INTEGRATIVE STUDIES: PHYSICAL SCIENCE 205

VISIONS OF THE UNIVERSE

Section 1,   Spring 99,   Prof. Stein

FINAL EXAM: Thursday May 6, 8-10 PM, 326 Nat Sci

Comprehensive, covers the entire course, Prologue - Chapter 17 + starmap
FINAL GRADE

GOALS

ISP 205 is an astronomy course designed for non-science majors. Its goal is to open your eyes to the Universe beyond your immediate surroundings.

We show you how astronomers formulate and solve problems so that you can use such problem-solving methods yourself in other situations. We acquaint you with the night sky: the apparent motions of the Sun, Moon, planets and stars. Using our current knowledge of our solar system and other solar systems gathered from various Earth and spacecraft-based observations, you will understand how new observations lead to changes in theoretical models. Understanding the structure and evolution of our Sun and other stars will give you a new perspective on how seemingly arcane theories can affect mankind. The organization of the universe into galaxies and clusters of galaxies, the beginning of the universe, and possible ends to the universe are explored to give you a new sense of spatial and timescales and your place in the Universe.


COURSE INFORMATION


QUESTIONS

You can ask questions:

ANSWERS

I strongly encourage you to participate in the newsgroup to discuss issues that arise in the course. You can use it to ask questions of each other and me, to discuss the questions and the answers. I will participate in these discussions and post answers to questions.

In addition, I will maintain a list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the course and the material we are discussing. These are answers to questions that are asked during class, in my office hours, in the news group, after class, by email, etc. They are items of general interest and the anonymity of the person asking the question is maintained. It will be updated throughout the course in reverse chronological order, with the new questions at the top of the file.


SYLLABI and OBJECTIVES


OUTLINES


EXAMS with ANSWERS


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS, PROJECTS and IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES


LINKS to ASTRONOMY RESOURCES

 * The Nine Planets, A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System
 * Views of the Solar System
 * Planets Around Other Stars
 * Mars Pathfinder Mission
 * Hubble Space Telescope
 * NASA
 * Astronomy Links from SEDS at University of Arizona
 * Women in Science
 * University of Colorado Introductory Astronomy Course Notes
 * Astronomy Picture of the Day
 * Scientific Arithmetic

This page will be continually updated as the course progresses.
Updated: 1999.05.14 (Friday) 22:28:48 EDT

This page has been accessed times.


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