DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMYASTRO
COURSE WEB PAGESASTRO

FALL 2000

RLM 5.104

TTh 9:30-11am

Unique No. 45920

PROFESSOR:
Daniel Jaffe
Office: R.L. Moore 17.218
Phone: 471-3425
Email: dtj@astro.as.utexas.edu
Office Hours: T - 11, W - 1:30pm

TEACHING ASSISTANT:
Mukremin Kilic
Office: RLM 16.216
Phone: 471-0445
E-mail: kilic@astro.as.utexas.edu
Office Hours: M 3pm (Held in RLM 13.132)
Work Session: W 4-5pm RLM 5.104 (Same room as lecture)

TEXTBOOK: Astronomy & Astrophysics, Fourth Edition, Zeilik & Gregory

CONTENTS AND APPROACH: We will present an overview of the universe, with a physical explanation for what is there and how it works. We will emphasize how astronomers study the universe and the explanations of what they find. College-level physics and calculus are not required, but we will use high school math (trigonometry ) and science.

Most of the time during class will be spent discussing explanations and concepts rather than descriptions of astronomical objects. You will have to learn the descriptions from the reading assignments. To succeed in this class you will have to keep up with the reading and be willing to participate in discussions in class.

GROUP WORK: For work on Concept Questions in class and to make homework easier, the class will be organized into groups of five. You may come to me today or Tuesday with five names of your choice (EXACTLY FIVE PLEASE) or, if you prefer, I will assign you to a group. You will be expected to sit with or near your group during class and to talk to them.

HOMEWORK: A homework assignment will be handed out each Thursday, due the next Thursday. Some assignments may involve simple observations of the sky. Hand in homework in class. Do not put homeworks under the professor's or the TA's doors! You may work together on homework, but, unless the homework is explicitly assigned as a group project, you must write out your own answer. Except for group projects, duplicate homeworks will not receive credit. Late homeworks will receive half credit. Homework will be handed back in class. If your homeworkis not returned, you must complain immediately. Keep all returned homework until after the final.
There will be a weekly work session for questions and help with the homework. The TA will be there to help you, but not to walk you, but not to walk you through the problems. Note that there is no homework help available on Thursdays!

TESTS: There will be two in-class exams and a final (see schedule below). There will also be a short quiz every week with one question about the reading for that week and one question about the material discussed during the previous week. Questions will require short written answers, and although this is not a writing course, we will take off points for confusing or ungrammatical answers. WARNING: Show up for the quizzes having done the reading. You can lose almost a whole letter grade by not taking the quizzes.

GRADES:

Absence Policy: The fundamental principle is that nothing will be excused after the fact. If you are sick on the day of an exam, you must notify the professor by e-mail or by phone prior to the exam. If you fail to notify us in advance and still want an absence to be excuse, you must demonstrate that you were unconscious at the time of the exam.

Availability of Academic Accomodations: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accomodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.

ABOUT THE TEXT AND READING: Our textbook was designed for a course with prerequisites of Calculus and Physics. As a result, it uses more math and covers more details than we will. When you are reding the text, look for and remember concepts, rather than memorizing vocabulary and equations. It is also far too long. In the schedule below, I have indicated when chapters should just be read for their cultural value or as supplements to the lectures. You should look through these chapters but not agonize over every detail. The prologue contains many of the equations behind the physics of astrophysics but is kindof short on explanation. I would suggest flipping back to it every so often while reading the rest of the book, rather than looking at it all at once at the beginning. You are not resonsible for the prologue material per se.