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 to
the "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 THE
DEFINITIONS OF CHEATING, FABRICATION, FACILITATING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY, AND
PLAGIARISM. I PLEDGE TO NOT CHEAT, FABRICATE, PLAGIARIZE, OR FACILITATE SUCH
BEHAVIOR. I FURTHER PLEDGE TO REPORT ANY INSTANCES OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
THAT I KNOW ABOUT TO THE PROFESSOR AND/OR MY TA. I AGREE TO ABIDE BY ALL POINTS
LAID OUT IN THE STUDENT HONOR CODE.
I ALSO HAVE READ THE SYLLABUS AND UNDERSTAND HOW MY GRADE FOR ASTR101 WILL
BE DETERMINED.
Signed _______________________________ Dated ______________________________
ASTR 101: General Astronomy
Sections 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 short
semester. We hope that you'll find this course enjoyable and walk away with a better knowledge and understanding of the
universe that we live in. With that goal in mind, the course attempts to focus on major concepts in astronomy and where possible
tie those concepts into issues relevant to your life. For example, global warming, an important worldwide issue for the 21st
century, is also central to understanding the differences between the environments of Venus, Mars, and Earth. At a more
philosophical level, understanding how our universe works and how planets, stars, and galaxies are formed gives us a better
perspective on our place in the universe and how special planet Earth is to our continued survival. Most of you have chosen this
course to fulfill your science requirement (see GENED Requirements below). GENED courses are designed to ensure that you
will take a look at several different academic disciplines and the way they create and analyze knowledge about the world. We will
introduce you to ideas and issues that are central to a major intellectual discipline and involve you actively in the learning
process. 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 very
important! The material on the homeworks and exams are based upon the material covered in the lectures, the text, and
discussion sections. If you have to miss a lecture or section, be sure to look at another student's notes and make sure that you
understand 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 your
grade in the class.
Preparation: I expect you to be prepared to work. You will understand the lecture more easily if you preview the reading
assignment. A more careful reading is recommended after lecture. You should study your class notes some time before the next
lecture to make sure that everything is clear. I encourage you to ask questions in class, in discussion, in lab, and during office
hours.
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 do
very 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 of
the 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 access
for this class - just the hardcopy textbook. You may buy a used version if you wish. We will be
covering most, but not necessarily all, of the material in the book. There will be reading
assignments 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 and
Michael F. A'Hearn, Voit, 2017 (ISBN-13: 978-1-323-58146-9) and ASTR 101
Supplemental Lab Manual (Fall 2016 Edition), by the University of Maryland
Copy Services, 2016 (ISBN-13: 281-8-440-15787-5). You should get the new fifth
edition of the first book. An unused copy of the fourth edition is also OK if you get
a good deal. But be sure that the book is 100% intact, as you will have to tear pages
out 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 homework
assignments, supplementary readings, and interactive programs to make ASTR 101 fun and to help you learn. See cool space
pictures and movies!
ELMS: We will also use ELMS in this course. Your grades on assignments and exams, and point total throughout the semester
will 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 several
demonstrations, 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 sections
are led by Teaching Assistants (TAs). The sections provide a smaller and more informal environment for further developing the
material taught in class. The TAs will also answer questions about the lectures and reading and will hold review sessions before
exams.
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 the
lab room. You must go to the lab time associated with your section number each week. If you expect to miss your lab section due
to illness or a University approved excuse, you should contact your TA as soon as you know and make arrangements to attend
another section in the same week if at all possible.
GENED Requirements
ASTR 101 is intended for non-science majors and requires no more than a modest, high-school level science and math
background. This course satisfies the University of Maryland's requirement for a lab natural science course. To satisfy the
requirement for a non-lab natural science course, you might wish to consider ASTR 100. Note that you cannot get credit for
both ASTR 100 and ASTR 101. Please be sure that you have chosen the correct course.
Discussion Sections and Labs
Your weekly 50-minute discussion section, which begins the week of January 30, is an integral part of this course. The sections
are run by the TAs, with just general guidelines from me; they will generally include a review of lecture material, presentation of
problems and material not covered in lecture, exercises and quizzes etc. These sections serve as a forum to enhance your
understanding 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. Our
goal is that you leave ASTR 101 at the end of the semester with critical thinking skills that will allow you to better appreciate
science 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 through
the registrar's office; unofficial changes are not allowed. Memorize your section number and put it on everything that you turn
in.
Section
Lab
Time
Lab Discussion Discussion
Room
Time
Room
0101
Tu
5:30
pm 7:30
pm
CSS
0254
Tu 3:30
pm - 4:20
pm
CSS 2400
0102
W
8:30
am 10:30
am
CSS
0254
Tu 3:30
pm - 4:20
pm
CSS 2400
0103
W
11:00
am 1:00
pm
CSS
0254
W 10:00
am - 10:50
am
CSS 2400
0104
Th
8:30
am 10:30
am
CSS
0254
W 10:00
am - 10:50
am
CSS 2400
0105
W
6:00
pm 8:00
pm
CSS
0254
W 11:00
am - 11:50
am
0106
Th
3:30
pm 5:30
pm
CSS
0254
0107
Th
6:00
pm 8:00
pm
0108
F
9:00
am 11:00
am
TA Name(s)
TA Email(s)
Ken
Koester/Nimarta [email protected]/[email protected]
Chowdhary
Nimarta
Chowdhary
[email protected]
Carrie Holt
[email protected]
Carrie Holt
[email protected]
CSS 2400
Elizabeth
Tarantino
[email protected]
W 11:00
am - 11:50
am
CSS 2400
Elizabeth
Tarantino
[email protected]
CSS
0254
W 12:00
pm - 12:50
pm
CSS 2400
Nimarta
Chowdhary
[email protected]
CSS
0254
W 12:00
pm - 12:50
pm
CSS 2400
Ken
Koester/Nimarta [email protected]/[email protected]
Chowdhary
0109
W
1:00
pm 3:00
pm
CSS
0254
W 11:00
am - 11:50
am
CSS 1113
0110
F
1:00
pm 3:00
pm
CSS
0254
W 11:00
am - 11:50
am
CSS 1113
Ben Hirsch
[email protected]
Ben Hirsch
[email protected]
Grading:
Your grade is accumulated on a point scale throughout the semester with assignment totals summarized in the table below: 5
homeworks at 10 points each; 12 discussion activities at 5 points each; 10 questions during the lectures at 4 points each; and 11
lab activities at 15 points each. A description of each of these components is detailed later in this syllabus. You should note that
there are a total of 155 points in homework and lecture/discussion activities, and 165 points in lab activities. It is impossible to
get 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 so
that 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 will
use +/- 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 letter
grade and a "-" if you are in the lower 1/3. You can monitor your current percentage estimate of your grade in ELMS as the
semester progresses. If you are unsure about why something was marked wrong or you believe that it was incorrectly marked
wrong, please contact your TA promptly. Grading can be reconsidered for only a reasonable time after the assignment is returned
to 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 recorded
grades is Tuesday May 2.
Homeworks
There are a total of five homeworks in this course. All homeworks are included with this syllabus and can also be obtained from
the Assignments link from the class website. They will NOT be posted on ELMS. Your answers must be written neatly or typed
on a separate page from the questions; there will be a deduction of 2 points for answers squished into the space between the
questions 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 the
lecture, any homework not turned in will be considered late and two points will be deducted from the total. Homeworks may not
be turned in by email. If you experience a valid emergency, you must write me and your TA an email before the assignment is
due, 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 is
academic dishonesty (see Academic Integrity below) and will not be tolerated in this class. Moreover, it is remarkably
easy to spot this form of cheating, so expect to be caught if you try it. The penalty is quite severe (again, see Academic
Integrity). If you consult a reference other than the course text, please acknowledge it in your homework - this includes
websites!
Midterm Exams
There 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 of
multiple 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 and
your ID card to each exam (including the final). If, for whatever reason, the University is officially closed on the exam date, the
exam date shifts to the next lecture date. If official closures (e.g., due to snow) before an exam affect the material covered, either
the affected material will be omitted, or the exam date may be altered, as deemed appropriate.
Final Exam
As 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 PHYS
1412. This final exam is cumulative, that is, it will cover all material discussed in this course. However, since the material which
comes after the second midterm will not have been covered by the midterm exams (see Lecture Schedule), the weight on these
units will be higher than on earlier units. The final will include multiple choice, essay and problem solving questions, greatly
resembling 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 Labs
We will follow University policy: we will accept as an excused absence a self-signed note from a student who has missed a single
lecture or discussion section that is not an exam day or a day when homework is due, attesting to the date of the illness. The
note must also contain an acknowledgement by the student that the information is true and correct and that providing false
information is prohibited under the Code of Student Conduct. The student is also obligated to make a reasonable attempt to
inform us of his/her illness in advance. Per university policy, students may only provide one self-signed medical excuse per
semester. For multiple medically necessitated absences we will require documented evidence in the form of a doctor's note. For
the policies on exams and homeworks, see below.
Missed Exams
The 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 the
schedule 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 and
2. 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 House
The astronomy department hosts an open house on the 5th and 20th of each month at the university observatory which is located
just off campus on Metzerott Road. The open house includes a speaker talking about some aspect of astronomy. Following this
short talk, there is public viewing of the heavens with the observatory's telescopes (weather permitting). This is your best
opportunity to look through a real telescope. It's fun, so I highly encourage you to do it!
Extra Credit
The 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 Resources
The World Wide Web is a very useful resource that we will make use of in this class. All students should obtain a computer
account, which will include email and internet access. If you do not already have one, get a WAM account (this can be done in
CSS 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 programs
to make ASTR 101 fun and to help you learn. In addition, this site is also a gateway to many other astronomy links, including
sites with up-to-date astronomical images that are made available to the public from telescopes in space and on the ground.
Course Evaluation
It is very important to get your feedback about the course. This allows us to improve the course for future students. Moreover, if
you supply evaluations, it grants you access to the evaluations provided by other students - a very useful resource in planning
your future schedule. An announcement will be made in class when courses are open for evaluation late in the semester.
Special Circumstances
Students with a documented disability should let me know as soon as possible (preferably on the first day of class) so that
appropriate academic accommodations can be made.
Academic Integrity
The academic community at the University abides by a Code of Academic Integrity, and this section uses parts of that code. Acts
of academic dishonesty include cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, and plagiarism*. Activities such as
cheating on exams or quizzes, copying homework from a friend, a book, or websites, allowing your homework or paper to be
copied, and submitting forged excuses for absences from exams are violations of this code. If we suspect that an incident of
academic dishonesty has occurred, we will typically turn the case over to the Student Honor Council to investigate and resolve. If
the 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 academic
transcript. The Code of Academic Integrity can be found in the Academic Info section of the Schedule of Classes and is printed
in full in the Undergraduate Catalog; see this site if you have any questions about academic integrity or what is construed as
academic 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 from
the internet into your homework. It is wrong to submit the work of others as if it were your own.
Safe Learning Environment
The campus is meant to be a safe place to learn, free from harassment and intimidation of any kind. If you have experienced any
form of harassment as a member of the university community, you should contact the Office of Civil Rights & Sexual
Misconduct on campus. See the university policies and procedures on http://www.umd.edu/ocrsm/policies-and-procedures/ for
more information. Please be aware that faculty (professors and TAs) are required by university policy to report any instance of
misconduct observed or brought to their attention. For confidential assistance with a harassment matter, contact CARE (see
http://www.health.umd.edu/care).
Other University Policies for Undergraduate Students
For 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. Our
goal is that you leave ASTR 101 at the end of the semester with critical thinking skills that will allow you to better appreciate
science 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 through
the registrar's office; unofficial changes are not allowed. Memorize your section number and put it on everything that you turn
in.
Section
Lab
Time
Lab Discussion Discussion
Room
Time
Room
0101
Tu
5:30
pm 7:30
pm
CSS
0254
Tu 3:30
pm - 4:20
pm
CSS 2400
0102
W
8:30
am 10:30
am
CSS
0254
Tu 3:30
pm - 4:20
pm
CSS 2400
0103
W
11:00
am 1:00
pm
CSS
0254
W 10:00
am - 10:50
am
CSS 2400
0104
Th
8:30
am 10:30
am
CSS
0254
W 10:00
am - 10:50
am
CSS 2400
0105
W
6:00
pm 8:00
pm
CSS
0254
W 11:00
am - 11:50
am
0106
Th
3:30
pm 5:30
pm
CSS
0254
0107
Th
6:00
pm 8:00
pm
0108
F
9:00
am 11:00
am
TA Name(s)
TA Email(s)
Ken
Koester/Nimarta [email protected]/[email protected]
Chowdhary
Nimarta
Chowdhary
[email protected]
Carrie Holt
[email protected]
Carrie Holt
[email protected]
CSS 2400
Elizabeth
Tarantino
[email protected]
W 11:00
am - 11:50
am
CSS 2400
Elizabeth
Tarantino
[email protected]
CSS
0254
W 12:00
pm - 12:50
pm
CSS 2400
Nimarta
Chowdhary
[email protected]
CSS
0254
W 12:00
pm - 12:50
pm
CSS 2400
Ken
Koester/Nimarta [email protected]/[email protected]
Chowdhary
ASTR 101 Lecture Schedule
Lecture
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
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 Solar
System
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
Tue.
Mar. 21
--- SPRING BREAK ---
---
HW#1 Due
HW#3 Due
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. 3
Exam in PHYS
1412
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
Thu.
May 4
Cosmology: Expansion and Birth of Our
Universe
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
Return to ASTR101 Home Page
HW#5 Due
Exam in PHYS
1412
ASTR 101 Discussion and Lab Schedule
Date
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
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
Click "Reload" to get the most up to date version of this page.
Place
PHYS 1412
ASTR 101 (Veilleux)
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS
Homework #1 (10 Points) due Tuesday February 14 (NOTE NEW
DATE!)
Before starting this homework, please read Chapters 1 and 2. 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 to
practice 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 be
easily 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 Useful
Links - 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 a
couple of your answers to get the extra credit.
Homework #2 (10 Points) due Tuesday February 28
Before 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 to
practice 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 be
easily 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 (under
Useful 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 16
Before 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 to
practice 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 be
easily 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 what
happens on the "Solar System Collisions" webpage (Follow the Astronomical Programs link). Describe what
happens -- 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 13
Before 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 to
practice 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 be
easily 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 (under
Useful 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 2
Before 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 to
practice 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 be
easily 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 class
web 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 own
words!)
Extra Credit (2 points): Follow one of the GALAXIES links from the main class web page (under Useful
Links - 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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