Astronomy 350 | Fall 2011

Course Schedule 

Note:  The lecture material may vary, but the assignment dates are fixed. Check back to this page for updates on the topics and readings.
All assignments (homework and reports) are due at the beginning of class on Friday.
Date Topic Assignment Due
Mon Aug 22 Introduction  
Wed Aug 24 History of Cosmology  
Fri Aug 26 Kepler and Planetary Orbits  
Mon Aug 29 Newton's Laws of Motion  
Wed Aug 31 Newton's Law of Gravity Discussion Question 1
Fri Sept 2 Light and Atoms HW 1
Mon Sept 5 Labor Day--no class meeting  
Wed Sept 7 Atoms and the Quantum Microworld Discussion Question 2
Fri Sept 9 Elementary Particle Zoology HW 2
Mon Sept 12 Energy  
Wed Sept 14 Stars: Structure and Evolution Discussion Question 3
Fri Sept 16 Stars as Cosmological Tools HW 3
Mon Sept 19 Life Cycles of Stars  
Wed Sept 21 Supernovae and Cosmology  
Fri Sept 23 Hour Exam 1
Mon Sept 26 Our Milky Way Galaxy  
Wed Sept 28 Milky Way Dark Matter Discussion Question 4
Fri Sept 30 Galaxies HW 4
Mon Oct 3 Relativity: Introduction  
Wed Oct 5 Special Relativity: Theory Discussion Question 5
Fri Oct 7 Special Relativity: Tests and Evidence HW 5
Mon Oct 10 The Equivalence Principle  
Wed Oct 12 General Relativity: Tests and Evidence Discussion Question 6
Fri Oct 14 Cosmic Acceleration HW 6
Mon Oct 17 Black Holes  
Wed Oct 19 Large Scale Structure and Hubble's Law Discussion Question 7
Fri Oct 21 Cosmic Motion HW 7
Mon Oct 24 Lifestyles in an Expanding Universe  
Wed Oct 26 Cosmodynamics  
Fri Oct 28 Hour Exam 2
Mon Oct 31 Cosmic Acceleration  
Wed Nov 2 Implications of Cosmic Acceleration Discussion Question 8
Fri Nov 4 Dark Energy HW 8
Mon Nov 7 Weight and Fate  
Wed Nov 9 Cosmic Microwave Background Discussion Question 9
Fri Nov 11 Cosmic Microwave Background HW 9
Mon Nov 14 Primordial Nucleosynthesis  
Wed Nov 16 Primordial Nucleosynthesis Discussion Question 10
Fri Nov 18 Baryogenesis: the Birth of Matter HW 10
Nov 21-25 Thanksgiving Break
Mon Nov 28 Particle Dark Matter  
Wed Nov 30 Inflation Discussion Question 11
Fri Dec 2 Inflation HW 11
Mon Dec 5 Structure Formation  
Wed Dec 7 Structure Formation and Finale  
Tue Dec 13: 8-11am FINAL EXAM
Brian D. Fields
Last modified: Wed Dec 7 10:14:54 CST 2011