ASTR 122
Stars
Fall Quarter 2007
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 to 11:30 in Pacific 123.
This is a one quarter course on astronomy in which we cover the the birth, life, and death of stars.
I recommend taking a full year course by taking also ASTR 121 on the solar system and ASTR 123 on galaxies and the history of the universe.
Instructor:
- Davison Soper
- email: soper@uoregon.edu
(Please include ASTR 122 in the subject line.)
- phone: 6-5162
- office: 479 Willamette
- office hours:
- Mon 2:00 - 3:00 pm
- Wed 4:00 - 5:00 pm
You can send me emails with questions or comments on the course. If I can
respond to a question briefly, I will (although perhaps not instantly). If
the answer is lengthy or subtle, I will suggest that you come to see me.
Teaching assistants:
- Yan Guo
- email: yguo@uoregon.edu
(Please include ASTR 122 in the subject line.)
- phone: 6-5864
- office: 215 Willamette (corrected room number) Binney graduate student lounge
- office hours:
- Tue 9:00 - 9:50 am
- Thur 9:00 - 9:50 am
- Elizabeth Ptacek
- email: eptacek@uoregon.edu
(Please include ASTR 122 in the subject line.)
- phone: 541-346-4722
(Email is better than phone)
- office: 410 Willamette
- office hours:
- Mon 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
- Tue 5:00 -6:00 pm
- Thur 5:00 - 6:00 pm
Class:
The class meets from 10:00 to approximately 11:30 on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, with a five minute break halfway through the class.
Text:
- Astronomy Today (sixth edition)
- Chaisson & McMillan
There are also web based notes, which you
have probably found if you are reading this on your computer screen. The
notes may be found at http://physics.uoregon.edu/~soper/astr122.html.
Homework:
There will be homework for you to do electronically during the week
following each class, starting at the end of the second week of class.
The homework will have the form of two multiple choice quizzes. See the quiz page .
Exams:
- Midterm Exam: Thursday 18 October (in class)
- Midterm Exam: Thursday 15 November (in class)
- Final Exam: Friday 7 December at 8:00
Inevitably, there will be a few students who miss an exam because
of illness or for similar reasons. If the student has a good reason,
my policy is to give a makeup exam as soon as possible after the
scheduled exam. The makeup exam is similar to the regular exam except
that it includes a component in which I ask questions of
the student orally. Only in exceptional circumstances will I give
a makeup exam before the regularly scheduled exam. (An example: the
student has a special opportunity for study abroad that must begin
during UO exam week.) Please let me know in advance if you know of
an unavoidable conflict that would prevent you from taking an exam.
Grading:
Your course grade will be based on a total score made up of
- Homeworks: 20%
- Midterm Exam: 20%
- Midterm Exam: 20%
- Final Exam: 40%
For students who are near to a dividing line between letter grades, I will apply some judgment: did the student do substantially all of the homeworks, did the student show substantial effort by coming to teaching assistant or instructor office hours, etc.
A letter grade will be assigned "on a curve," with slightly more than half of the students getting As and Bs. At your option, you can take the course "pass-fail" but beware: a D gets translated into a no-pass by the university system.
Academic honesty:
When you take an exam, you are attesting that you are submitting your
own work, which reflects what you have learned. Anything else is
dishonest, and I take dishonesty very seriously. You should your own
academic honesty very seriously too: in various ways it is possible to
pretend to learn, but eventually you need to actually possess skills
and knowledge.
ASTR121 Goals:
- Knowledge of the how stars work.
- Knowledge of how different types of stars develop from "birth" to "death".
- Knowledge of the basic science that one needs to understand how stars work and how they develop.
- Understanding of how we know things about stars.
- Critical thinking skills.
- How do I know this is right? Is there any evidence for this?
- Putting ideas together.
- Tools
- High school level mathematics useful for science and other pursuits.
- Estimating.
- Computer literacy.
Davison E. Soper, Institute of Theoretical Science,
University of Oregon, Eugene OR 97403 USA
soper@bovine.uoregon.edu