Homework #0 (5 Points)ASTR 101 (Veilleux)

Due in Discussion Section, Jan. 30 - Feb. 3 Your Name:____________________________________ Student Number:___________________ Local Phone Number:____________________ Home Phone Number:_______________________ Email Address:_____________________________________ Section Number:________________ Name of your TA:__________________________________ When and where do your discussion section and lab meet:________________________________

1. What do you most want to find out about in this course?______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

2. When have you last had some astronomy in school? _____ in college _____ as a junior or senior in high school _____ as a freshman or sophomore in high school _____ in junior high school _____ in elementary school

3. Check the highest level math that you've studied. We'll use some algebra and geometry in ASTR101. _____ algebra _____ geometry _____ trigonometry _____ calculus _____ other

4. Go the class web page at http://www.astro.umd.edu/~veilleux/ASTR101/spring17/ then follow the link tothe "Astronomy Picture of the Day" and then tell me what you see. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

5. Follow the link to the Student Honor Council site on the class web page, note the definition of plagiarism,and carefully read over the links in Tab "Students". Familiarize yourself with the rest of the site.

I HAVE FOLLOWED THE LINK TO THE STUDENT HONOR COUNCIL AND UNDERSTAND THEDEFINITIONS OF CHEATING, FABRICATION, FACILITATING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY, ANDPLAGIARISM. I PLEDGE TO NOT CHEAT, FABRICATE, PLAGIARIZE, OR FACILITATE SUCHBEHAVIOR. I FURTHER PLEDGE TO REPORT ANY INSTANCES OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTYTHAT I KNOW ABOUT TO THE PROFESSOR AND/OR MY TA. I AGREE TO ABIDE BY ALL POINTSLAID OUT IN THE STUDENT HONOR CODE.

I ALSO HAVE READ THE SYLLABUS AND UNDERSTAND HOW MY GRADE FOR ASTR101 WILLBE DETERMINED.

Signed _______________________________ Dated ______________________________

ASTR 101: General AstronomySections 0101-0110, Spring 2017

Prof: Sylvain Veilleux Phone: (301) 405-0282 Email: veilleux @ astro.umd.edu Office: PSC 1109 Office Hours: TuTh 12:30 - 02:00 pm or by appointment

Course Description:Welcome to Astronomy 101! You are about to embark on an ambitious project - to survey our known Universe in one shortsemester. We hope that you'll find this course enjoyable and walk away with a better knowledge and understanding of theuniverse that we live in. With that goal in mind, the course attempts to focus on major concepts in astronomy and where possibletie those concepts into issues relevant to your life. For example, global warming, an important worldwide issue for the 21stcentury, is also central to understanding the differences between the environments of Venus, Mars, and Earth. At a morephilosophical level, understanding how our universe works and how planets, stars, and galaxies are formed gives us a betterperspective on our place in the universe and how special planet Earth is to our continued survival. Most of you have chosen thiscourse to fulfill your science requirement (see GENED Requirements below). GENED courses are designed to ensure that youwill take a look at several different academic disciplines and the way they create and analyze knowledge about the world. We willintroduce you to ideas and issues that are central to a major intellectual discipline and involve you actively in the learningprocess. Please take advantage of the opportunities this course offers!

Course Expectations:Attendance: In order to succeed in this course, I expect you to attend ALL lectures and discussion sections. This is veryimportant! The material on the homeworks and exams are based upon the material covered in the lectures, the text, anddiscussion sections. If you have to miss a lecture or section, be sure to look at another student's notes and make sure that youunderstand what was covered. See me or your teaching assistant if you have questions. There will be times during the semester,in both lectures and sections, when we may ask for written responses to questions. Your written answers will count towards yourgrade in the class.

Preparation: I expect you to be prepared to work. You will understand the lecture more easily if you preview the readingassignment. A more careful reading is recommended after lecture. You should study your class notes some time before the nextlecture to make sure that everything is clear. I encourage you to ask questions in class, in discussion, in lab, and during officehours.

Study Habits: Study wisely and ask for help if you need it. If you just cram the night before the exam, you probably will not dovery well. It is better (and easier) if you keep up with the material on a daily basis. If you have questions, please see me or one ofthe TAs. We are here to help you learn.

Course Materials:

Class Textbook: The Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals (2nd Edition), by Bennett, Donahue,Schneider, Voit, 2016 (ISBN-13: 978-0-13-388956-7). You do not need a CD or any online accessfor this class - just the hardcopy textbook. You may buy a used version if you wish. We will becovering most, but not necessarily all, of the material in the book. There will be readingassignments associated with the lectures. You are responsible for materials covered in the lecture,discussion, and labs.

Class Lab books: Experiments in Astronomy (Fifth Edition), by Leo Bliz andMichael F. A'Hearn, Voit, 2017 (ISBN-13: 978-1-323-58146-9) and ASTR 101Supplemental Lab Manual (Fall 2016 Edition), by the University of MarylandCopy Services, 2016 (ISBN-13: 281-8-440-15787-5). You should get the new fifthedition of the first book. An unused copy of the fourth edition is also OK if you geta good deal. But be sure that the book is 100% intact, as you will have to tear pagesout to hand in. You may not use photocopies of the book for your labs.

Class Web Page: http://www.astro.umd.edu/~veilleux/ASTR101/ will have course information, lecture slides and homeworkassignments, supplementary readings, and interactive programs to make ASTR 101 fun and to help you learn. See cool spacepictures and movies!

ELMS: We will also use ELMS in this course. Your grades on assignments and exams, and point total throughout the semesterwill be available on ELMS.

Class Meetings:Lectures meet in PHYS 1412 on TuTh from 11:00 am to 12:15 pm. Lectures are led by the professor and will include severaldemonstrations, slides, videos, etc. There will be in-lecture activites that are graded.

Discussions Sections meet in CSS 2400 or CSS 1113 at times listed below, starting the week of January 30. Discussion sectionsare led by Teaching Assistants (TAs). The sections provide a smaller and more informal environment for further developing thematerial taught in class. The TAs will also answer questions about the lectures and reading and will hold review sessions beforeexams.

Labs meet in room CSS 0254 at times listed below starting the week of January 30. The labs are led by Teaching Assistants(TAs). You are required to attend lab section in order to do the labs; you MAY NOT start writing answers to the lab outside of thelab room. You must go to the lab time associated with your section number each week. If you expect to miss your lab section dueto illness or a University approved excuse, you should contact your TA as soon as you know and make arrangements to attendanother section in the same week if at all possible.

GENED RequirementsASTR 101 is intended for non-science majors and requires no more than a modest, high-school level science and mathbackground. This course satisfies the University of Maryland's requirement for a lab natural science course. To satisfy therequirement for a non-lab natural science course, you might wish to consider ASTR 100. Note that you cannot get credit forboth ASTR 100 and ASTR 101. Please be sure that you have chosen the correct course.

Discussion Sections and LabsYour weekly 50-minute discussion section, which begins the week of January 30, is an integral part of this course. The sectionsare run by the TAs, with just general guidelines from me; they will generally include a review of lecture material, presentation ofproblems and material not covered in lecture, exercises and quizzes etc. These sections serve as a forum to enhance yourunderstanding of the course material. Your TAs are an excellent resource; get to know them and use that resource! Homeworks,exams, and other work will be returned to you during your discussion section. Please attend all your discussion sections. The

general schedule of the discussion sections can be found here.

Understanding laboratory techniques and reaching conclusions based on careful observations is a hallmark of scientific inquiry.Your weekly 2-hour lab is an important part of this course that provides you with the opportunity to think like a scientist. Ourgoal is that you leave ASTR 101 at the end of the semester with critical thinking skills that will allow you to better appreciatescience in the news and elsewhere that you encounter it. The lab schedule can be found here.

Be sure to attend the discussion section and lab combination for which you registered. The only way to switch sections is throughthe registrar's office; unofficial changes are not allowed. Memorize your section number and put it on everything that you turnin.

Section LabTime

LabRoom

DiscussionTime

DiscussionRoom TA Name(s) TA Email(s)

0101

Tu5:30pm -7:30pm

CSS0254

Tu 3:30pm - 4:20

pmCSS 2400 Ken

Koester/NimartaChowdhary

kkoester@terpmail.umd.edu/nimarta@terpmail.umd.edu

0102

W8:30am -10:30am

CSS0254

Tu 3:30pm - 4:20

pmCSS 2400 Nimarta

Chowdhary nimarta@terpmail.umd.edu

0103

W11:00am -1:00pm

CSS0254

W 10:00am - 10:50

amCSS 2400 Carrie Holt carrieholt@astro.umd.edu

0104

Th8:30am -10:30am

CSS0254

W 10:00am - 10:50

amCSS 2400 Carrie Holt carrieholt@astro.umd.edu

0105

W6:00pm -8:00pm

CSS0254

W 11:00am - 11:50

amCSS 2400 Elizabeth

Tarantino ejtino@astro.umd.edu

0106

Th3:30pm -5:30pm

CSS0254

W 11:00am - 11:50

amCSS 2400 Elizabeth

Tarantino ejtino@astro.umd.edu

0107

Th6:00pm -8:00pm

CSS0254

W 12:00pm - 12:50

pmCSS 2400 Nimarta

Chowdhary nimarta@terpmail.umd.edu

0108

F9:00am -11:00am

CSS0254

W 12:00pm - 12:50

pmCSS 2400 Ken

Koester/NimartaChowdhary

kkoester@terpmail.umd.edu/nimarta@terpmail.umd.edu

0109

W1:00pm -3:00pm

CSS0254

W 11:00am - 11:50

amCSS 1113 Ben Hirsch benjhirsch@gmail.com

0110

F1:00pm -3:00pm

CSS0254

W 11:00am - 11:50

amCSS 1113 Ben Hirsch benjhirsch@gmail.com

Grading:Your grade is accumulated on a point scale throughout the semester with assignment totals summarized in the table below: 5homeworks at 10 points each; 12 discussion activities at 5 points each; 10 questions during the lectures at 4 points each; and 11lab activities at 15 points each. A description of each of these components is detailed later in this syllabus. You should note thatthere are a total of 155 points in homework and lecture/discussion activities, and 165 points in lab activities. It is impossible toget a passing grade in this course by just showing up for the exams!

ASSIGNMENT Syllabus Cover Homeworks Discussions Lectures Labs Midterm I Midterm II Final Total

POINTS 5 50 60 40 165 100 100 200 720

Letter grades will be assigned based upon your curved cumulative score. Grades for some sections may be adjusted slightly sothat the average grade given by each TA is similar. Here is how your grade will be determined from your point total in the class.

Letter Grade Course Total Percentage

A 630-720 87.5%-100%

B 540-629 75%-87.4%

C 450-539 62.5%-75%

D 360-449 50%-62.5%

F 0-359 0%-49.9%

The use of an absolute point scale makes it possible for everyone in the class to do well; it is up to you to put in the effort. I willuse +/- modifiers on letter grades for the course; you will get a "+" if you are in roughly the upper 1/3 of point range in a lettergrade and a "-" if you are in the lower 1/3. You can monitor your current percentage estimate of your grade in ELMS as thesemester progresses. If you are unsure about why something was marked wrong or you believe that it was incorrectly markedwrong, please contact your TA promptly. Grading can be reconsidered for only a reasonable time after the assignment is returnedto you, typically 7-10 days. We make every effort to grade your work correctly and to record your grades correctly into ELMS.We can make mistakes despite our best efforts. The last day for notifying us of suspected errors in previously recordedgrades is Tuesday May 2.

HomeworksThere are a total of five homeworks in this course. All homeworks are included with this syllabus and can also be obtained fromthe Assignments link from the class website. They will NOT be posted on ELMS. Your answers must be written neatly or typedon a separate page from the questions; there will be a deduction of 2 points for answers squished into the space between thequestions or written on the back. It is perfectly ok for you to copy the questions over to your answer page and then use as much

space as needed to write the answer. Solution sets to the homeworks will be handed out by the TAs in the discussion sections.

Homeworks will be collected at the beginning of the lecture in which they are due. Fifteen minutes after the start of thelecture, any homework not turned in will be considered late and two points will be deducted from the total. Homeworks may notbe turned in by email. If you experience a valid emergency, you must write me and your TA an email before the assignment isdue, telling us why you will be late.

If, for whatever reason, the University is officially closed on the due date, the due date shifts to the next lecture date.

Although you may discuss the homework problems with your friends, the final writeup must be in your own words.Copying from a friend's homework, copying from a book or websites, or allowing a friend to copy your homework isacademic dishonesty (see Academic Integrity below) and will not be tolerated in this class. Moreover, it is remarkablyeasy to spot this form of cheating, so expect to be caught if you try it. The penalty is quite severe (again, see AcademicIntegrity). If you consult a reference other than the course text, please acknowledge it in your homework - this includeswebsites!

Midterm ExamsThere will be two in-class one-hour examinations which will be held in PHYS 1412 on the dates noted in the lecture schedule.These exams are closed book with no notes, calculators, cell phones, ipods, or implants allowed. Each exam will consist ofmultiple choice questions, essay questions, and problem solving questions.

The schedule of lectures included in this syllabus shows what material will be covered on each exam. Please bring a pencil andyour ID card to each exam (including the final). If, for whatever reason, the University is officially closed on the exam date, theexam date shifts to the next lecture date. If official closures (e.g., due to snow) before an exam affect the material covered, eitherthe affected material will be omitted, or the exam date may be altered, as deemed appropriate.

Final ExamAs per University rules, the final exam for this course will be held on Saturday, May 13 from 8:00 am to 10:00 am in PHYS1412. This final exam is cumulative, that is, it will cover all material discussed in this course. However, since the material whichcomes after the second midterm will not have been covered by the midterm exams (see Lecture Schedule), the weight on theseunits will be higher than on earlier units. The final will include multiple choice, essay and problem solving questions, greatlyresembling a longer version of the midterms. This exam is also closed book with no notes, no computers, no calculators allowed.Please bring a pencil and your ID card to the final.

Missed Single Lectures, Discussion Sections or LabsWe will follow University policy: we will accept as an excused absence a self-signed note from a student who has missed a singlelecture or discussion section that is not an exam day or a day when homework is due, attesting to the date of the illness. Thenote must also contain an acknowledgement by the student that the information is true and correct and that providing falseinformation is prohibited under the Code of Student Conduct. The student is also obligated to make a reasonable attempt toinform us of his/her illness in advance. Per university policy, students may only provide one self-signed medical excuse persemester. For multiple medically necessitated absences we will require documented evidence in the form of a doctor's note. Forthe policies on exams and homeworks, see below.

Missed ExamsThe first rule of missing exams is:

DON'T DO IT!

If you are not able to take an exam due to illness or other legitimate reasons (as outlined in the Academic Info section of theschedule of classes) and you wish to take a make-up exam, you must

1. contact me (by e-mail) before you miss the regularly-scheduled exam and2. submit a valid written excuse for your absence within one week after the regularly-scheduled exam.

Make-up exams must be taken promptly. In the case of the final exam, you must arrange for a make-up final within 48 hours after

the scheduled exam, and preferably much sooner as final grades must be submitted shortly after the date of the final.

Open HouseThe astronomy department hosts an open house on the 5th and 20th of each month at the university observatory which is locatedjust off campus on Metzerott Road. The open house includes a speaker talking about some aspect of astronomy. Following thisshort talk, there is public viewing of the heavens with the observatory's telescopes (weather permitting). This is your bestopportunity to look through a real telescope. It's fun, so I highly encourage you to do it!

Extra CreditThe following are the only ways to earn extra credit in this class:

Do the Extra Credit questions on each homework assignment.Your TAs may give some extra credit in their discussion sections.

Because there will be points of extra credit available throughout the semester, there will not be any extra assignments / papers if,e.g., you miss a homework.

Electronic ResourcesThe World Wide Web is a very useful resource that we will make use of in this class. All students should obtain a computeraccount, which will include email and internet access. If you do not already have one, get a WAM account (this can be done inCSS 1400, one floor down from your section class room). The webpage for this course is

http://www.astro.umd.edu/~veilleux/ASTR101/spring17/

It contains links to course information (including the contents of this syllabus), supplementary readings, and interactive programsto make ASTR 101 fun and to help you learn. In addition, this site is also a gateway to many other astronomy links, includingsites with up-to-date astronomical images that are made available to the public from telescopes in space and on the ground.

Course EvaluationIt is very important to get your feedback about the course. This allows us to improve the course for future students. Moreover, ifyou supply evaluations, it grants you access to the evaluations provided by other students - a very useful resource in planningyour future schedule. An announcement will be made in class when courses are open for evaluation late in the semester.

Special CircumstancesStudents with a documented disability should let me know as soon as possible (preferably on the first day of class) so thatappropriate academic accommodations can be made.

Academic IntegrityThe academic community at the University abides by a Code of Academic Integrity, and this section uses parts of that code. Actsof academic dishonesty include cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, and plagiarism*. Activities such ascheating on exams or quizzes, copying homework from a friend, a book, or websites, allowing your homework or paper to becopied, and submitting forged excuses for absences from exams are violations of this code. If we suspect that an incident ofacademic dishonesty has occurred, we will typically turn the case over to the Student Honor Council to investigate and resolve. Ifthe suspected party is judged `responsible' for the act(s) of academic dishonesty, the normal sanction is a course grade of `XF'which denotes failure due to academic dishonesty. This grade is far worse than an F and is recorded onto the student's academictranscript. The Code of Academic Integrity can be found in the Academic Info section of the Schedule of Classes and is printedin full in the Undergraduate Catalog; see this site if you have any questions about academic integrity or what is construed asacademic dishonesty. We are very serious about this.

The basic principle is simple: everything you submit should be in your own words. Note that changing just a small number of

words in a sentence is not sufficient; we want your thoughts, not those of others.

* A surprising number of people do not seem to know what plagiarism is. A common example is cutting & pasting material fromthe internet into your homework. It is wrong to submit the work of others as if it were your own.

Safe Learning EnvironmentThe campus is meant to be a safe place to learn, free from harassment and intimidation of any kind. If you have experienced anyform of harassment as a member of the university community, you should contact the Office of Civil Rights & SexualMisconduct on campus. See the university policies and procedures on http://www.umd.edu/ocrsm/policies-and-procedures/ formore information. Please be aware that faculty (professors and TAs) are required by university policy to report any instance ofmisconduct observed or brought to their attention. For confidential assistance with a harassment matter, contact CARE (seehttp://www.health.umd.edu/care).

Other University Policies for Undergraduate StudentsFor more information on course-related university policies, please refer to UMD Policies.

general schedule of the discussion sections can be found here.

Understanding laboratory techniques and reaching conclusions based on careful observations is a hallmark of scientific inquiry.Your weekly 2-hour lab is an important part of this course that provides you with the opportunity to think like a scientist. Ourgoal is that you leave ASTR 101 at the end of the semester with critical thinking skills that will allow you to better appreciatescience in the news and elsewhere that you encounter it. The lab schedule can be found here.

Be sure to attend the discussion section and lab combination for which you registered. The only way to switch sections is throughthe registrar's office; unofficial changes are not allowed. Memorize your section number and put it on everything that you turnin.

Section LabTime

LabRoom

DiscussionTime

DiscussionRoom TA Name(s) TA Email(s)

0101

Tu5:30pm -7:30pm

CSS0254

Tu 3:30pm - 4:20

pmCSS 2400 Ken

Koester/NimartaChowdhary

kkoester@terpmail.umd.edu/nimarta@terpmail.umd.edu

0102

W8:30am -10:30am

CSS0254

Tu 3:30pm - 4:20

pmCSS 2400 Nimarta

Chowdhary nimarta@terpmail.umd.edu

0103

W11:00am -1:00pm

CSS0254

W 10:00am - 10:50

amCSS 2400 Carrie Holt carrieholt@astro.umd.edu

0104

Th8:30am -10:30am

CSS0254

W 10:00am - 10:50

amCSS 2400 Carrie Holt carrieholt@astro.umd.edu

0105

W6:00pm -8:00pm

CSS0254

W 11:00am - 11:50

amCSS 2400 Elizabeth

Tarantino ejtino@astro.umd.edu

0106

Th3:30pm -5:30pm

CSS0254

W 11:00am - 11:50

amCSS 2400 Elizabeth

Tarantino ejtino@astro.umd.edu

0107

Th6:00pm -8:00pm

CSS0254

W 12:00pm - 12:50

pmCSS 2400 Nimarta

Chowdhary nimarta@terpmail.umd.edu

0108

F9:00am -11:00am

CSS0254

W 12:00pm - 12:50

pmCSS 2400 Ken

Koester/NimartaChowdhary

kkoester@terpmail.umd.edu/nimarta@terpmail.umd.edu

ASTR 101 Lecture ScheduleLecture

Date Lecture Topic Reading Comment

Thu.Jan. 26 Introduction, The Scale of the Universe Syllabus, Chap. 1

Tue.Jan. 31 Seasons and the Changing Sky Chap. 2 Syllabus Cover

Sheet due

Thu.Feb. 2 Lunar Phases and Eclipses Chap. 2 Syllabus Cover

Sheet due

Tue.Feb. 7 Competing Cosmologies Chap. 2 and 3

Thu.Feb. 9 Kepler's Laws Chap. 3

Tue.Feb. 14 Newton's Laws of Motion Chap. 3 HW#1 Due

Thu.Feb. 16 The Universal Law of Gravitation Chap. 3

Tue.Feb. 21 The Solar System and its Origin Chap. 4

Thu.Feb. 23 The Terrestrial Planets Chap. 5

Tue.Feb. 28 The Terrestrial Planets Chap. 5 HW#2 Due

Thu.Mar. 2 MIDTERM EXAM I Chap. 1-4 Exam in PHYS

1412

Tue.Mar. 7 Mars; Jovian Planets, moons, and rings Chap. 6

Thu.Mar. 9

Jovian moons, rings; Debris in the SolarSystem Chap. 6

Tue.Mar. 14

Light, Atomic Physics, Spectra ---CANCELLED DUE TO SNOW!

Thu.Mar. 16 Light, Atomic Physics, Spectra Tools of science in Chap. 5

and 8 HW#3 Due

Tue.Mar. 21

--- SPRING BREAK --- ---

Thu.Mar. 23 --- SPRING BREAK --- ---

Tue.Mar. 28 Doppler Effect and Telescopes Tools of science in Chap. 3

and 7

Thu.Mar. 30 Extrasolar Planets Chap. 7

Tue.Apr. 4 The Sun, Our Star Chap. 8

Thu.Apr. 6 Other Stars Chap. 8

Tue.Apr. 11 A Star's Life: Early & Late Stages Chap. 9

Thu.Apr. 13 End States of a Star's Life Chap. 10 HW#4 Due

Tue.Apr. 18 MIDTERM EXAM II Chap. 5 - 10 + Tools of

science in Chap. 3Exam in PHYS1412

Thu.Apr. 20 Our Galaxy: The Milky Way Galaxy Chap. 11

Tue.Apr. 25 Properties of Normal Galaxies Chap. 11

Thu.Apr. 27 Active Galaxies Chap. 11

Tue.May 2 Galaxy Clustering, Dark Matter Chap. 11 and 14.1 HW#5 Due

Thu.May 4

Cosmology: Expansion and Birth of OurUniverse Chap. 12, 13, 14.2, and 14.3

Tue.May 9

Cosmology: Fate of our Universe,Unanswered Questions Chap. 12, 13, 14.2, and 14.3

Thu.May 11 Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe Chap. 15

Sat.May 13 FINAL EXAM (8:00 - 10:00 am) All Exam in PHYS

1412

Return to ASTR101 Home Page

ASTR 101 Discussion and Lab ScheduleDate Discussion Lab

Jan. 25 - 27 No discussion! No Lab!

Jan. 30 - Feb. 3 Introduction & Seasons Lab #1: Mathematical Tools

Feb. 6 - 10 The Moon: Phases & Eclipses Lab #2: Phases of the Moon

Feb. 13 - 17 Motions in the Sky Lab #3: Sky Motion: Farquhar Globes

Feb. 20 - 24 Kepler's & Newton's Laws, Gravity Review for Midterm #1

Feb. 27 - Mar. 3 Origin & Overview of our Solar System Lab #4: Sky Motion: Stellarium

Mar. 6 - 10 Terrestrial vs Jovian Planets Lab #6: Planetary Surface Features

Mar. 13 - 17 Debris in the Solar System Lab #7: The Moons of Jupiter

Mar. 20 - 24 Spring Break Spring Break

Mar. 27 - 31 Properties of Light & Exoplanets Lab #5: Spectroscopy

Apr. 3 - 7 The Sun & Other Stars Lab #8: Stellar Spectra

Apr. 10 - 14 Stellar Evolution Review for Midterm #2

Apr. 17 - 21 Normal Galaxies Lab #9: The Interstellar Medium

Apr. 24 - 28 Active Galaxies Lab #10: Galaxies

May 1 - 5 Cosmology Lab #11: The Expansion of the Universe

May 8 - 12 No Discussion Make-up Lab (TA permission required)

Return to ASTR101 Home Page

ASTR101 Assignments

Homeworks

Assignment Points Due Date

Homework #1 10 POSTPONED TO TUESDAY, FEB. 14

Homework #2 10 Tuesday, Feb. 28

Homework #3 10 Thursday, Mar. 16

Homework #4 10 Thursday, Apr. 13

Homework #5 10 Tuesday, May 2

Exams

Exam Date Time Place

Midterm Exam I Thursday, Mar. 2 11:00 am - 12:15 pm PHYS 1412

Midterm Exam II Tuesday, Apr. 18 11:00 am - 12:15 pm PHYS 1412

Final Exam Saturday, May 13 8:00 am - 10:00 am PHYS 1412

Click "Reload" to get the most up to date version of this page.

ASTR 101 (Veilleux) HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

Homework #1 (10 Points) due Tuesday February 14 (NOTE NEWDATE!)

Before starting this homework, please read Chapters 1 and 2. Be sure to try the "Quick Quiz" at the end ofeach chapter - this is a great way to see if you are absorbing the material. It is also an excellent way to

practice for the exams, which will include some multiple choice questions eerily similar to these ones. Irecommend doing this for each of the chapters as you read them and again before exams. Now you should beeasily able to work the following "Short-Answer / Essay Questions" (chapter, page, and question numbers are

from the book's 2nd Edition). Always put your name and section number at the top of your homework!

Chapter Page Number Question Number

Ch. 1 p. 17 #19 (Sunlight)

Ch. 2 p. 35 #14 (Cause of the Seasons)

Ch. 2 p. 35 #15 (New Planet)

Ch. 2 p. 35 #18 (View from the Moon)

Ch. 2 p. 35 #20 (A Smaller Earth)

Extra Credit (2 Points): Go to the Astronomical Programs link on the main class web page (under UsefulLinks - GENERAL). Run the "Scientific Notation" program until you are sure that you can do this type of

problem in your sleep (or on a midterm!). What happens when you get a problem right? Do the same for the"Working with Equations" program. If you have trouble doing either of these problems, be sure to talk to

your TA about it. These are the ONLY type of math problems that I will ask you to do on a test. Print out acouple of your answers to get the extra credit.

Homework #2 (10 Points) due Tuesday February 28Before starting this homework, please read Chapters 3 and 4. Be sure to try the "Quick Quiz" at the end of

each chapter - this is a great way to see if you are absorbing the material. It is also an excellent way topractice for the exams, which will include some multiple choice questions eerily similar to these ones. I

recommend doing this for each of the chapters as you read them and again before exams. Now you should beeasily able to work the following "Short-Answer / Essay Questions" (chapter, page, and question numbers are

from the book's 2nd Edition). Always put your name and section number at the top of your homework!Chapter Page Number Question Number

Ch. 3 p. 53 #20 (The Universal Law of Gravitation)

Ch. 3 p. 53 #21 (Eris Orbit)

Ch. 3 p. 53 #22 (Halley's Orbit)

Ch. 4 p. 74 #16 (Two Kinds of Planets)

Ch. 4 p. 74 #18 (An Early Solar Wind)

Extra Credit (2 points): Follow one of the SOLAR SYSTEM links from the main class web page (underUseful Links - SOLAR SYSTEM). Explore some of the sublinks, and write a paragraph summarizing what

you find, and a paragraph describing what you learned (Use your own words!)

Homework #3 (10 Points) due Thursday March 16Before starting this homework, please read Chapters 5 and 6. Be sure to try the "Quick Quiz" at the end of

each chapter - this is a great way to see if you are absorbing the material. It is also an excellent way topractice for the exams, which will include some multiple choice questions eerily similar to these ones. I

recommend doing this for each of the chapters as you read them and again before exams. Now you should beeasily able to work the following "Short-Answer / Essay Questions" (chapter, page, and question numbers are

from the book's 2nd Edition). Always put your name and section number at the top of your homework!Chapter Page Number Question Number

Ch. 5 p. 94 #14 (Two Paths Diverged)

Ch. 5 p. 94 #22 (Internal vs External Heating)

Ch. 5 p. 94 #23 (Plate Tectonics)

Ch. 6 p. 112 #16 (Asteroids vs Comets)

Ch. 6 p. 112 #20 (Adding up Asteroids)

Extra Credit (2 points): Feeling stressed? Slam some asteroids and comets into the Earth and see whathappens on the "Solar System Collisions" webpage (Follow the Astronomical Programs link). Describe whathappens -- and how often -- for asteroids of several different sizes (small, medium, large, HUGE!). Imagine a

rocky asteroid moving at 20 km/s, how big does it have to be to create a magnitude 9.5 earthquake?

Homework #4 (10 Points) due Thursday April 13Before starting this homework, please read Chapters 7, 8, and 9. Be sure to try the "Quick Quiz" at the end of

each chapter - this is a great way to see if you are absorbing the material. It is also an excellent way topractice for the exams, which will include some multiple choice questions eerily similar to these ones. I

recommend doing this for each of the chapters as you read them and again before exams. Now you should beeasily able to work the following "Short-Answer / Essay Questions" (chapter, page, and question numbers are

from the book's 2nd Edition). Always put your name and section number at the top of your homework!Chapter Page Number Question Number

Ch. 7 p. 127 #14 (Comparing Methods)

Ch. 7 p. 127 #19 (Planet Around 51 Pegasi)

Ch. 8 p. 145 #21 (The Lifetime of the Sun)

Ch. 8 p. 145 #22 (The Inverse Square Law for Light)

Ch. 9 p. 165 #13 (Homes to Civilization?)

Extra Credit (2 points): Go to the Astronomy Picture of the Day link from the main class web page (underUseful Links - GENERAL). Describe in a few sentences the image displayed on this website. Make sure to

tell us on which day you looked at the website.

Homework #5 (10 Points) due Tuesday May 2Before starting this homework, please read Chapters 10 and 11. Be sure to try the "Quick Quiz" at the end of

each chapter - this is a great way to see if you are absorbing the material. It is also an excellent way topractice for the exams, which will include some multiple choice questions eerily similar to these ones. I

recommend doing this for each of the chapters as you read them and again before exams. Now you should beeasily able to work the following "Short-Answer / Essay Questions" (chapter, page, and question numbers are

from the book's 2nd Edition). Always put your name and section number at the top of your homework!

Chapter Page Number Question Number

Ch. 10 p. 181 #20 (Neutron Star Density)

Ch. 11 p. 197 #15 (High-Velocity Star)

Ch. 11 p. 197 #20 (Hubbles's Galaxy Types)

Ch. 11 p. 197 #22 (Weighing Supermassive Black Holes)

Ch. 11 p. 197 #23 (Counting Galaxies)

Extra Credit (2 points): Follow one of the STARS & STELLAR REMNANTS links from the main classweb page (under Useful Links - STARS & STELLAR REMNANTS). Explore some of the sublinks, and

write a paragraph summarizing what you find, and a paragraph describing what you learned (Use your ownwords!)

Extra Credit (2 points): Follow one of the GALAXIES links from the main class web page (under UsefulLinks - GALAXIES). Explore some of the sublinks, and write a paragraph summarizing what you find, and a

paragraph describing what you learned (Use your own words!)

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