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Instructor: Dr.
Ringwald E-mail: ringwald[at]csufresno.edu and replace [at] with @
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Phone: 278-8426 |
Office hours: MWF 1-2, MW 4:30-5:30, Th 11-12, and by appointment
(between January 22 and May 14).
Office: McLane Hall, Room 11, in the new Building J (or "J-wing").
This is across the outdoor "hall" from McLane 149, 151, and 161 (near
the Women's Room).
You don't need an appointment to come to office hours. This is time
set aside for you, when I'll be in.
Class objectives:
(1) To serve that most essential purpose of a good education: to show you
what lies beyond the horizon, in space and in time.
Lecture meeting times and location: Schedule 32529 (Section 03),
MWF 12-12:50 p.m., McLane 162. All students must also register separately
for labs: see
below. Astronomy labs start on the third week of class, on February
2 and 3.
Holidays: Feb 16 (Presidents' Day), March 31 (Cesar Chavez
Day), April 5-9 (Spring Break).
Required Course Texts:
(1) In Quest of the Universe (3rd
edition), by Karl F. Kuhn and Theo Koupelis (2001), which I'll refer to as
Kuhn.
(2) The Science Class You Wish You Had, by David E. Brody and Arnold R.
Brody, which I'll refer to as Brody.
(3) The Stars, A New Way to See Them, by H. A. Rey.
(4) The blue PSci 21 Lab Manual, by S. White and F. A. Ringwald.
(5) PSci 21 Class Notes, by F. A. Ringwald.
(6) The Elements of Style, by W. Strunk Jr. and E. B. White.
All should be available at the campus Bookstore, in the University Student
Union building.
Required Course Equipment:
(1) a looseleaf binder, for your
Class Notes (which may already be packaged in one);
(2) a clear plastic ruler;
(3) a flashlight (preferably with a red filter for night vision, although
the lab instructors should have red plastic for this);
(4) a scientific calculator (that can display scientific notation, and can
calculate logarithms and exponents).
Course web page:
http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~fringwal/psci21.html. Better bookmark
this one!
The text's web page is:
http://www.jbpub.com/StarLinks/home.htm . It includes links,
questions, updates, and animations.
Course grades will be awarded for the following final
percentages:
85.0-100% = A; 70.0-84.9% = B; 55.0-69.9% = C; 40.0-54.9% = D; 0-39.9%
= F.
These percentages will be computed with the following weights:
| 2% 1% 4% 2% 3% 1% 2% |
[1] The Math Exercise, due Friday, February 6. [2] The Timekeeping Exercise, due Friday, February 13. [3] The Number Line of the Cosmic Calendar, due Friday, February 20. [4] The Constellation Study Sheet, due Friday, March 12. [5] The Moon Phases and Eclipses exercise, due Friday, March 26. [6] The Exercise on Why the Sky is Blue, due Friday, April 23. [7] The Paper Titles and 150-to-250-word Summaries (see the Writing Guide), two copies of which are due Monday, April 26. 15%
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| 15%
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| 20%
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| two copies of which are due Wednesday, May 12, the last day of instruction. 35%
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| which will be comprehensive (covering all material in the entire course), on May 19 from 1:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the regular classroom (McLane 162). |
TENTATIVE Course Schedule (updated 2003 December 5).
Always do the readings before class:
| Week | M | W | F | Read by Monday of next week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1/19: Holiday | 1/21: - | 1/23: Introduction & Course Syllabus | Kuhn Prologue (pages 2-13); Class Notes pages 1-55; and this entire syllabus. |
| 2 | 1/26: Powers of Ten, Scientific Notation, Metric System (Kuhn Prologue) | 1/28: Units Conversions, The Light-Year, Look-Back Time (Kuhn Prologue) | 1/30: Proportions; A Brief Tour of Space and Time (Kuhn Prologue) | Kuhn Prologue (pages 2-13); Class Notes pages 56-80; and this entire syllabus. |
| 3 | 2/02: The Cosmic Calendar (Kuhn Prologue) | 2/04: The Cosmic Calendar, part 2 | 2/06: Classical Astronomy and Seasons (Kuhn 1, Rey); Homework 1 due (The Math Exercise: see Class Notes, pages A5-A6) | Kuhn 1; Rey, pages 9-35, 66-72, 108-121, & 127-135; Class Notes pages 81-100. |
| 4 | 2/09: Classical Astronomy (continued) | 2/11: Scientific Method (Kuhn P-1, 1-3, 1-4) | 2/13: Scientific Method (Brody Introduction; Kuhn P-1, 1-3, 1-4); Homework 2 due (Timekeeping: see Class Notes, pages A7-A8) | Kuhn 2 & 3; Brody Introduction and Chapters 1, 2, & 3; Class Notes pages 101-110. |
| 5 | 2/16: Holiday | 2/18: Motion, from Copernicus to Galileo (Kuhn 2; Brody 1 & 2); | 2/20: Motion, from Galileo to Newton (Kuhn 3; Brody 3) | Re-read the Class Notes pages 1-110; Lab I; Rey's book; Brody Chapters 1-3; Kuhn, Prologue and Chapters 1-3. |
| 6 | 2/23: More on Motion and Physics (Kuhn 3) | 2/25: Mid-Term Exam 1, covering the Class Notes pages 1-110; Lab I; Rey's book; Brody Chapters 1-3; Kuhn, Prologue and Chapters 1-3. | 2/27: Atoms, Light, and Spectra (Kuhn 4; Brody 4 & 5) | Kuhn 4 & 5; Brody 4 & 5; Class Notes pages 111-125. |
| 7 | 3/01: The E/M Spectrum (Kuhn 4) | 3/03: Blackbody radiation (Kuhn 4); The Doppler Effect (Kuhn 4-7) | 3/05: Telescopes (Refractors vs. Reflectors)(Kuhn 5) | Kuhn 7; the Orion catalogs, pages 6, 37 [right], 57 [right], & 75; Class Notes, 126-136. |
| 8 | 3/08: Telescopes (Aperture, Resolution, & Magnification)(Kuhn 5) | 3/10: CCDs, Eyes, and Cameras (Kuhn 5); Small Telescopes (Kuhn 5 & the Orion catalog) | 3/12: The Solar System (Kuhn 7); Homework 4 due (The Constellation Study Sheet: see Class Notes, page A11) | Kuhn 6; Brody 15; Rey, pages 136-138; Class Notes, 137-158. |
| 9 | 3/15: The Solar System (continuted); Extra-Solar Planets (Kuhn 7-7) | 3/17: Planet Earth (Kuhn 6-5 and Brody 15) | 3/19: Moon Phases & Eclipses (Kuhn 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, and Rey, pages 136-138) | Kuhn 8; Class Notes pages 159-170. |
| 10 | 3/22: The Earth's Moon (Kuhn 6) | 3/24: The Earth's Moon (continued) (Kuhn 6) | 3/26: Mars (Kuhn 8); Homework 5 due (The Moon Phases and Eclipses exercise: see Class Notes, pages A15-A16) | Kuhn 9 & 10; Class Notes pages 171-180 |
| 11 | 3/29: Small Bodies (Kuhn 10); Mercury, Venus, Atmospheres (Kuhn 8) | 3/31: Holiday | 4/02: The Outer Solar System (Kuhn 9) | - |
| - | 4/05: Spring Break | 4/07: Spring Break | 4/09: Spring Break | Kuhn 11; Brody 6; Class Notes pages 181-184; also re-read Kuhn Chapters 4-10, Brody Chapters 4-5 and 15, Rey pages 136-138, the Orion catalog (pages 6, 37 [right], 57 [right], and 75), and pages 111 to 180 of the Class Notes. |
| 12 | 4/12: The Sun and Nuclear Physics (Kuhn 11; Brody 6) | 4/14: The Sun and Nuclear Physics (continued) (Kuhn 11; Brody 6) | 4/16: Mid-term Exam 2, covering Kuhn Chapters 4-11, Brody Chapters 4-6 and 15, Rey pages 136-138, the Orion catalog (pages 6, 37 [right], 57 [right], and 75), and pages 111-184 of the Class Notes. | Kuhn 12 & 13; Class Notes pages 185-196. |
| 13 | 4/19: Stars (Kuhn 12) | 4/21: Stars (continued) (Kuhn 12) | 4/23: Interstellar Matter and Star Formation (Kuhn 13); Homework 6 due (Why the sky is blue: see Class Notes, page A17) | Kuhn 14, 3-10, 3-11, & 15; Brody 7 & 8; Class Notes pages 197-213. |
| 14 | 4/26: White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars (Kuhn 14); Paper titles and summaries due (see the Writing Guide, on pages 8-14 of the Class Notes) | 4/28: Black Holes and Relativity (Kuhn 3-10, 3-11, 15) | 4/30: Black Holes and Relativity (Brody 7 & 8) | Kuhn 16, 17, & 18; Brody 9, 10, & 11; Class Notes pages 214-227. |
| 15 | 5/03: The Milky Way (Kuhn 16); Galaxies and Hubble's Law (Kuhn 17) | 5/05: Cosmology (Kuhn 18; Brody 9, 10, & 11) | 5/07: Life in the Universe (Kuhn 19); Homework 3 due (The Number Line of the Cosmic Calendar: see Class Notes, pages A9-A10) | Kuhn 19; Brody Epilogue; Class Notes pages 228-238; start re-reading the Class Notes, Kuhn, Rey, & Brody. |
| 16 | 5/10: Life in the Universe (continued) (Kuhn 19) | 5/12: The Most Influential Scientific Findings of All Time (Brody Epilogue); Paper due (see the Writing Guide, on pages 8-14 of the Class Notes) | - | Re-read the Class Notes (pages 1-238), Kuhn (Prologue and Chapters 1-19), Brody (Chapters 1-11 and 15), all assigned parts of Rey's book and the Orion catalog, & all labs, especially The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (Lab IX) |
| Schedule # | Day | Time | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32530 | Monday | 5:30-7:20 p.m. | McLane 258 |
| 32531 | Monday | 5:30-7:20 p.m. | McLane 264 |
| 32534 | Tuesday | 5:30-7:20 p.m. | McLane 258 |
| 32535 | Tuesday | 5:30-7:20 p.m. | McLane 264 |
| 32532 | Monday | 7:30-9:20 p.m. | McLane 258 |
| 32533 | Monday | 7:30-9:20 p.m. | McLane 264 |
| 32536 | Tuesday | 7:30-9:20 p.m. | McLane 258 |
| 32537 | Tuesday | 7:30-9:20 p.m. | McLane 264 |
Lab Safety: PSci 21 lab sessions necessarily take place after dark, because the object of study is the night sky. If safety becomes a concern, the Campus Police provide an escort program. Radio-equipped, uniformed, trained escort officers will accompany persons to their destinations on campus during hours of darkness. Call 278-2132, or pick up an emergency phone to request an escort officer. Be sure to check their badges before going anywhere with them. The Campus Police also provide car battery assistance and other services. They can be reached in an emergency by calling 911.
Lab requirements: A flashlight is required for map reading at observing sessions. Flashlights with red filters are recommended, for night vision. A scientific calculator and a clear plastic ruler are required as well. Always being your blue lab manuals, and read the lab beforehand, of course.
Field trips: Twice this semester, we will be observing the sky at a dark site a half-hour drive from campus called the CSUFresno San Joaquin Experimental Range. There are directions to the Range on the last page of the blue PSci 21 Lab Manual, and in the Class Notes for Dr. Ringwald's lecture section. For the Range lab on February 9 or 10, we'll start at 5:30 p.m. For the Range lab on March 15 or 16 (or March 22 or 23, in case of bad weather), we'll start at 7 p.m. Plan to stay for two hours. It is therefore essential for you to plan your schedule accordingly, at the beginning of the semester.
These dates are subject to change due to poor weather. After 4:00 p.m. on the days of the labs, before going out to the Range, check the weather report on Dr. Ringwald's voicemail (278-8426) or PSci 21 web page (http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~fringwal/psci21.html) in case there have been any such last-minute changes.
We do not cancel labs for bad weather. If the weather is bad, we will meet in the lab classrooms (McLane 258 or 264) at the regular times (5:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.).
Lab Attendance: Attendance at all labs is mandatory.
You must attend the labs in the lab section in which you are registered:
exceptions will be made only by written consent in advance of the
instructor of the lab section in which you are registered, and even then,
only for compelling reasons (e.g. job interview or illness documented by a
physician's note). If you must miss a lab for a compelling reason, the
part of the lab grade that lab would have counted will be voided, and the
rest of the lab grade will be counted as 100%. If you miss a lab without
a compelling reason, or without written consent in advance from the
instructor, or if you attend a lab other than the one in which you were
registered without prior written consent of the instructor of the lab
section in which you are registered, you will receive a zero for the lab.
Any student with three or more unexcused absences from lab will receive
an F in the entire PSci 21 course, which includes the lecture
section. Astronomy labs start on the third week of class, on February
2 and 3.
TENTATIVE Lab Schedule (updated 2003 November 29). Always read
the lab description (in the blue Lab Manual) before lab and be ready for a
quiz.
| Week | Dates | Moon | Lab |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 19-20 | New (Jan 21) | No Lab |
| 2 | January 26-27 | First Quarter (Jan 28) | No Lab |
| 3 | February 2-3 | Full (Feb 6) | Star Names, Maps, and Constellations (Lab I). Meet in the lab classrooms (McLane 258 & 264). Bring flashlights! |
| 4 | February 9-10 | Last Quarter (Feb 13) | Meet at the Range at 5:30 p.m. In case of poor weather: Meet in the lab classrooms, and do: How Many Stars are in the Milky Way? (Lab III). |
| 5 | February 16-17 | New (Feb 20) | No lab: Presidents' Day holiday |
| 6 | February 23-24 | First Quarter (Feb 27) | The Mystery Constellations (Lab II): Meet in the lab classrooms. |
| 7 | March 1-2 | Full (March 6) | Introduction to Telescopes (Lab IV): Meet in the lab classrooms. Use the Moon as a target, or the water tower from indoors, in poor weather. |
| 8 | March 8-9 | Last Quarter (March 13) | Spectroscopy (Lab V): Meet in the lab classrooms |
| 9 | March 15-16 | New (March 20) | Meet at the Range at 7:00 p.m. In case of poor weather: Meet in the lab classrooms, and do: The Basics of Optics and Telescopes (Lab VI). |
| 10 | March 22-23 | New (March 20) | The Basics of Optics and Telescopes (Lab VI): Meet in the lab
classrooms (or Range, if cancelled last week). |
| 11 | March 29-30 | First Quarter (March 28) | Micrometeorites (Lab VIII): Meet in the lab classrooms. |
| - | April 5-6 | Full (April 5) | No lab: Spring Break |
| 12 | April 12-13 | Last Quarter (April 11) | The Revolution of the Moons of Jupiter (Lab VII): Meet in the lab classrooms |
| 13 | April 19-20 | New (April 19) | Life in the Universe (Lab XI): Meet in the lab classrooms. |
| 14 | April 26-27 | First Quarter (April 27) | The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (Lab IX): Meet in the lab classrooms. |
| 15 | May 3-4 | Full (May 4) | Classification of Galaxies (Lab X): Meet in the lab classrooms |
| 16 | May 10-11 | Last Quarter (May 11) | Lab Final Quiz: Meet in the lab classrooms. |
Please note:
Don't miss class. Listening to lectures and participating in discussions are much more effective than reading someone else's class notes. Active participation is even better: it will help you retain what you are learning.
Sorry, but I cannot give make-ups for mid-term exams, nor can I give mid-term or final exams in advance. These classes are far too large for it to be humanly possible for me (because I cannot be in two places at once). Even with smaller classes, I can never be sure that a makeup or advance exam was really fair, since it must be different from the regular exam. If you must miss a mid-term exam for a compelling reason (e.g., job interview or illness documented by a physician's note), the part of the course grade that mid-term exam would have counted will be voided, and the rest of the grade will be counted as 100%. If you must miss the final exam for a very compelling reason (e.g., illness documented by a physician's note), you will receive a grade of I (incomplete) for PSci 21 for the semester. It will then be your responsibility to contact the university administration in a timely fashion, and make the necessary arrangements to remove the I grade. See the California State University, Fresno General Catalog for regulations concerning the I grade. Only students who can document very compelling reasons to miss final exams (e.g. with a physician's note) will be eligible for incompletes: other students missing the final exam will get a 0% on the final exam.
If for any reason a student leaves the classroom while an exam is being given, the student may not re-enter the classroom as long as that exam is still taking place. The student's leaving the exam will be taken to signify that the student has finished that exam. This includes trips to the bathroom, so plan ahead.
All students are required to remove hats and sunglasses during all exams, because they have in the past been used to aid cheating. Students may not use calculators, pagers, cell phones, or any other devices that can communicate outside the classroom during exams. This constitutes cheating, and any students caught cheating, in this or any other way, will receive an F in the entire course.
However, if you do collaborate, it must be genuine collaboration: not one person doing all the work, and the others blindly copying, which constitutes cheating. Therefore, while you may work together, write up the results separately, in your own words. A dead giveaway is when I get two papers that are exactly the same. Do people think I don't notice it?
Modifying someone else's paper slightly, or changing the words around, or stringing someone else's paragraphs together, even if they're cited, is no better: none of these dubious practices make it your paper. For information on the University's policy regarding cheating and plagiarism, refer to the Schedule of Courses (Legal Notices on Cheating and Plagiarism) and the University Catalog (Policies and Regulations).
To prevent plagiarism, I will copy both the paper titles and summaries and the papers themselves, and I will keep these copies on file, for life. If I find a plagiarized paper, the student will receive an F for the entire course. I may also send the plagiarized paper to the Dean and other university authorities (e.g. coaches) and recommend the student be expelled from the University—or the degree be revoked, if I don't find it until 25 years from now. Do NOT plagiarize!
Go to Dr.
Ringwald's home page
Last updated 2003 December 5. Web page by Dr. Ringwald
(ringwald[at]csufresno.edu and replace [at] with @)
Department of Physics,
California State University, Fresno