Wright State University Lake Campus/2020-1/Phy 1060/Syllabus
Astronomy: Phy1060 is an introductory Astronomy course that emphasizes the solar system and the universe of stars and galaxies. Topics include the earth-moon system, other planets and their satellites, space exploration, theories for the origin of the solar system stellar evolution, astrophysics, cosmology, and astrobiology. We also discuss astronomy within the context of the history of science.
Enrolled students may access all materials needed for this course through Pilot (https://pilot.wright.edu/d2l/loginh/)
The one-credit lab Phy1060L is a corequisite that focuses on Astronomical observations, experiments, as well as developing new materials based on the based on the OER textbook by OpenStax. The lab portion also includes labs from the The University of Nebraska-Lincoln astronomy education group:
This textbook is available online, as a downloadable pdf file. And it can be purchased for at a modest cost:
The exams for this course will be created using MyOpenMath.
Tentative schedule of topics edit
Monday, January 13, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-introduction
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-4-numbers-in-astronomy
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-5-consequences-of-light-travel-time
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-6-a-tour-of-the-universe
Monday, January 20, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-7-the-universe-on-the-large-scale
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-8-the-universe-of-the-very-small
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/1-9-a-conclusion-and-a-beginning
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/2-1-the-sky-above
Monday, January 27, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/2-2-ancient-astronomy
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/2-4-the-birth-of-modern-astronomy
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/3-1-the-laws-of-planetary-motion
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/3-2-newtons-great-synthesis
Monday, February 3, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/3-3-newtons-universal-law-of-gravitation
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/3-4-orbits-in-the-solar-system
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/3-6-gravity-with-more-than-two-bodies
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/4-1-earth-and-sky
Monday, February 10, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/4-2-the-seasons
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/4-6-ocean-tides-and-the-moon
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/4-7-eclipses-of-the-sun-and-moon
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/5-1-the-behavior-of-light
Monday, February 17, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/5-2-the-electromagnetic-spectrum
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/5-5-formation-of-spectral-lines
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/5-6-the-doppler-effect
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/7-1-overview-of-our-planetary-system
Monday, February 24, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/7-3-dating-planetary-surfaces
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/10-1-the-nearest-planets-an-overview
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/10-2-the-geology-of-venus
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/10-4-the-geology-of-mars
Monday, March 2, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/11-3-atmospheres-of-the-giant-planets
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/12-2-the-galilean-moons-of-jupiter
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/12-3-titan-and-triton
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/13-1-asteroids
Monday, March 9, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/13-3-the-long-haired-comets
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/14-3-formation-of-the-solar-system
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/15-1-the-structure-and-composition-of-the-sun
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/16-2-mass-energy-and-the-theory-of-relativity
Monday, March 16, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/17-2-colors-of-stars
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/17-3-the-spectra-of-stars-and-brown-dwarfs
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/17-4-using-spectra-to-measure-stellar-radius-composition-and-motion
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/18-1-a-stellar-census#60868
Monday, March 23, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/18-2-measuring-stellar-masses
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/18-3-diameters-of-stars
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/18-4-the-h-r-diagram
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/19-2-surveying-the-stars
Monday, March 30, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/19-3-variable-stars-one-key-to-cosmic-distances
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/19-4-the-h-r-diagram-and-cosmic-distances
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/20-1-the-interstellar-medium
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/20-2-interstellar-gas
Monday, April 6, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/21-1-star-formation
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/22-1-evolution-from-the-main-sequence-to-red-giants
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/22-2-star-clusters
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/22-3-checking-out-the-theory
Monday, April 13, 2020 edit
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/22-4-further-evolution-of-stars
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/23-2-evolution-of-massive-stars-an-explosive-finish
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/26-1-the-discovery-of-galaxies
- https://openstax.org/books/astronomy/pages/26-2-types-of-galaxies
Monday, April 20, 2020 edit
Grade assessment edit
20% Labs and lab reports edit
Lab reports are due on Pilot according to the following schedule.
- Fri 24 Jan 2020
- Fri 14 Feb 2020
- Fri 13 Mar 2020
- Fri 3 Apr 2020
- Fri 24 Apr 2020
A lab report is due (for partial lab credit) even if you missed one or more labs. If you miss a lab, arrange to do a report on a related subject in order to obtain partial credit for that lab.. Under no circumstances may a report based on a missed lab be related to course exams or textbook problems. While you are strongly urged to finish these reports by Friday night, they will be accepted without penalty if turned in before the weekend is over. Details on what belongs in your report can be found at Wright State University Lake Campus/2020-1/Phy 1060/Labs.
65%-75% Exams edit
There will be approximately five exams (including the final exam). Your worst exam will be automatically dropped. The range (70%-80%) in the weight of your exams involves the fact that quizzes can be used to enhance your exam grade if you have trouble with exams.
5%-15% Quizzes edit
If you do well on the exams, unannounced quizzes count for only 5% of your grade. Your percentile rank in the class will be posted on Pilot, based on a weighting of 20-70-10 percent for labs, exams, and quizzes, respectively.