Suffolk County Community College Ammerman Campus

SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Ammerman Campus

COURSE: Astronomy of the Stars & Galaxies (ES 22) SEMESTER: Spring 2008

INSTRUCTOR: Professor Matthew Pappas PHONE: 451-4301 E-MAIL: [email protected] FAX #: 451-4433 INSTRUCTOR HOMEPAGE: www2.sunysuffolk.edu/pappasm

OFFICE HOURS (T-202) Monday: 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Tuesday: 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. (online); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Required Textbook: Pathways to Astronomy, Volume 2:Stars & Galaxies, Schneider & Arny Lab Materials: Astronomy through Practical Investigations – ES 22 Other Materials: Scientific Calculator

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to do all of the following:

1. Make measurements using the metric system and perform simple forms of data analysis to enhance problem solving skills.

2. Understand the night sky by knowing major stars and constellations as well as tracking the motions of the sky, the Moon, and planets. To accomplish this, you will learn how to use a planisphere (star finder) and become familiar with the horizon coordinate system.

3. Understand the scientific method and how it applies to astronomy. This will provide an understanding of how our ideas about the universe and the objects within it have evolved over the ages, especially during the past century while using technological advances.

4. Know the different properties of light and matter and how we use these properties to gather information.

5. Know the structure and surface features of the Sun and how the Sun affects life on Earth.

6. Trace the evolution of stars from birth to death. This includes the structure and characteristics of stars as they go through the different stages of their life cycles.

7. Know how stars are grouped together (star clusters and galaxies) and the properties of these groupings.

8. Understand how astronomers believe the universe was created, how it has evolved over time, and what the possible (and most probable) fates of the universe are.

9. Have a clear understanding of the scale of the universe and our position within it.

10. Have a sufficient understanding of astronomical phenomena so as to have an appreciation of recent developments in the field.

1 PROCEDURES FOR ACCOMPLISHING OBJECTIVES:

Objectives will be achieved through classroom lecture/discussion, lab activities, and exams.

Because of the nature of astronomical studies, much of the knowledge is based on mathematical interpretation of observations. For this reason elementary algebra will be used frequently and mastery of the MA07 prerequisite is essential to a successful course experience. If you have not studied algebra in a long time you must review the basics. The Math Learning Center in the Riverhead Building is equipped to assist any students who may need help with algebraic concepts.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Due to the nature and amount of the material in this course, it is crucial that each student attend every lecture and laboratory session. The College has instituted the following attendance policy, which can be found in the SCCC student handbook for 2004-2006 (page 66):

"The college expects that each student will exercise personal responsibility with regard to class attendance. All students are expected to attend every class session of each course for which they are registered. Students are responsible for all that transpires in class whether or not they are in attendance, even if absences are the result of late registration or add/drop activity at the beginning of a term as permitted by college policy. The college defines excessive absence or lateness as more than the equivalent of one week of class meetings during the semester. Excessive absence or lateness may lead to failure in a course or removal from the class roster.

A student may be removed from the class roster by an instructor at any time when, in the judgment of the instructor, absences have been excessive."

In short, this policy places the responsibility of attending class on the student and states that each student is responsible for any material that was covered during the class of absence. According to the above policy, each student is allowed two absences for the semester, and permits the instructor to withdraw or fail any student that exceeds the number of absences. During this course, a different system will be applied as follows:

Each missed lecture or lab = 1 absence Each time a student is late for class/leaves class early = ½ absence

Once a student accumulates six (6) absences, that student will be withdrawn from the course, regardless of academic standing.

WITHDRAWAL POLICY:

Students who wish to withdraw from the course, without academic penalty, must submit a withdrawal form by mid-semester (April 7, 2008). Any student who hasn’t withdrawn by this time will be required to finish out the semester, regardless of his/her grade. Any student who has not formally withdrawn from the class will be considered to be in the class and a final grade will be administered.

2 GRADES:

The semester grade will be weighted in the following manner:

Lecture Exams = 30% Final Exam = 15% Celestial Object Exam = 10% Homework = 5% Lab Coursework = 40%

A grading curve will not be applied to the final grades and extra-credit projects are not available.

EXAMS:

Tests will account for 50% of the final grade. There will be four (4) lecture exams, a celestial object exam (given in two sections) and a cumulative final. The lower of the lecture exams will be discarded when calculating the final grade. The grades on the celestial object exam and the final will not be dropped when computing the final grade. Make up exams will not be administered, without exception. If a student misses an exam, the grade will be entered as a zero.

LAB COURSEWORK and HOMEWORK:

Various forms of coursework will be assigned as part of the laboratory section of the class. A majority of the work will be based on the lab exercises found in the Astronomy through Practical Investigations packet. These labs are to be worked on in groups containing no greater than 3 students. Quizzes that cover the material in the labs will be administered for grades Various assignments (text questions, internet research) will make up the homework grade. Any work that is not turned in when requested, regardless of the reason, will not be accepted. If a student knows that they will be absent from a class when an assignment is due, arrangements can be made to turn in the assignment as long as the student has been granted permission by the instructor prior to the date of absence.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

Suffolk County Community College has instituted the following policy regarding academic integrity, which can be found in the SCCC student handbook for 2004-2006 (page 67). Any student who is caught cheating will be punished to the fullest extent of the college’s cheating policy.

Cheating Policy

“Any form of cheating, be it on a formal examination, informal quiz or other submitted material, is a violation of college conduct. Copying material from fellow students or from other sources during an examination may result in a failing grade for the course and/or serious disciplinary sanctions as outlined in the Code of Conduct. When students work together on a project, this becomes a joint responsibility of a group so designated and should be limited to the people and resources agreed upon with the instructor.”

Plagiarism

“Students should realize that presenting the words and ideas of others as their own are dishonest. In writing, students must fully acknowledge the source of any paraphrased passages and any ideas, which they have borrowed. Failure to conform to these academic standards is plagiarism and may result in a failing grade for the course and/or serious disciplinary sanctions as outlined in the Code of Conduct.”

3 Astronomy of Stars & Galaxies General Outline of Topics

Lecture Topic ATPI* Textbook Unit

Science/Astronomy Overview -- 1, 2, 4, 5 Powers of 10; Scientific Notation; Algebra Review Lab 1 3 Metric System; Units of Measure Lab 1 3 Astronomical Scales Lab 2 2 Astronomy Observations -- 5, 6 Horizon System; Star Finer Lab 11, 20 9 Exam 1

Properties of Matter -- 21 Properties of Light Lab 22 22 The Electromagnetic Spectrum Lab 22 22 Thermal Radiation Handout 23 Atomic Spectra Handout 24 The Doppler Effect Handout 25 The Sun Lab 26 49, 50, 51 Exam 2

Planetarium Midterm

Star Properties -- 55, 57 The Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) Diagram Lab 31, Part I 58, 59 Star Birth -- 60 Stellar Evolution Lab 31, Part II 61, 62, 63 Star Deaths -- 64, 66 Stellar Remnants -- 65, 67, 68 Exam 3

Binary Stars & Star Clusters -- 56 The Milky Way Lab 34 70, 71, 72, 73 Galaxies Lab 34 74, 75, 76, 78 Cosmology -- 79, 80, 81, 82 Exam 4

Planetarium Final

Final Exam

* ATPI = Astronomy Through Practical Investigation