Cape Cod Community College Departmental Syllabus
Prepared by Department of Science Date of Departmental Approval: December 2016 Date Approved by Curriculum and Programs: March 6, 2019 Effective: Fall 2019
1. Course Number: AST102 / AST102L Course Title: Astronomy II Astronomy II Laboratory
2. Description: The second of a two-term sequence in introductory astronomy, this course provides an active learning approach to the principles of astronomy, astrophysics and the nature of scientific inquiry. Students explore the properties, origins and fate of stars, galaxies and the universe. (3 class hours/2 laboratory hours)
3. Student Learning Outcomes: (instructional objectives, intellectual skills): Upon successful completion of this course, students are able to do the following: • Use appropriate laboratory techniques, collect and analyze data, and present results within a provided framework. • Use spectral analysis to determine the properties of distant objects. • Determine the age of a star cluster using the main sequence turnoff method. • Describe the observational effects of background sources from gravitational lensing. • Discuss current areas of research in astronomy, astrophysics and planetary science. • Describe the motions of stars in a galaxy relative to the motion of the galaxy. • Explain how spiral galaxies provide evidence for the existence of dark matter. • Compare and contrast morphology and distribution of galaxies. • Combine look-back time and morphological distributions to describe the history of galaxy formation. • Use redshift to find the distances to galaxies. • Plot the expansion of the Universe to identify its age.
4. Credits: 4 credits
5. Satisfies General Education Requirement: Natural or Physical Science
6. Prerequisite: A grade of C or higher in AST101 (Fundamentals of Astronomy)
7. Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring
8. Suggested General Guidelines for Evaluation: Evaluation is based on class and homework assignments, formal labs, assessments, and research projects.
9. General Topical Outline (Optional): Nature of Scientific Inquiry Scale of the Universe Astrophysics: A Brief History Images and Telescopes Image Analysis Astrostatistics
Stellar Astronomy Spectroscopy H-R Diagram Open Clusters Remnants Supernova Gravitation Black Holes Gravitational Lensing
Galactic Astronomy Milky Way Scales Star Formation in Spiral Galaxies ISM Galactic Evolution
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Dark Matter
Cosmology Look-back Time CMB Big Bang Dark Energy Distance Scales
Laboratory experiments:
Images and Optics Spectral Analysis
Galactic Morphology Image Analysis Measuring Brightness, Temperature, and Distance Open Clusters Galactic Distribution Age of the Universe Type Ia Supernova Scale of the Universe Astrostatistics
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