The Universe: Its Nature and History
Fall 2015
Tuesday/Thursday
2:00 pm – 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 the Big Bang Theory of the universe, present
structure, and ultimate fate; 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 our place
and role in the universe. We study motion and gravity, light and matter to see how astrophysicists
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: Xu Li
Department of Physics
Office: Meyer Hall, Room 625
E-mail: xl1393@nyu.edu
Prof. Adler and Mr. Li will hold office hours to assist you in the class. See NYU Classes for office
hours.
Required Materials
Custom package consisting of: MasteringAstronomy access code with eText for The Cosmic
Perspective: Stars and Galaxies 7th edition.
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 (10/22/15)
Final Exam (12/22/15)
Homework Assignment
Prelecture Reading Questions
20%
35%
40%
5%
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
If you are ill and cannot take an examination, you must produce verifiable documentation from a
physician, with physician’s letterhead, that explaining that you were too ill to attend the
examination. Students who are absent from a test during the semester without an excuse will
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receive a grade of zero on that test.
MasteringAstronomy: Online
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 MAADLER99148. You will not be able to access online work without this course
ID.
Important: When you register for MasteringAstronomy,
1. enter your NYU ID (the “N” number) when you are prompted to enter a Student ID and
2. enter your NYU email address.
Acquaint yourself with the grading policy and due date for each assignment. A penalty for late
assignments will be enforced. See Prof. Adler in office hours should you have any questions about
MasteringAstronomy.
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.
You will encounter two sets of assignments for each chapter.
• Prelecture Reading Questions (5% of the grade) – these assignments consist of questions
you can answer correctly after reading the textbook. They will be due no later than one hour
prior to many, but not all, of the lectures. This assignment is intended to help prepare you
for lecture and to highlight many important ideas discussed in the text.
•
Homework Assignments (40% of the grade) – these consist of questions involving
vocabulary, labeling, sorting, ranking, essay and numeric questions; some of them are
computer graded and some will be graded by Mr. Li.
In addition to the assignments and etext, 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
• Chapter Guide
• Concept Quiz
• Reading Quiz
• Visual Quiz
• Chapter Summaries
• Interactive Figures and Photos
• Word Study Tools
Using the Study Area is not required but highly recommended.
Class
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Date
Th Sep 3
T Sep 8
Th Sep
10 15
T Sep
Th Sep
17 22
T Sep
Th Sep
24 29
T Sep
Th Oct 1
T Oct 6
Th Oct 8
T Oct 13
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Th Oct
15 20
T Oct
Th Oct
22 27
T Oct
Th Oct
29 3
T Nov
Th Nov 5
T Nov 10
Th Nov
12 17
T Nov
Th Nov
19 24
T Nov
Th Nov
26 1
T Dec
Th Dec 3
T Dec 8
Th Dec
10 15
T Dec
Lecture Topic
The Mystery of the Planets/Ancient Greek Science
The Copernican Revolution
Newton’s Laws of Motion/Conservation Laws in Astronomy
Universal Law of Gravitation/Orbits, Tides and the Acceleration
of Life/Properties
Gravity
Light in Everyday
of Light
Properties of Matter/Learning from Light
A Closer Look at the Sun/Nuclear Fusion in the Sun
The Sun-Earth Connection
Properties of Stars
Patterns Among the Stars /Star Clusters
Stellar Nurseries/Stages of Star Birth
Legislative Day - Classes Meet on Monday Schedule
(The Universe: Its Nature and History does not meet)
Masses of Newborn Stars
Lives in the Balance/Life as a Low−Mass Star
Midterm Exam
Life as a High−Mass Star/The Roles of Mass and Mass
Exchange
White Dwarfs/Neutron
Stars
Black Holes: Gravity’s Ultimate Victory/The Origin of
Gamma−Mass
Bursts Recycling
The Milky Way
Revealed/Galactic
The History of the Milky Way/The Mysterious Galactic Center
Islands of Stars/Measuring Galactic Distances
The Age of the Universe
Looking Back Through Time/The Lives of the Galaxies
Quasars and Other Active Galactic Nuclei
Thanksgiving Holiday
The Big Bang Theory/Evidence for the Big Bang
The Big Bang and Inflation/Observing the Big Bang for
Yourself
Unseen Influences in the Cosmos/Evidence
for Dark Matter
Dark Matter and Galaxy Formation/The Fate of the Universe
Course Summary
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Ch.
2.4, 3.2
3.3
4
4
5
5
14
14
15
15
16
16
17
17
18
18
19
19
20
20
21
21
22
22
23
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