The Universe: Its Nature and History
Fall 2016
Tuesday/Thursday
2:00 – 3:15 pm
PHYS-UA 7
Meyer 122
Course Description
The Universe: Its Nature and History provides an introduction to our understanding of the nature
and evolution of the universe. Topics include motion, light and gravity, the reason for the seasons,
the ancient Greek view of the Universe, the Copernican Revolution, Tycho and Kepler, the nature
of stars and galaxies; white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes; the structure and evolution of our
Milky Way; galaxy clusters, the galaxy web, and the Big Bang Theory of the universe, present
structure, and ultimate fate of the universe. Knowledge of motion, gravity, light and matter allows
astrophysicists to make accurate inferences and extrapolations from data. By delving into the story
of astronomy, and building the picture of our Universe outward from Earth to the Galaxy to the
cosmology of the Universe, you see how science contributes to the growth of human knowledge.
Instructors
Lecture: Dr. Andre Adler
Department of Physics
Office: Meyer Hall, Room 252
E-mail: andre.adler@nyu.edu
Grader: Anna-Maria Taki
Department of Physics
Office: Meyer Hall, Room 538
E-mail: amt543@nyu.edu
Prof. Adler and Ms. Taki will hold office hours to assist you. See NYU Classes for office hours.
Required Materials
A package of MasteringAstronomy, Learning Catalytics and the e-text version of The Cosmic
Perspective: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology, 8th edition, Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, Voit.
You can obtain these materials by (1) purchasing the package at the NYU Bookstore, or (2) going to
www.masteringastronomy.com and selecting the e-text option. Note: to get Learning Catalytics you
must select the e-text option. Otherwise, you will have to purchase Learning Catalytics separately.
Use of Learning Catalytics requires that you bring a laptop, tablet or smartphone to every class.
While the course is mostly conceptual, we will do some quantitative work. Thus it is recommended
you purchase a scientific calculator for use on homework and examinations.
Course Grade
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
MasteringAstronomy (MA)
Learning Catalytics (LC)
25%
35%
25%
15%
Thursday, October 27, 2:00 to 3:15 pm
Tuesday, December 20, 2:00 to 3:50 pm
(The lowest MA score will be dropped.)
(The four lowest LC scores will be dropped.)
Your total numerical score, calculated from the components listed above, correspond to the
following letter grades:
If your total percent score is at least:
92 90 88 82 80 78 72 70 68 60 < 60
then you will receive a grade no lower than: A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D F
-1-
Missed Exam Policy: If you are ill and cannot take an examination, you must produce verifiable
documentation from a physician, with physician’s letterhead, explaining that you were too ill to
attend the examination. A make-up exam will be given at a future date. Students who are absent
from a test during the semester without an excuse will receive a grade of zero on that test.
Electronic Learning Resources
We will use two cloud-based learning resources: MasteringAstronomy (MA) and Learning
Catalytics (LC). On MA you will find the weekly homework to do outside of the lecture hall. LC
is the system we will use for you to work with your fellow students on problems in class.
MasteringAstronomy is a homework and tutorial system, providing feedback to your answers, and
extensive hints for many problems. Most of the problems you will see on MA are conceptual.
Typically, you will have one assignment per week.
Learning Catalytics is a tool to manage work in the classroom. It provides a way to deliver
problems to work on, collaboratively, during class, while providing real-time compilation of results.
Every class will include problems for you to work on with your neighbors. It also provides a way
for you to send me questions during class. You must bring a laptop, tablet or smartphone to
participate in class. To account for times when you miss class, the lowest 4 Learning Catalytics
scores will be dropped before calculating your total score for the course.
MasteringAstronomy
Work will be assigned weekly using MasteringAstronomy, an online tutorial and homework system.
You will access them on www.masteringastronomy.com. The MasteringAstronomy course ID for
PHYS-UA 7 is found on NYU Classes. You will not be able to access online work without this
course ID.
Important: When you register for MasteringAstronomy,
1. enter your NYU Net ID when you are prompted to enter a Student ID (please do not enter
your N number), and
2. enter your NYU email address.
Acquaint yourself with the grading policy and due date for each assignment.
There are different types problems you will encounter in MasteringAstronomy: not all are found in
the textbook. Some questions will be conceptual, others quantitative, some will be multiple choice
and some not; some will require a numerical answer while others will not. You must first learn how
to use the system properly. To aid you in this, your first assignment is called “Introduction to
MasteringAstronomy.” While it will not contribute to your grade, it is strongly recommended that
you complete this assignment. Be sure to check that your browser is properly configured.
In addition to the assignments and e-text, it is recommended that you make use of the Study Area
section of MasteringAstronomy. There you will find a number of useful tools such as a chapter
guide, practice quizzes, chapter summaries, and interactive figures and photos. Using the Study
Area is not required but highly recommended.
Schedule of Class Topics and Readings
Class
Date
Lecture Topic
Ch.
1
T Sep 6
The Scale of the Universe/The History of the Universe
1
2
R Sep 8
Spaceship Earth/The Human Adventure of Astronomy
1
3
T Sep 13
Patterns in the Night Sky/The Reason for Seasons
2
4
R Sep 15
The Moon/The Ancient Mystery of the Planets
2
5
T Sep 20
The Ancient Roots of Science/Ancient Greek Science
3
6
R Sep 22
The Copernican Revolution/The Nature of Science
3
7
T Sep 27
Describing Motion/Newton’s Laws of Motion/Conservation Laws in Astronomy
4
8
R Sep 29
Universal Law of Gravitation/Orbits, Tides and the Acceleration of Gravity
4
9
T Oct 4
Light in Everyday Life/Properties of Light
5
10
R Oct 6
Properties of Matter/Learning from Light
5
11
T Oct 11
A Closer Look at the Sun/Nuclear Fusion in the Sun
14
12
R Oct 13
The Sun-Earth Connection
14
13
T Oct 18
Properties of Stars
15
14
R Oct 20
Patterns Among the Stars/Star Clusters
15
15
T Oct 25
Lives in the Balance/Life as a Low−Mass Star
17
16
R Oct 27
Midterm Exam (covers all material/lectures through 10/20)
17
T Nov 1
Life as a High−Mass Star/The Roles of Mass and Mass Exchange
17
18
R Nov 3
White Dwarfs/Neutron Stars
18
19
T Nov 8
Black Holes: Gravity’s Ultimate Victory/The Origin of Gamma−Mass Bursts
18
20
R Nov 10
The Milky Way Revealed/Galactic Recycling
19
21
T Nov 15
The History of the Milky Way/The Mysterious Galactic Center
19
22
R Nov 17
Islands of Stars/Measuring Galactic Distances
20
23
T Nov 22
The Age of the Universe
20
24
R Nov 29
Looking Back Through Time/The Lives of the Galaxies
21
25
R Dec 1
Quasars and Other Active Galactic Nuclei
21
26
T Dec 6
The Big Bang Theory/Evidence for the Big Bang
22
27
R Dec 8
The Big Bang and Inflation/Observing the Big Bang for Yourself
22
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