MWF, 10:20-11:10, Room 1410 Biomedical Physical Sciences Bldg.
The
Integrative Studies courses are intended to illustrate and explore the methods,
results, and limitations of scientific inquiry. ISP 205 uses astronomy as
the science example. It takes non-science majors through an outline of what we
do (and don’t) know about the universe on size scales from planets on up, and
of what sorts of thinking has led us to these concepts. Major topics will
include the scientific method, the laws of physics (and what happens when you
break them), the solar system, how stars work, galaxies, and cosmology (the
overall structure and evolution of the universe). Simple algebraic equations
will be used.
Instructor: Professor
Jack Baldwin, Room 3270 Biomedical Physical
Sciences Bldg. (BPS),
Phone
355-9200, ext. 2411 (baldwin@pa.msu.edu)
Office hours: 3-4 Monday, 1-2 Tuesday, 11-12 Thursday, or by appointment.
Teaching
Assistant: Samer Hariri (haririsa@msu.edu),
1-2 Thursday, in the
Web site: http://www.pa.msu.edu/courses/isp205/sec-3/
contains a copy of this syllabus and will hold announcements, grade curves, etc
in the future.
Text: “THE ESSENTIAL COSMIC PERSPECTIVE (3rd or 4th EDITION)”
by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider & Voit.
Clickers: You must have a H-ITT brand IR (infrared) or RF
(radio frequency) clicker. You should immediately register your clicker number on
the course Angel site (angel.msu.edu; log in with your MSU NetID
and password, and click on “My Angel Courses”). Then always bring the
clicker to class with you. You should use only your own clicker, and nobody
else should use your clicker for you.
In-class
questions: There will be questions to
answer during the class sessions. Sometimes these will be multiple-choice
questions which you will answer with your clicker, and sometimes they will be
open-notebook, short-answer questions which you must answer on paper. The goals
are to encourage you to pay attention and to take decent notes, as well as for
me to find out if I am getting the information across to you. Starting with the
second week, you must always have a working clicker and also a blank sheet of
paper in class with you. It will not be possible to make up these
questions if you miss the class in which they are asked, but I will drop the
lowest 20% of your scores, plus sessions missed due to certified (note from
doctor) medical emergencies, or for religious holidays for which you have given
me advance notice.
Homework. Homework
assignments will be announced in class from time to time. You will complete
them using the web-based ANGEL system. I do not accept late homework
assignments.
Midterms: 3 Midterms,
each for the full class period, on January 31, February
28 and April 4.
Final exam: The final exam will be held at the assigned place and
time for this course. The time is Thursday, May 3,
8-10 PM (WARNING: the time and place for this exam are given in
the COMMON FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE, which appears at the bottom of
the MSU final-exams web page). About half of the questions will be from the
material covered after the third midterm, but the other half will cover the
rest (first 3 parts) of the course.
Grading system: In-Class Questions: 5%. Homework: 5%. Each midterm: 20%. Final exam: 30%. The final course grade will then be based on a to-be-determined curve.
But the following grade scale is guaranteed:
0.0 - 0.0% to 47.5%, 1.0 - 47.5% to 55.0%, 1.5 - 55.0% to 62.0%, 2.0 - 62.0% to
68.0%, 2.5 - 68.0% to 76.0%, 3.0 - 76.0% to 83.0%, 3.5 - 83.0% to 90.0%, 4.0 -
90.0% and above.
The actual scale may be curved
from these values, but it will not be raised. For example, you are guaranteed
to get a 4.0 if your score is above 90%, no matter what.
This
schedule is subject to change.
Chapter
numbers from the text are indicated in square brackets…. [8] means the material is covered in chapter
8 of the textbook, [2.4] means it is covered in section 2.4, etc. The midterms and final will be on the
material actually covered in the lectures, but the lectures usually will be on
material found in the book.
1. Background: The Laws of Physics.
Jan
8, 10, 12 The size of the Universe.
[1] The laws of motion: Epicycles [2.4]; Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler [3.1 è 3.3]. The scientific method, “laws” in physics, [3.4].
Jan
17, 19. The laws of motion:
Jan
22, 24, 26. Radiation and spectra
[5].
Jan
29. Telescopes [5]
Jan 31. MIDTERM
2.
The Solar System: Exploring the Planets.
Feb
2. The solar system [6.1].
Feb
5, 7, 9. Earth as a planet, The
Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars [7].
Feb
12, 14, 16. The giant planets
(Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). Moons and rings [8].
Feb
19, 21. Comets, asteroids and Pluto
[9].
Feb
23, 26. The origin of the Solar System [6.2è6.4]. Planets around other stars [6.5].
Feb 28. MIDTERM
3.
How Stars Work, and Where the Chemical Elements Came From.
Mar 2. The Sun: an example of a star [10].
Mar
5-9 Spring Break
Mar 12, 14, 16. More about the Sun. Analyzing starlight, the types of stars [11].
Mar
19, 21, 23. The evolution of stars
[12].
Mar 26,
28, 30, Apr 1. Dead stars: White dwarfs, neutron stars and
black holes [13].
Apr 4.
MIDTERM
4.
The Universe: Where Did It Come From & Where Is It Going?
Apr 6,
9. Our Galaxy (the Milky Way) [14].
Search for life elsewhere [18].
Apr
11, 13. Other galaxies, evolution of galaxies [15].
Apr
16, 18, 20. Cosmology… the nature and evolution of the universe [16,17].
Apr
23, 25 More cosmology.
Apr
27. Review.