PHYSICS_3471 "Introductory Astrophysics" Fall 2024

Instructor:  Dr. Jason Pinkney Class time and place:  MWF, 2:00-2:50 pm,   Me 114. Department:  Mathematics and Physics Office hours:  in 111 Science Annex at  these times: 9am(R), 10am(T), 1pm(T), 3pm(W,R). Email:  j-pinkney@onu.edu or call 419-772-2740.  Instructor's Home page: http://jpastro.net/ CRN: 23420 Credit Hours: 3 hrs Observatory Phone: 772-4028 and maps

Text: Introduction to Modern Astrophysics , (2nd Ed, 2007)   by B.W. Carroll, and D.A Ostlie F.
Pearson version: ISBN-13: 978-0805304022
Cambridge Univ Press version: ISBN-13: 9781108422161.
The Pearson and Cambridge versions have virtually identical content, although their cover pictures are different. Used copies of BOB (the Big Orange Book) can be purchased online for a reasonable price, or in the bookstore.   It helps if you have had some intro astronomy (especially PHYS 1061) before taking this course. So introductory astronomy textbooks (e.g., Astronomy Today) are kept on hand in SA 116 for reference. These may be handy when researching your presentation topic.

Course Description:
In this Introduction to Astrophysics, we will apply physics to the awesome phenomena of the universe. PHYS 3471 will go into detail when describing certain aspects of planets, stars and galaxies, while PHYS 1051 and 1061 cover a wider range of phenomena much less quantitatively. We will begin by reviewing astronomical knowledge obtained by ancient and early astronomers, up to Kepler. We then tackle orbital dynamics based on the laws of Kepler and Newton. Our topics will include the celestial coordinate system, orbital dynamics of the planets and binary stars (Kepler's laws), The physics of light and particles, including the production of light from blackbodies and atoms, will be explored. Galaxies and cosmology will be final topics. You will learn of the recent developments in astrophysics (with a preference for cosmology) during the last two weeks. We will primarily use intermediate-level math: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, derivatives and integrals.  You will strengthen your knowledge of mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetic theory and get possibly your first glimpses of quantum physics and relativity.

Course Objectives:
In this course, students will:

• Aquire physics and math tools needed to understand the observations of astronomers.
• Obtain knowledge of astronomy (e.g., planetary configuration, magnitude system, spectral classification of stars, galaxy types).
• Reinforce their knowledge of mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetic theory, quantum physics and relativity.
• Develop scientific skills related to astrophysics (e.g., use of star maps, drawing ellipses, spherical trigonometry).
• Expand their personal cosmology ("theory of everything")

A tentative calendar of topics is outlined below.

Prerequisites:
You need to have passed PHYS 2311 and 2321 along with their labs. This means that you should have also finished Calc I. It helps to have taken Modern Physics, Stars and Galaxies, Calc II, and Differential Equations, but neither I, nor the authors of your text, assume that you know material from these classes.

Grading:
 

Exams: There will be a midterm exam and a final.	50%
Quizzes.  Expect 4-6 quizzes.	25%
Homework.  Approximately weekly.	20%
Observing. 3 visits, skymaps	5%
Total	100%

 

I will not grade any "harder" than the above. However, as the class mean drops below ~75, I will grade more leniently. 

Schedule ( Tentative: )

Week of	Topic	Chapter(s)	Graded material
8/26,28,30	Astronomy up to Copernicus motions)	1
9/2	LABOR DAY BREAK
9/4,6	Astronomy up to Copernicus (cont.)	1, 6.2	Hwk1
9/9,11,13	Celestial Mechanics  -- Planets.	2, 18.1	quiz1,Hwk2
9/16,18,20	Celestial Mechanics  --  Planets, Binary stars.	2, 7.2	quiz2, Hwk3
9/23,25,27	Celestial Mechanics -- Virial Theorem, clusters.	2, 27.3	quiz3,  Hwk4
9/30,10/2,4	Light -- magnitudes, light as a wave	3	Hwk 5
10/7,9,11	Light -- blackbodies, spectroscopy	3, 5	quiz4, Hwk 6
10/14-15	FALL BREAK
10/16,18	Light -- Light as a particle, Bohr atom, quantum #s	5, 9.1	EXAM
10/21,23,25	Stellar properties -- spectral types, binaries	8,7	quiz 5, Hwk 7
10/28,30,11/1	Stellar properties -- binary stars, interiors   [Presentation topics.]	7, 10	Hwk 8
11/4,6,8	Milky Way - star counting	24	quiz 6, Hwk 9
11/11,13,15	Milky Way - Galaxies	25, 26	Hwk 10
11/18,20,22	Galaxies	28	quiz7, Hwk 11
11/25-29	THANKSGIVING BREAK
12/2,4,6	Astrophysics in the news / Cosmology	29	Hwk 12
12/9,11,13	Astrophysics in the news / Cosmology.	29	Presentation
12/20	Fri 2:00    Final, in usual classroom.	_	Final EXAM.

Course Policies

Attendance is important for doing well in this course.  Absenteeism can directly lower your grade if you miss a quiz or a homework discussion.  Let me know in advance (e-mail is good) if you plan to miss for a valid reason (e.g. your team is on the road, you are sick, you have a family emergency).  If you will miss a quiz or exam because of an emergency, let me know as soon as possible, and provide proof of the emergency.

Homework will consist mainly of end-of-chapter problems, although I will invent some problems as well. There will be other in-class worksheets that are included in the homework grade. Write out answers neatly on paper and show your work. Remove any frills from the paper. Your homework will not be accepted after the majority of the grading is done. If you foresee yourself missing a deadline because of an excusable absence, again, let me know ahead of time.  I encourage you to discuss homework with your classmates, but do not copy their work verbatim. Also, do not copy verbatim from a solution manual. Show that you understand the solution by rewriting it in your own words and with your own variables.

Canvas. I will only use Canvas for a few things unless we need to go online. Here is a link to Canvas . I will make use of the Canvas gradebook, but my primary gradebook is a spread sheet on my laptop. I recommend you save all of your graded work and let me know if your Canvas scores seem different. Canvas will attempt to combine all of your scores into a grade, but will probably not use the algorithm that I will employ. Give me a friendly reminder if I get behind on updating the Canvas gradebook.

Quizzes may be given on non-exam weeks. They cover the assigned reading and especially the material discussed in class.  You can only make up a quiz that was missed because of a valid conflict or emergency.  Also, you can only make up the quiz before the answers are revealed (usually the next period). 

Exams will weigh most heavily towards your class grade.  There will be a midterm and a final, roughly equally weighted.  The final exam will be comprehensive, but will emphasize the last material. 

Disruptions. Please refrain from interfering with the learning in the classroom and from distracting me, the teacher. This includes talking while I'm talking, arriving too late or leaving too early (without an urgent personal reason). I consider texting and surfing the web during class to be disruptive. I'd prefer you don't use laptops in class and certainly not phones. If you have a good way to take notes on a laptop or tablet (one that allows you to draw and write equations), show me and I'll allow it.

Tutoring is provided by yours truly.

Cheating during quizzes and exams will not be tolerated. You may get one warning before you get a zero on that test. For homework assignments, it is usually acceptable and even encouraged to work in groups. However, you should not copy entire solutions from another person without trying to do the problem yourself. Show me some evidence of your "honest" effort. I will use penalties for obvious copying if the need arises.