Astronomy 350 | Fall 2012
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 27
Introduction
Wed Aug 29
History of Cosmology
Fri Aug 31
Kepler and Planetary Orbits
Mon Sept 3
Labor Day--no class meeting
Wed Sept 5
Newton's Laws of Motion
Discussion Question 1
Fri Sept 7
Newton's Law of Gravity
HW 1
Mon Sept 10
Light and Atoms
Wed Sept 12
Atoms and the Quantum Microworld
Discussion Question 2
Fri Sept 14
Elementary Particle Zoology
HW 2
Mon Sept 17
Energy
Wed Sept 19
Stars: Structure and Evolution
Discussion Question 3
Fri Sept 21
Stars as Cosmological Tools
HW 3
Mon Sept 24
Life Cycles of Stars
Wed Sept 26
Supernovae and Cosmology
Fri Sept 28
Hour Exam 1
Mon Oct 1
Our Milky Way Galaxy
Wed Oct 3
Milky Way Dark Matter
Discussion Question 4
Fri Oct 5
Galaxies
HW 4
Mon Oct 8
Relativity: Introduction
Wed Oct 10
Special Relativity: Theory
Discussion Question 5
Fri Oct 12
Special Relativity: Tests and Evidence
HW 5
Mon Oct 15
The Equivalence Principle
Wed Oct 17
General Relativity: Tests and Evidence
Discussion Question 6
Fri Oct 19
Cosmic Acceleration
HW 6
Mon Oct 22
Black Holes
Wed Oct 24
Large Scale Structure and Hubble's Law
Discussion Question 7
Fri Oct 26
Class Cancelled
Mon Oct 29
Lifestyles in an Expanding Universe
HW 7 (extended)
Wed Oct 31
Cosmodynamics
Fri Nov 2
Hour Exam 2
Mon Nov 5
Cosmic Acceleration
Wed Nov 7
Implications of Cosmic Acceleration
Discussion Question 8
Fri Nov 9
Dark Energy
HW 8
Mon Nov 12
Weight and Fate
Wed Nov 14
Cosmic Microwave Background
Discussion Question 9
Fri Nov 16
Cosmic Microwave Background
HW 9
Nov 19-23
Thanksgiving Break
Mon Nov 26
Primordial Nucleosynthesis
Wed Nov 28
Primordial Nucleosynthesis
Discussion Question 10
Fri Nov 30
Baryogenesis: the Birth of Matter
HW 10
Mon Dec 3
Particle Dark Matter
Wed Dec 5
Inflation
Discussion Question 11
Fri Dec 7
Inflation
HW 11
Mon Dec 10
Structure Formation
Wed Dec 12
Structure Formation and Finale
Fri Dec 14: 8-11am
FINAL EXAM
Brian D. Fields
Last modified: Mon Oct 29 09:58:23 CDT 2012