ASTRonomy 113

Section 002 Spring 2008 with Professor Dr. Harold Geller
Syllabus -- Subject to Continuous Change
E-mail me at hgeller@gmu.edu or contact me by telephone here:
703-993-1276 [Office is located in S&T1 Rm 363 A]

ABSOLUTELY NO INFORMATION ABOUT GRADES VIA PHONE OR E-MAIL

** I REPEAT **

ABSOLUTELY NO INFORMATION ABOUT GRADES VIA PHONE OR E-MAIL
I simply will not respond to any such attempts

General Course Description and Policies
ASTR 113 Section 001 Home Page
GMU ASTRONOMY OBSERVING SESSIONS for Spring 2008
22 January 2008
  • Introduction to ASTR 113
  • Hints for Studying :: More Studying Tips :: Tips for Taking Multiple Choice Exams
  • F&K Chapter 4, Chapter 5 and Appendix 6-8
    24 January 2008
  • F&K Chapter 16 - Our Star, the Sun
  • Solar energy generation and fusion (16.1) :: (learn more about fusion)
  • Modeling the Sun (16.2)
  • Determining the solar interior (16.3)
  • Probing the Sun with neutrinos (16.4) :: (make sure you know your particles)
  • The photosphere as the surface we "see" (16.5)
    29 January 2008
  • F&K Chapter 16 - Our Star, the Sun
  • The photosphere as the surface we "see" (16.5)
  • The chromosphere (16.6)
  • The corona (16.7)
  • Sunspots (16.8)
  • Solar Cycle (16.9)
  • Plages, prominences and CMEs (16.10)
    31 January 2008
  • F&K Chapter 17 - The Nature of the Stars
  • Parallax and distance (17.1) :: (Schombert's view)
  • Apparent magnitude, absolute magnitude and distance (17.2)
  • Absolute magnitude, luminosity and apparent magnitude (17.3)
  • Color and Temperature (17.4) :: (Schombert's view)
  • Spectral Class and Spectral Sub-class (17.5)
    5 February 2008
  • F&K Chapter 17 - The Nature of the Stars
  • The size of stars and how we know it (17.6)
  • The Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram (17.7)
  • Luminosity Classes (17.8)
    7 February 2008
  • F&K Chapter 17 - The Nature of the Stars
  • The Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram (17.7)
  • Luminosity Classes (17.8)
  • The mass of stars and how we know it (17.9)
  • Spectroscopy of binary stars (17.10)
  • Eclipsing binary stars and their light curves (17.11)
    12 February 2008
  • F&K Chapter 18 - The Birth of Stars
  • Understanding how stars age (develop over time) requires both observation and ideas from physics (18-1)
  • Interstellar gas and dust pervade the galaxy (18-2)
  • Protostars form in cold dark nebulae (18-3)
  • Protostars evolve into main sequence stars (18-4)
    14 February 2008
  • F&K Chapter 18 - The Birth of Stars
    19 February 2008
    21 February 2008
  • F&K Chapter 18 - The Birth of Stars
  • Mass Ejection and Accretion (18-5)
  • Young Stars and HII Regions (18-6)
  • Giant Molecular Clouds (18-7)
  • Supernovae and Star Birth (18-8)
    26 February 2008
  • F&K Chapter 19 - Stellar Evolution After the Main Sequence
  • H-R Diagrams and Cluster Population Age Estimates
    28 February 2008
  • F&K Chapter 20 - Stellar Evolution: The Death of Stars
    4 March 2008
  • F&K Chapter 21 - Neutron Stars
    6 March 2008
  • F&K Chapter 22 - Black Holes
  • Einstein's Theories of Relativity

    SPRING BREAK from March 10 to 16 NO CLASSES / NO LABS

    18 March 2008
  • F&K Chapters 19,20,21 and 22
  • Review of Stellar Evolution
  • Clarification of mid-term grades: Mid-term grades were assigned based solely on your grade in the first examination, and there were no +/- assignments. Grading scale was A(90-100) B(80-89) C(70-79) D(60-69) F(<60)
    20 March 2008
  • F&K Chapter 23 - The Milky Way Galaxy
    25 March 2008
  • F&K Chapter 23 - The Milky Way Galaxy
  • Review for yourself Exam #2
    27 March 2008
    1 April 2008
  • F&K Chapter 24 - Galaxies
    3 April 2008
  • F&K Chapter 24 - Galaxies
    8 April 2008
  • F&K Chapter 25 - Quasars, Active Galaxies, and Gamma-Ray Bursters
    10 April 2008
  • F&K Chapter 25 - Quasars, Active Galaxies, and Gamma-Ray Bursters
    15 April 2008
  • F&K Chapter 26 - Cosmology: The Origin and Evolution of the Universe
    17 April 2008
  • F&K Chapter 26 - Cosmology: The Origin and Evolution of the Universe
    22 April 2008 - There will be no class meeting this date - CANCELLED.
  • F&K Chapter 27 - Exploring the Early Universe
    24 April 2008
  • F&K Chapter 27 - Exploring the Early Universe
    29 April 2008
    1 May 2008
  • F&K Chapter 28 - The Search for Extraterrestrial Life
  • Review for the Final
    13 May

    HAVE A GREAT SUMMER !
    See ya 'round the universe

    In Summary

  • Final will occur on 13 May 2008 1:30 - 3:30PM (this is the date of the final set by the university, DO NOT LEAVE TOWN BEFORE THIS DATE or you will miss the final) and NOTE the early scheduled START TIME is 1:30 PM.
  • EXAMINATION #3 will occur on 29 April 2008
  • EXAMINATION #2 will occur on 27 March 2008
  • EXAMINATION #1 will occur on 19 February 2008
  • GRADING POLICY
  • There will be 4 total examinations, 1 FINAL at the date/time scheduled by GMU and 3 IN-CLASS during regular class dates/times.
  • Each exam will count 33.3% of your grade. If, and only if, you take all 4 exams, your lowest grade will be dropped of the 4 exams.
  • There is ONLY one kind of extra credit. It can be received only in one manner. This involves the use of the iClickers during the lecture periods. The maximum amount of "extra credit" is 10% of your final grade.
  • There are NO make-up examinations.
  • Let me REPEAT that. There are NO MAKE-UP examinations. If you miss an examination, you will get a zero (0) for that exam. You will not be able to make it up. You still have the 3 other exams to constitute your final grade.