PHYSICS
1306
SPRING 2009
DR. L. S. PINSKY
SECTION
22140
PHYS1306
ROOM 412, S&R1
pinsky@uh.edu
713 743 3552
This syllabus is available on the WWW at http://www.uh.edu/~lpinsky/1306-syl.htm. It should be considered a
DYNAMIC document, meaning that it will be updated from time to time during the
course. Therefore, the information it contains should be considered as
correct at that time, but subject to change in the future! For example,
due dates for homework assignment as well as exam dates may be changed from
those listed here!
JAN 21
W 1. INTRODUCTION:
THE EARLY ASTRONOMERS
23 F
"
" "
"
( C & McM - Ch. 1 & 2 )
26 M
"
" "
"
28
W
“
“
“
“
30 F
2. ELECTROMAGNETISM, RADIATION, AND SPECTRA
FEB
2 M [WebCT HW 1 Due] ( C & McM – Ch. 4 & 5 ) [Last Day to
Drop With a Refund!]
4 W
"
" "
"
6
F
"
" "
"
9 M
11 W
"
" "
"
13 F
3. THE STARS: OBSERVABLE PROPERTIES [WebCT HW 2
Due]
16
M
"
" "
" ( C & McM - Ch. 3 & 17)
18
W
"
" "
"
20
F
"
" "
" [WebCT
HW 3 Due]
23
M ********************EXAM#1****************
25
W 4. THE SUN: A TYPICAL STAR
27
F
"
" "
" ( C & McM - Ch. 16)
MAR
2 M
"
" "
"
4
W
"
" "
"[WebCT
HW 4 Due]
6 F
5. STELLAR EVOLUTION
9
M
"
" "
" ( C & McM - Ch. 19, 20, 21 & 22)
11
W
"
" "
"
13
F
"
" " "
16
M
SPRING
HOLIDAY (NO CLASS)
18
W
SPRING
HOLIDAY (NO CLASS)
20 F
SPRING
HOLIDAY (NO CLASS)
23
M
"
" " “
25
W
"
" "
"
27
F
"
" " "[WebCT HW 5
Due]
30
M
"
" " "
APR 1
W
"
" " "
3 F
" "
" " [WebCT HW 6 Due]
6 M ********************EXAM#2****************
7
T ß(LAST
DAY TO DROP WITH A “W” OR A “Q”)
8 W 6. OUR
GALAXY, THE MILKY WAY
( C & McM - Ch. 18, 19 & 23)
10
F
"
" "
"
13
M
"
" "
" [WebCT
HW 7 Due]
15
W 7. OTHER GALAXIES
17
F
"
" "
" ( C & McM - Ch. 24 & 25)
20
M
"
" "
" [WebCT
HW 8 Due]
22
W 8. COSMOLOGY: THE ORIGIN
AND EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE
24
F
" "
" " ( C & McM - Ch. 26 & 27 )
27 M 9. LIFE IN THE
UNIVERSE
( C & McM - Ch. 28) [WebCT HW 9 Due]
29
W
"
" "
" [WebCT
HW 10 Due]
May 1
F Review for Exam 3
4 M ********************EXAM#3****************
[LAST DAY OF CLASS]
May 8 [Friday]-F I N A L E X A M-11:00am-12:00pm (Rm. 117, S&R1)…
TEXTBOOK:
C & MCM, Chaisson & McMillan: Astronomy Today (5th ed.)
The Best Additional
References
ASTRONOMY TODAY (5th Ed)
Fix.
EXPLORATION OF THE UNIVERSE (7th Ed.) Abell, Morrison, Wolff
& Fraknoi (AMW&F).
FOUNDATIONS
OF ASTRONOMY (2009
Ed.) Seeds
Other texts that may
be useful as additional references:
Protheroe, Capriotti, & Newsom: EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE, 4th
Ed.
Pasachoff & Kutner: UNIVERSE
ASTRONOMY
Pasachoff: ASTRONOMY: FROM EARTH TO THE UNIVERSE
Wyatt: PRINCIPLES OF ASTRONOMY
Jastrow & Thompson: ASTRONOMY: FUNDAMENTALS AND FRONTIERS
Oster: MODERN ASTRONOMY
Kaufmann: RELATIVITY AND COSMOLOGY
Kaufmann: THE COSMIC FRONTIERS OF GENERAL RELATIVITY
Kaufmann: UNIVERSE
Pasachoff: CONTEMPORARY ASTRONOMY
Zeilik: ASTRONOMY
Hartman: ASTRONOMY: THE COSMIC JOURNEY
Chaisson: UNIVERSE
Snow: THE DYNAMIC UNIVERSE
All of these are available in the library.
In addition to the 3 hour Exams and the Final Exam indicated on the syllabus,
there will be a sequence of approximately 10 Homework assignments that will
count in total as the equivalent of one additional hour Exam. These
Homework Assignments will be completed via the Web using the University’s WebCT
facilities. All students officially registered for the course
automatically have access to these assignments. Go to the help desk in
the basement of the library to get your WebCT userID and password.
There also may be Pop Quizzes given in class during any scheduled class period.
Pop Quizzes may not be dropped, made up or excused for any reason except where
the student is required to formally represent the University in some official
University activity. Missing Pop Quizzes may be hazardous to your final course grade!
Office hours will be 10:00 - 11:00 AM, MWF in Room 412 SR1. Students may
inquire at the end of class regarding special office hours following class from
12:00 – 12:30 PM. During other times, Students are encouraged to
communicate with Professor Pinsky via Email (pinsky@uh.edu). Dr. Pinsky is a very active
scientist engaged in a number of major international research projects in
addition to being the current physics department chair.. Unfortunately,
this means he will occasionally have to travel during the semester. There
will be class on all scheduled class days and Dr. Pinsky will arrange for guest
lecturers to conduct classes on days he cannot be there. You are
responsible for all work on those days and for any pop quizzes given by those
guest lecturers. In fact the likelihood of a pop quiz on such days is
considerable…