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AST 301

Lectures

Reading & Exam Schedule

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Syllabus

Courses
Reading & Exam Schedule


Printable Reading & Exam Schedule ( pdf )

Here is a list of the reading assignments for each of the seven exams. Because we only have about four to five lectures per exam, and there may be unforeseen circumstances, you should consider this list tentative; if the reading schedule is changed slightly, it will be announced prominently in class and by class email. Note that the first five exams are scheduled for Wednesdays.

Exam 1. Chapters 1 (basics), 2 (gravity, orbits,...), 3 (radiation, except we will skip the Doppler effect for exam 2). Also see Appendices 1and 2 at the end of the textbook. Chapter 3 is especially important for later chapters.
In Ch. 1 you will only be tested on sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.7. In Ch. 2 you should read sec. 2.2, 2.3, but really we will be concentrating only on sections 2.5, 2.6, 2.7. We will cover all of Ch. 3 except the section on the Doppler effect.
Date: Wed, Sept. 14 (4 lectures including first class day)

Exam 2. Chapter 3 (only section on Doppler effect), Chapters 4 (spectroscopy) and 5 (telescopes). Chapter 4 is especially important for later chapters, and usually difficult for students.
Date: Wed., Sept. 28 (4 lectures)

Exam 3. Chapters 6 (survey of the solar system), 15 (formation of the solar system), and 16 (the sun).
[Note that we are skipping chaps.7-14 covering details of the solar system.]
Date: Wed., Oct. 12 (5 lectures)

Exam 4. Chapters 17 (properties of stars), 18 (the interstellar gas and dust), and 19 (the birth of stars).
Date: Wed., Oct. 26 (5 lectures)

Exam 5. Chapters 20-22 (stellar evolution and death).
Date: Wed., Nov. 9 (5 lectures)

Exam 6. Chapters 23 (Milky Way galaxy), 24 (other galaxies), 25 (galaxies and dark matter)
Date: Monday, Nov. 21 (4 lectures) [Assuming exam day before Thanksgiving break would result in too many problems.]

Exam 7. Chapters 26 (cosmology) and 27 (the early universe).
Date: Friday, Dec. 9 (last class day; 5 lectures)
I will detail in class and/or in handouts which material you will not be responsible for. This occurs mainly for chapters 1 and 2 (see above); we will read nearly all of the remaining chapters.

 





6 October 2005
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