INTEGRATIVE STUDIES: PHYSICAL SCIENCE 205

VISIONS OF THE UNIVERSE

COURSE INFORMATION:   Section 3,   Fall 99,   Prof. Stein

TIME: 7:00 pm - 8:20 pm, Monday & Wednesday

PLACE: 118 Physics-Astronomy Building (PA)

INSTRUCTOR: Prof. Robert Stein, 310 PA Bldg, 353-8661, steinr@pilot.msu.edu

TEXT: ASTRONOMY, A Beginners Guid to the Universe (Second Edition) by Chaisson & McMillan.

WEB PAGE: http://www.pa.msu.edu/courses/ISP205/sec-3/

HELP: Help will be provided during office hours in my office, before class, after class, in a helproom manned by honors students, via email, via the web and via the newsgroup. Email will be answered every day, Monday through Friday. Answers to questions of general interest will be posted on the Web in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file (preserving the anonymity of the person asking the question).

Course information, syllabus, outline, homework assignments and answers to homework, quizzes and exams are provided via this world wide web page. Detailed written instructions on using computers to view the web page will be provided and I will be available for individual and group instruction in computer use. Written instructions on using email are available in the microlabs.

NEWSGROUP: news:msu.private.isp.class.205

WEB COMMENT FORM: http://www.pa.msu.edu/courses/ISP205/sec-3/comment.html

OFFICE HOURS

        Monday and Wednesday  5:30-6:30 pm
        Other times by appointment.
BASIS OF GRADE: You are responsible for knowing all the material presented in class and the relevant material in the text. Grades will be determined by performance on a final exam, three midterm exams, in-class activities, in-class assignments, and homework. Exams will test both memorization and the ability to deduce results from an understanding of the physical principles that determine the behavior of astronomical objects. The exams will consist of a mixture of multiple choice, short answer and essay length questions. No makeup exams will be given. The lowest exam score (of the four exams) will be dropped. If you are satisfied with your grade at the end of classes you do not need to take the final exam, which will be comprehensive. The three highest exams each count for 25% of the grade, and the in-class activities and homework together count for 25% of the grade. No opportunities for individual extra credit will be offered. An honors option is available for staffing a help room for students to answer their questions about the course, the homework, and the laboratories.

Grading Scale
  AVERAGE (%)     GRADE  
85-100 4.0
75-84 3.5
70-74 3.0
65-69 2.5
60-64 2.0
55-59 1.5
50-54 1.0
< 50 0.0

Beyond earning a grade you can be proud of, improving your personal skills and changing your worldview will require effort on your part. I recommend, at a minimum, that you read the assigned chapter(s) before each lecture, attend class, and do the homework assignments.

The book provides general background material that I will expand upon with current discoveries, as well as detail that we will not delve into. How do you tell the difference? Before a topic is discussed in class, you should quickly read the relevant chapters in the text, perhaps writing your own outline of only the important ideas and facts. After the lecture, you should go back through the text to pick out the subjects covered in class and read only those sections carefully.

The syllabi list reading assignments for each class by chapter and section. They also give objectives for each unit that specify what you are expected to know for the exams. Together with the outline I provide on the web, they are a guide to what you should study. Homework assignments and the occasional in-class activity will provide opportunities for you to develop your skills. I encourage you to discuss these with your classmates. It is helpful for you (and me too!) to ask questions about anything that is confusing or unclear, either in class, after class, via email, via the newsgroup, via the web comment form, or in my office.

EXAM SCHEDULE: Plan to be in town and well-rested on these days: 

      First Midterm Exam     Wednesday,   October 6,     in class
      Second Midterm Exam    Wednesday,   November 10,   in class
      Third Midterm Exam     Wednesday,   December 8,    in class

      FINAL EXAM      Monday,    December 13,  8-10 pm,  Room PA 118
ORGANIZATION: The course is organized into four units around four problems:
  1. The Sky: How do the Sun, Moon and planets move and what makes them move that way?
    Process of developing scientific theories and models. The appearance of the sky and alterations in its appearance. Models of the solar system. The Copernican revolution. Theories of motion and gravity, light and atoms.

  2. The Planets: Is Earth unique? How did the solar system form? Is the solar system unique?
    Comparative planetology. Results from explorations of the solar system. Various theories of how the solar system formed. Implications of recent discoveries of planets around other stars.

  3. The Stars: What is the life cycle of a star and what determines its development?
    Measuring Stars. Stellar structure and evolution is determined by the balance between pressure and gravity and between energy generation and loss. The ultimate fate of the Sun and the solar system.

  4. The Universe: How did the universe begin and how will it end? The Milky Way, other galaxies and the large-scale structure of the universe. The Universe before our galaxy formed and its ultimate fate. The latest Hubble Space Telescope observations from the edge of the Universe.

PLANETARIUM: Half the class will meet in the Abrams Planetarium (located at Shaw and Farm Lanes on campus) Monday, September 20 (Last name begins with A-L), Wednesday, September 22 (Last name begins with M-Z), Monday, September 27 (Last name begins with A-L), and Wednesday, September 29 (Last name begins with M-Z). The half of the class not in the planetarium will meet in class (PA 118) as usual those days.

Map

LABORATORY: Registration in ISP205L, the Astronomy Laboratory, is optional and is an entirely separate course. However, we have found that students generally do better in ISP205 if they take the laboratory at the same time. Laboratories start Tuesday, September 7.

Laboratory Schedule

FEEDBACK from you about any aspect of this course and its presentation is always appreciated and carefully considered. The sooner in the course you offer it, the more likely it is that changes can be made.

Visions of the Universe This page will be updated continually throughout the course.
Updated: 1999.11.06 (Saturday) 13:19:07 EST

This page has been accessed times.

Bob Stein's home page, email: steinr@pilot.msu.edu