Netscape 2.0 Enhanced. You will
not see everything without it.
Astronomy 10B
Winter 1997
Introduction to Astronomy:
The Stars, the Galaxies, and the Big Bang
Instructor: Dr. William B. Latter
Textbook: Voyages Through the Universe
Reading Assignments and Exam Schedule
Note: This reading list is subject to minor changes.
We will not read every chapter in the book. Order of
reading follows approximately the lecture sequence.
You will not be tested on the material in the yellow boxes
(Making Connections and Voyagers in Astronomy). However,
you might find this material interesting, and I encourage
you to read it. It is to your benefit to work the questions
and problems at the end of the chapters. Occasionally, I will
ask you to turn in answers to these problems, though not for
every chapter. Such assignments will be given in class. Do
not worry about the equations, but if you are so inclined, you
might find how they describe the way things work of interest.
Week 1:
Read Preface for the Student, Prologue, and
Chapter 1 (Observing the Sky: the Birth of
Astronomy).
Write a brief essay on "How the Universe Came to Be."
Week 2:
Read Chapter 2 (Orbits and Gravity) and Chapter 3
(Earth, Moon, and Sky).
Essay due: 14 Jan 1997
Lab 1 (Scientific Notation) due: 16 Jan 1997
Week 3:
Read Chapter 4 (Radiation and Spectra) and Chapter 5
(Astronomical Instruments).
Week 4:
First Midterm Exam Thursday 30 Jan 1997
Read Chapter 16 (Analyzing Starlight) and
Chapter 17 (The Stars: A Celestial Census).
Week 5:
Skim Chapter 14 on The Sun. Read Chapter 15
(The Sun: A Nuclear Powerhouse) and start
reading Chapter 20 (The Birth of Stars and the
Search for Planets).
Week 6:
Finish reading Chapter 20. Read Chapter 21 (Stars: From
Adolescence to Old Age). Start reading Chapter 22
(The Death of Stars). Stellar death is a topic
in which your instructor has a particular interest.
Week 7:
Homework Due 18 Feb 1997: Work the following Thought Questions
in your text -- Ch. 15 #10 and 17, Ch. 16 # 7, 10, and 11,
Ch. 17 #11, Ch. 20 #13
Finish Reading Chapter 22. Read Chapter 23 (Black Holes
and Curved Spacetime). There are big thoughts in this
chapter - take your time.
Week 8:
Read Chapter 19 (Between the Stars: Gas and Dust
in Space). The interstellar medium is another topic
in which your instructor is particularly interested.
Read Chapter 24 (The Milky Way Galaxy).
Week 9:
Second Midterm Exam Thursday 6 March 1997
Read Chapter 25 (Galaxies) and Chapter 18
(Celestial Distances).
Week 10:
Read Chapter 26 (Quasars and Active Galaxies
- Oh my!)
and skim Chapter 27 (The Organization of the Universe)
carefully, reading Section 27.1. Look carefully at the
discussion on colliding galaxies.
Week 11:
Read Chapter 28 (The Big Bang) and The Epilogue
(Cosmic Evolution and Life Elsewhere).
Observing session lab and lab notebook due this week.
Week 12:
Last updated: Thu Jan 16 16:20:26 PST 1997
by Dr. William B. Latter
Return to
Astronomy 10B Home Page.