Week #, Dates	Reading	Topics
week 1 9/25	Units 1-4	A short introduction to the course and course content [WEEK #1 Lecture Notes (ppt or pdf) and movies]
week 2 9/28, 9/30, 10/2	Units 5-7 Units 8-10 Units 11-13	Motion of Earth/Sun: the appearance of Celestial Sphere Motion of Moon:  moon phases, eclipses Phases of planets [WEEK #2 Lecture Notes (ppt or pdf)]
week 3 10/5, 10/7, 10/9	Units 14-16 Units 20-25	Kepler's laws and planetary motion Light (waves, photons) Atoms, spectra [WEEK #3 Lecture Notes (ppt or pdf)]
week 4 10/12, 10/14, 10/16	Units 53, 68, 77	Special and General Relativity Quasars, AGNs, black holes Hawking radiation [WEEK #4 Lecture Notes (ppt or pdf)]
week 5 10/19, 10/21, 10/23	Unit 74, 79 MIDTERM #1 (Fri 10/23)	Review for Midterm #1 Expanding Universe MIDTERM #1 [WEEK #5 Lecture Notes (ppt or pdf)]
week 6 10/26, 10/28, 10/30	Units 80-82	Cosmology: history and fate of the Universe Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Early Universe [WEEK #6 Lecture Notes (ppt or pdf)]
week 7 11/2, 11/4, 11/6	Units 70, 71, 73 Units 75 Units 76	Galaxies: The Milky Way Galaxy morphological types Clustering of galaxies [WEEK #7 Lecture Notes (ppt or pdf)]
week 8 11/9, (veteran's day), 11/13	MIDTERM #2 (Fri 11/13)	Review for Midterm #2 (No class on Wed) MIDTERM #2 (emphasizing material covered in weeks #5 through #7, plus some questions based on earlier material)
week 9 11/16, 11/18, 11/20	Units 60-62, 69 Units 49, 50, 55, 58, 59	Birth of stars Life cycle of stars [WEEK #9 Lecture Notes (ppt or pdf)]
week 10 11/23, 11/25, (Thanksgiving)	Units 64-68	Death of stars Question and answer session (No class on Fri) [WEEK #10 Lecture Notes (ppt or pdf)]
week 11 11/30, 12/2, 12/4	Unit 72 Unit 78	Death of stars Interstellar medium Dark matter [WEEK #11 Lecture Notes (ppt or pdf)]
Final exam date/time/venue:		Thu 12/10, 12:00noon-3:00pm, Classroom Unit 1

• Topics:

This is a one-term introductory course on astronomy and astrophysics.   We will cover the basic history, content, and fate of the universe.   Some of the topics we will touch on include: the origin & evolution of the Universe and the Big Bang model; galaxies & their constituents, including stars, planets & the interstellar medium (gas and dust); normal and active galaxies; the formation and evolution of galaxies; the life cycles & deaths of stars, including supernovae, white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes; nucleosynthesis (the origin of chemical elements); and dark matter.  Such studies require knowledge of  simple mechanics and basic laws of radiation, quantum mechanics, and nuclear & particle physics, which we shall develop as we go along.

The class syllabus  contains a detailed calendar listing weekly topics, homework deadlines, exam dates, and holidays. There may be some deviations from this syllabus depending on our rate of progress and any special topics that come up in current research.

• Textbook & Other Resources:

Pathways to Astronomy
Authors:  Arny &  Schneider.
McGraw Hill
Textbook Web site (password provided when you purchase a textbook)


Astronomy on the Web (this is just a start!):
 A pictorial tour of the Solar System
 The Nine Planets
 Astronomy Picture of the Day
 The Best of Hubble Space Telescope Pictures
 Sloan Digital Sky Survey
 W. M. Keck Observatory -- home to the world's largest optical telescopes
 Our recent press release about the distribution of distant galaxies including a cool graphic (low resolution version and high resolution version)
 Our recent press release about a warp in the Andromeda spiral galaxy
 Carl Sagan's "Reflections on a Mote of Dust" and image of the Earth from the Voyager spacecraft

• Emphasis and Advice:

We will emphasize scientific methods and the process of discovery, not just facts about the Universe.  Students are expected to develop a qualitative grasp of key astrophysical concepts.  We will emphasize reasoning and understanding over memorizing.

The course material is self-contained. No previous college-level math, physics, or astronomy is required. Some of the best students in our previous introductory astronomy classes have been non-science majors who took a strong interest in the course material.

Questions and classroom discussion are encouraged, both for your benefit and to help me properly pace the course. Please browse astronomy web sites (we’ll provide some links on the class website) and share your findings, comments, questions, etc in class.

To get the most out of class (and a good grade), it is critical that you attend lectures.  We will be giving quizzes in lecture on a regular basis using the electronic response system (the "clickers" discussed above).  So it is critical that you attend (and bring your clicker to!) every lecture.  In order to get the most out of lectures, it is also a really good idea to read the chapter before hand so that you are familiar with the material.  It is also extremely important to attend discussion section - the discussion section is mandatory. Students who do not attend both discussion sections and lectures are at a huge disadvantage for exams, homework, and the overall grade.

15%  Homework (handled through in discussion sections)
15%  In-lecture quizzes.
20%  Midterm 1
20%  Midterm 2
30%  Final Exam

• Homework:

There will be homework assignments every week to help you digest the material. The midterm and final will be based on very similar problems to those covered in the homework assignments. It is extremely important that you work on and understand the homework assignments in order to keep up with Lecture and be ready for the both quizzes and exams.  You should expect to spend 2-3 hours per week reading the material in addition to the time required for  the homework.

Any questions regarding homework  (grading questions, etc.) should be addressed first to your TA.  You can get the homework each week from  this web page.
 

• i>clickers:
  

We will be using the i>clicker remotes (electronic, hand-held response pads) in every lecture to ask questions and get feedback from the class.  This is extremely important for keeping you engaged and learning!   The i>clickers will also be used for daily in-lecture quizzes.   If you skip lectures, or forget your clicker, you will not be able to get points for the quizzes, which will be a significant part of your grade! Come to lecture and bring your clicker!   You can buy the clicker (called "i>clicker") from the bookstore along with your textbook.

It is important to register your i>clicker - you can register it here (see the "Register Your i>clicker" button in the left margin bar). You will need to enter your name, UCSC student ID (including the leading "W"), and the i>clicker serial number ("Remote ID") which can be found immediately below the barcode on the small sticker on the back of the i>clicker.

• Discussion Sections:

You must also sign up for a discussion section.  You are required to attend discussion sections.  Attendance will not be taken, but homework will be discussed each week and your homework will be collected *in discussion section*.  If you are not there, you will not get a homework score. 

• Midterms and Final:

There will be two midterms and a final.   You must take all exams in order to pass the course.   Each midterm will cover all material up to that point in the course, but the second midterm will emphasize the material covered after the first midterm.   The final will cover material from the whole term.

• Field Trip to Mount Hamilton:

There will a field trip to Lick Observatory's Mount Hamilton station on October 23 (CONFIRMED!). The trip is optional, and open only to students in Astro 1, 2, and 70. We can only accommodate the first 40 students who sign up: first come, first served. You have to sign up in person with Cathy Clausen in the Astronomy department office (ISB 201) and will have to pay her $5 to reserve your spot for the trip (no refunds!). We will arrange transportation in UCSC vans. We will leave campus at 2PM and you should be back in your rooms by midnight. Trip details can be found here.