto, Charon, Sedna, Eris, TNOs, dynamic and chemical
properties of the solar system, comets, asteroids, meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites, names of comets and
asteroids, meteor showers, and asteroids, Trojan asteroids, Lagrangian Points, conservation of angular
momentum, planetesimals, nebular model of the formation of the solar system, accretion.
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Learning Outcomes:
1. Explain how the asteroids were discovered.
2. Describe the nature of the Trojan asteroid orbits & the three body problem.
3. Describe what could happen when an asteroid collides with another asteroid or the Earth.
4. Explain the possible role of an asteroid collision with Earth in the extinction of the dinosaurs and
other species 65 million years ago.
5. Explain the differences between a meteor, a meteoroid, and a meteorite.
6. Explain how asteroids and comets are named.
7. Describe a comet, its structure, and its orbit.
8. State where short-period and long-period comets are thought to originate.
9. Explain the relationship between comets and meteor showers.
10. Explain what the solar nebula is and how it formed.
11. Explain the role of gravity and heat in transforming the solar nebula into the protosun and
protoplanetary disk.
12. Explain the principle of conservation of angular momentum.
13. Explain the role of condensation temperature in formation of the planets.
14. Describe how collisions of dust grains and pebbles accreted into planetesimals, planetesimals into
protoplanets, and protoplanets into planets.
15. Explain which elements are most abundant in the solar system compared to the universe as a whole.
Textbook:
8:1-7
15:1-8
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
8:1,4,5,6,14,19,30,32,44
15:1,5,7,12,13,14,15,21,22,23,24,27,28
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 8.1 When Worlds Collide
Animation 8.2 The Birth of the Solar System
Animation 8.3 Genesis of a Comet
Animation 8.4 The Evolution of a Planet-Forming Disk
Animation 8.5 Detecting Extrasolar Planets Using the Radial Velocity Method
Animation 8.7 An Extrasolar Planet Transits its Star
Animation 8.8 An Extrasolar Planet Being Eclipsed by its Star
Video 8.1 Protoplanetary Disks in the Orion Nebula
Animation 15.1 100 Years of Comet Halley
Animation 15.2 The Orbit of a Comet around the Sun
Video 15.1 Gaspra from the Galileo Spacecraft
Video 15.2 Impacting a Comet Nucleus
Video 15.3 Two Comets and an Active Sun
Interactive Exercise 15.1 The Asteroid Belt
Interactive Exercise 15.2 Comets
MID-TERM EXAM (Units 1-8)
Unit 9 Why Stars Shine: The Sun & Nucleosynthesis
Key Concepts: star, Sun, Sun’s spectrum, thermonuclear reactions, fusion, nucleosynthesis, proton-proton
cycle, energy, power, neutrinos solar neutrino experiments, granulation, photosphere, chromosphere, corona,
and solar wind, active Sun, flares, sunspots, space weather, the aurora, light year, parsecs, parallax, absolute
and apparent magnitudes, star names, constellation, constellation names.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Describe what the solar wind is.
2. Describe the structure of the solar atmosphere.
3. Describe the photosphere, its properties, and its features.
12
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Describe the chromosphere, its properties, and its features.
Describe the corona, its properties, and its features.
Explain what sunspots are and what the sunspot cycle is.
Describe the relationship between sunspots and the Sun’s magnetic field.
Explain solar nucleosynthesis.
Calculate the amount of energy released in one proton-proton cycle.
Explain the difference between energy and power (or luminosity).
Describe what a stellar model is and be able to explain the theoretical model of the Sun.
Explain why scientists measure the number of neutrinos emitted from the Sun’s core and what the
results imply.
13. Give an example of a solar-terrestrial interaction and explain the effect on the Earth’s space weather
and technology.
Textbook:
16:1-10
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
16:1,3,4,6,7,11,14,18,20,25,29,31,44,47
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 16.1 Steps to Fuse Hydrogen into Helium
Video 16.1 Granules on the Sun’s Surface
Video 16.2 Convection in the Photosphere
Video 16.3 A Coronal Hole
Video 16.4 Seething Granules Around Sunspots
Video 16.5 The Motion of a Small Sunspot Group
Video 16.6 An X-Ray Look at the Sun
Interactive Exercise 16.1 A Theoretical Model of the Sun
Interactive Exercise 16.2 The Solar Atmosphere
Interactive Exercise 16.3 Faces of the Sun
Unit 10 Describing & Measuring the Stars: Star Names & Constellations, Distances, Variable Stars,
Stellar Magnitudes; Stellar Properties; Binary Stars; Chemical composition; Spectral and Luminosity
Classes; The H-R Diagram
Key Concepts: blackbody radiation, surface temperature, Wein’s Law, Stefan-Boltzmann Law, luminosity
class, chemical composition, radius, mass, luminosity, density, continuous, absorption, and emission spectra,
chemical compositions of stars, Hertzsprung - Russell diagram, masses of binary stars, spectroscopic binary,
astrometric binary, eclipsing and visual binaries, mass-luminosity relation, main-sequence stars, variable star
names, Cepheid variables, Magellanic clouds, Period-Luminosity Law for variable stars, variable stars as
distance indicators, Henrietta Levitt.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Explain how astronomers use the parallax of a star to measure its distance and calculate a distance
from a parallax.
2. Explain the difference between apparent magnitude and absolute magnitude and be able to calculate
one given the other.
3. Describe the system using Greek letters for the naming of stars in a constellation.
4. Recognize other stellar naming systems such as SAO and that for variable stars.
5. Explain how variable stars and the Period-Luminosity Law are used to determine stellar distances.
6. Recognize 10 constellations or bright stars in the night sky.
7. Explain the relationship between a star’s color and its surface temperature.
8. Explain how astronomers use the spectra of stars to reveal their chemical compositions and surface
temperatures.
9. Explain the relationship among a star’s luminosity, radius, and surface temperature and calculate one
given the other two.
10. Describe visual binary stars and explain how they provide information about stellar masses.
11. Explain the mass-luminosity relation for main-sequence stars.
13
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
Define astrometric binaries, spectroscopic binaries, eclipsing and visual binaries.
Compute the mass of a binary system using Kepler’s Third Law.
Define blackbody radiation and recognize the Planck blackbody curve.
State Wien’s law and the Stefan-Boltzmann law and use them to compute stellar properties.
State the sequence of spectral classes of stars.
State the luminosity classes of stars.
Explain what a Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram is and the main groupings of stars that appear on
it.
19. Draw an H-R diagram.
20. Describe how the details of a star’s spectrum reveal what kind of star it is, its luminosity, and its
distance.
Textbook:
17:1-9
19:6
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
17:1,2,6,9,14,15,16,17,18,19,24,28,29,35,45,48,51,58
19:23,24,42,43
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 17.1 Stellar Parallax
Animation 17.2 The Inverse-Square Law
Animation 17.3 Star Orbits in a Binary System
Animation 17.4 Radial Velocity Curves
AIMM 17.1 The Nearest Stars
AIMM 17.2 Using Parallax to Determine Distance
AIMM 17.3 The Distance-Magnitude Relationship
Interactive Exercise 17.1 Finding Key Properties of Nearby Stars
Interactive Exercise 17.2 Hertzsprung-Russell Diagrams
Unit 11 Star is Born: Interstellar Medium, Star Birth
Key Concepts: interstellar medium, interstellar gas and dust, nebulae, interstellar reddening, H II regions,
emission nebula, 21-cm radiation, birth of stars.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Explain why stars have a definite life span.
2. Describe what the interstellar medium is and what kind of matter constitutes it.
3. Describe the various clouds (nebulae) within the interstellar medium: dark (cold) nebulae, emission
(hot) nebulae, and reflection (dust) nebulae.
4. Describe what happens during a star’s main-sequence lifetime.
5. Calculate the main-sequence lifetime of a star.
6. Explain why a star leaves the main sequence and becomes a red giant.
7. Describe the significance of helium fusion in a star and why it begins.
8. Describe the various kinds of pulsating variable stars.
9. Describe what protostars are and explain how they form and evolve into main-sequence stars.
10. State where in the Galaxy stars form.
11. Explain the role of supernovae in the origin of neutron stars and black holes.
Textbook:
18:1-8
19:1-4
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
18:1,2,4,5,13,18,19,25,36,42,45
19:1,2,3,4,7,9,13,17,36,37,40,52
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 18.1 A Stellar Jet in the Trifid Nebula
Animation 18.2 Protoplanetary Disks in the Orion Nebula
14
Animation 18.3 Embryonic Stars in the Eagle Nebula
Animation 18.4 A Supernova Explosion
Animation 18.5 Triggered Star Formation
Interactive Exercise 18.1 Main Sequence Stars of Different Masses
Animation 19.1 The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram and Stellar Evolution
Animation 19.2 A Pulsating Red Giant (Produced at the U of MN!)
Interactive Exercise 19.1 Stages in Stellar Evolution
Unit 12 The Death of a Star: Stellar Evolution, Neutron Stars, Einstein and Black Holes.
Key Concepts: red giant, evolution of stars, supergiants, evolutionary track, origin of heavy elements, white
dwarfs, neutron stars, pulsars, Supernova 1987A, nova, supernova, Crab Nebula, supernova remnant,
principle of equivalence, spacetime, Michelson-Morley Experiment, Einstein’s general theory of relativity,
Einstein’s special theory of relativity, gravitational lens, Muon experiment, black hole, x-rays, gamma rays,
Hawking, origin of cosmic rays.
Learning Outcomes:
1. State the basic concepts of Einstein’s special theory of relativity.
2. Describe how high speed motion affects measurements of time and distance.
3. State the basic concepts of Einstein’s general theory of relativity including the principle of
equivalence.
4. Describe one effect of gravitational red shift.
5. Describe how planetary nebulae are created.
6. Describe how white dwarfs are formed.
7. Describe Supernova 1987A and state how it was unusual.
8. Describe how and explain why astronomers attempt to detect neutrinos from supernovae.
9. List and describe types of supernova remnants.
10. Explain what a neutron star is, describe its properties and how it is related to a pulsar.
11. Explain why the discovery of pulsars led to acceptance of the existence of neutron stars.
12. Explain why pulsars slow down over time.
13. Describe what a nova is.
14. Describe how black holes form.
15. Describe the structure and properties of a black hole.
16. Calculate the event horizon for various mass black holes.
17. Describe why astronomers look for black holes in binary systems.
Textbook:
20:1-10
21:1-10
22:1-9
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
20:7,8,11,13,14,18,20.24,31,44
21:1,3,5,10,16,17,29,34
22:2,6,7,8,9,12,16,18
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 20.1 The Post-Main-Sequence Evolution of a 1-solar-mass Star
Animation 20.2 Convection Inside a Giant Star (Produced at the U of MN!)
Animation 20.3 In the Heart of a Type II Supernova
Animation 20.4 Supernova 1987A: How the Rings are Oriented
Animation 20.5 Lighting Up Supernova 1987A’s Central Ring
Animation 20.6 A Thermonuclear (Type Ia) Supernova
Animation 20.7 A Type Ia Supernova
Animation 20.8 Cassiopeia A and its Parent Supernova
Interactive Exercise 20.1 Pathways of Stellar Evolution
Animation 21.1 The Geometry and Structure of the Crab Nebula
Animation 21.2 A Starquake on a Magnetar
15
Animation 21.3 A Millisecond Pulsar
Video 21.1 The Crab Pulsar
Video 21.2 Time-Lapse Movie Of Crab Pulsar Wind
Animation 22.1 The Equivalence Principle
Animation 22.2 From a Collapsing Star to a Gamma-Ray Burster
Animation 22.3 Zooming into a Supermassive Black Hole
Video 22.1 A New Type of Black Hole in M82?
Interactive Exercise 22.1 Black Hole Structure
Unit 13 Congregations of Stars: The Milky Way, Star Clusters, and Galaxies.
Key Concepts: Milky Way, stellar associations, galactic (open) star clusters, globular clusters, spiral-arm
tracers, spiral arm, nucleus of the Galaxy, supermassive black hole, spiral, elliptical, and irregular galaxies,
Hubble classification scheme for galaxies, Hubble, distances to galaxies, Hubble diagram, Hubble’s constant,
cluster of galaxies., supercluster, dark matter.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Explain how astronomers know where our Sun is located in our Galaxy.
2. Describe the Milky Way’s spiral arms and describe how astronomers know that our Galaxy has
them.
3. Describe how studies of our Galaxy’s rotation allow astronomers to estimate its mass.
4. Explain what dark matter is and what kinds of objects are thought to be made of it.
5. Describe the nucleus of our Galaxy as we currently understand it.
6. Explain the characteristics of Sag A*.
7. Describe how Hubble proved that galaxies are far beyond the Milky Way.
8. State the Hubble classification scheme for galaxies.
9. Describe the methods astronomers use to determine the distances to galaxies.
10. State and use the Hubble law and redshifts to calculate galaxy distances.
11. Explain why there is uncertainty about the value of the Hubble constant and why this constant is so
important in cosmology.
12. Describe how galaxies are grouped together and describe the various groupings.
13. Describe the dark matter problem.
14. Describe the prevailing theories about how galaxies form and evolve.
Textbook:
23:1-6
24:1-8
25:1-6
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
23:1,4,5,8,19,26,27,28
24:1,2,3,5,6,7,8,15,16,31,35
25:1,2,4,6,10,24,26
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 23.1 The Energetic Center of the Galaxy
Animation 23.2 The Density-Wave Model of Spiral Arms
Animation 23.1 RR Lyrae Stars in a Globular Cluster
Video 23.2 Stars Orbiting Sagittarius A*
Interactive Exercise 23.1 The Rotation of Our Galaxy
Interactive Exercise 23.2 Star Formation in the Denity-Wave Model
Animation 24.1 The Evolution of the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy
Animation 24.2 One Hundred Thousand Galaxies
Animation 24.3 The Merger of Two Disk Galaxies
Animation 24.4 The Mice
Animation 24.5 Galactic Cannibalism
Animation 24.6 When Galaxies Interact
Animation 24.7 Radiation from a Rotating Galaxy
16
Animation 24.8 Dark Matter in a Cluster Collision
Video 24.1 Cepheid Variable in NGC 3370
Video 24.2 Zooming Out from a Spiral Galaxy
Video 24.3 M82 in Ursa Major
Video 24.4 Zooming in on the Antennae
Video 24.5 Gravitational Lensing
Animation 25.1 The Central Engine of an Active Galaxy
Animation 25.2 A Supermassive Black Hole in an Active Galaxy
Video 25.1 Superluminal Motion
AIMM 25.1 Relativistic Redshift
Unit 14 Cosmology: The Expanding Universe and Particle Physics.
Key Concepts: quasars, cosmology, age of the universe, Big Bang model, cosmic background radiation,
and explain how it is a natural consequence of a Big Bang model, inflationary model, dark matter problem,
Grand Unified Theory, quarks, gluons.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Describe the properties of quasars and how they were discovered.
2. Describe what kinds of objects are classified as active galaxies.
3. Describe why astronomers think that the energy source at the center of an active galaxy is a
supermassive black hole.
4. Explain why the darkness of the night sky is evidence of an expanding universe.
5. Calculate the age of the universe from the Hubble Constant.
6. Explain why we think that the universe had a definite beginning.
7. Describe why the cosmic microwave background radiation is evidence that the Big Bang was hot.
8. Explain the difference between matter and antimatter.
9. Explain what happened to most of the matter and antimatter in the early universe after the primordial
fireball cooled.
10. State the four fundamental forces that explain all the interactions observed in the universe.
11. Describe what a grand unified theory attempts to explain.
12. State one of the speculative ideas that have arisen in the attempt to create a “theory of everything” or
a GUT.
13. Explain what is meant by “inflationary universe.”
Textbook:
26:1-7
27:1-6
Textbook Review Questions & Advanced Questions:
26:1,2,3,4,5,8,12,20,26,29,30,38
27:5,6,17,40
Universe, 9th ed. web site
Animation 26.1 The Expanding Universe and the Hubble Law
Animation 26.2 Temperature Variations in the Cosmic Microwave
Animation 26.3 Cosmic Zoom: From Earth to the Edge of the Observable Universe
Animation 26.4 The Expanding Universe: Deceleration and Acceleration I
Animation 26.5 The Expanding Universe: Deceleration and Acceleration II
AIMM 26.1 Blackbody Curves
Animation 27.1 The First Stars
Animation 27.2 A Cold Dark Matter Simulation with Dark Energy
Animation 27.3 A Cold Dark Matter Simulation with Dark Energy - Rotating View
Interactive Exercise 27.1 The Four Forces
FINAL EXAM (Comprehensive)