Astronomy 8, Fall 2006

Recent Updates and Where We Are:

Answers to Homework sets 1-5 and 8 are on line. Answers to 6 and 7 will appear shortly.
Review Section will meet Tuesday, 12/5, from 7:30-9:30 pm, in College 8, room 240. Kevin will be running it. Bring every question that you have.
November 29: We'll spend tomorrow talking about black holes. The final exam study guide is now available here. I've had a number of questions about this, so look here for my suggestions on how to study for the final (take these only as my suggestions--modify them according to what works for you).

General Info

Logistics:
When: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2:00-3:45
Where: Kresge Classroom 321
Text: "The Cosmic Perspective, 4e" available in the Bay Tree Bookstore.

Any student with a disability who may need accomodations, contact me as soon as possible, either directly, by phone, or by email. You may also make an appointment with DRC by calling 9-2089, or emailing drc@ucsc.edu. At least 2 weeks notice is required in order to make examination accomodations.

Important dates:
Midterm Exam: Thursday, October 26, in class.
Final Exam: Thursday, December 7, 8:00-11:00 am.
What you will need: A pink scantron, available from the Bay Tree Bookstore, some blank paper for short essay questions, and some pencils.

Instructor information, course format, topics to be covered, and grading policies.
This information is also available in pdf format.

Your TA's
Phone, email, office hour, and discussion section information.
Kevin Schlaufman also has own web page.

Confused about units, scientific notation, and metric units?

There are cheat sheets for "powers of 10" and unit conversions, and on metric prefixes.

Exam Study Guide

Final Exam Study Guide.

File downloads

The files linked to below are in pdf format, which is readable by the Adobe Acrobat Reader, available from adobe.com. Almost any computer comes with acrobat reader installed.

Warning! Do NOT assume that these lecture notes can replace attendance in class. In many places they are extremely skeletal, serving only to provide me with a brief reminder of what it is that I want to talk about. As you have noticed, I also tend to go off on frequent digressions, which are not included in these notes, and almost all of which are fair game on the exams.

Lecture Notes

Introduction.
Reading: Chapters 1, and 3 ("Our Place in the Universe," and "The Science of Astronomy").
Matter and Energy.
Reading: Chapter 4, "Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity."
Gravity and Orbits.
Reading: Chapter 4, "Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity."
Radiation and Atoms.
Reading: Chapter 5, "Light and Matter."
Overview of the Solar System.
Reading: Chapter 7, "Our Planetary System."
Formation of the Solar System.
Reading: Chapter 8, "Formation of the Solar System."
Impacts In the Solar System.
Reading: Chapter 8, "Formation of the Solar System."
Impact Effects.
Reading: Section 12.4
K-T and other impacts.
Stars 1.
Reading: Sections 14.1, 14.2, 15.2, and 15.3.
Stars 2.
Reading: Chapter 17, "Star Stuff."
Stars 3.
Reading: Chapter 18, "The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard."

Homework sets

Homework #1: Scaling the Atom, due Tuesday, October 3. The Particles and Interactions Chart is here.
Homework #2, due Tuesday, October 10.
Homework #3, due Tuesday, October 17.
Homework #4, due Tuesday, October 24.
Homework #5, due Thursday, November 2.
Homework #6, due Thursday, November 9.
Long-term Homework, due Thursday, November 30.
Homework #7, due Tuesday, November 21.
Homework #8, due Thursday, November 30.