phys 1810 course outline

Phys 1810 Course Outline

2. Fundamentals of how we know what we know:• Light, radiation, motion, gravity• Telescopes & detectors, resolution• Brightness Laws

1. Vastness of the Universe:• Arithmetic, Powers of Ten,• Scales, coordinates, distances, sizes

3. Cosmic Topics: • Planets – our solar system and beyond• Stars – their birth and death, exotic stars• Black holes• Galaxies – our Milky Way and beyond• Cosmology – e.g. dark matter and dark energy (things we can’t see)

A SURVEY OF THE UNIVERSE.The universe is defined to be the totality of all space, timematter, and energy.

Prof Jayanne English

Gravity and Spacetime

Light, Electromagnetic Radiation, Interaction of light and matter.

Cosmology

Clusters of Galaxies

Seyfert’s Sextet: Jayanne English, Chris Palma et al. (NASA’s HST)

Groups of Galaxies

Early Release Observations Team (NASA’s HST and WFC3)

Stephan’s Quintet

Jayanne English, Sarah Gallager et al. (NASA’s HST and WFPC2)

Interacting and Merging Galaxies

Individual Galaxies

Stars in Galaxies

Jayanne English and A. Russ Taylor for CGPS

Gas in Galaxies

The Birth of Stars

The Birth of Planets

David Lafreniere, Ray Jayawardhana, Marten H. van Kerkwijk (Gemini Observatory)

Planets around Other Stars

The Death of Stars

The Death of Stars like our Sun

The Galactic Anticentre (DRAO + IRAS)

Jayanne English and A. Russ Taylor for CGPS

Remi Lacasse

Our Sun

Travis Rector (University of Alaska)

Our Solar System

Galileo Mission

Cassini Mission

Cassini Mission

Put these images in context:

• Which were your 3 favourites?• Which items do you want to

know more about?

• Discuss your favourites with your neighbours.

Syllabus

Online at http://www.physics.umanitoba.ca/~english/2010winterphys1810/

Will be updated so check regularly.

Syllabus

Schedule:• Revise course date: Jan 19• Voluntary Withdrawal Date: Mar

19• Test dates: Jan 29 and Feb 26• Iclicker participation marks: start

Jan 11Grading:

• 2 tests and 1 exam 70%• Iclicker participation 5%• lab and assignments 25%

Syllabus Continued

Office Hours:• Monday 1pm• Discussion Group• Email to make an appointment with Prof.

English and with Mr. Cameron

Labs:• Start this coming week• Meet in planetarium for 2 weeks; joint

with Phys 1820• Lab schedule will be posted in Angel

summary

Recall column

Learning Philosophy

Format of class:• Active, participatory class.• Interaction with each other.• Images are as important as text.• I will ask questions and wait for an answer.

• Encourage thinking in class.• About 50% of material will be math.• Take notes – write down what I say.

– share note-taking– University Learning Centre has

workshops: http://umanitoba.ca/student/u1/lac/workshops/workshops.html

summary

Recall column

Learning Philosophy

Materials:• Textbook is Astronomy Today, 6th edition Chaisson & McMillian and will be in the library. If bought new, there is a website with lots of multiple choice questions for practise. • The website for this course:

http://www.physics.umanitoba.ca/~english/2010winterphys1810/

• iclicker• will register these in class on Monday.

• Non-programmable calculator, for tests and exams.

summary

Recall column

Learning Philosophy

Guideline for grades:• C-C+ is roughly 60-69% average is about 65%• B-B+ is roughly 70-79% good to very good• A is roughly 80-89% excellent• A+ is > 90% EXCEPTIONAL

The factor that correlates most closely with grades is attendance at lectures.

summary

Recall column

Learning Philosophy

Tips for improving grades.1. Study Notes:

– Cornell Note-taking MethodLink on Phys 1830 websitehttp://www.physics.umanitoba.ca/~english/

2010winterphys1810/

summary

Recall column

Learning PhilosophyTips for improving grades.2. Study Methods:

– PQRSThttp://www.physics.umanitoba.ca/~english/

2010winterphys1810/P = Preview Q = QuestionsR = ReadS = StateT = Turnback

Before each class, read your notes from the previous class and prepare Questions.

I provide a “road map” for what is coming up so you can Preview the material.

summary

Recall column

Learning Philosophy

Tips for improving grades.

4. Ways of Learning:– Quiz to determine whether you are

predominantly an haptic, auditory or visual learner is under the “learning styles” link at

http://www.physics.umanitoba.ca/~english/2010winterphys1810/

5. Pneumonics, meditation, etc.

3. Spend 3 hours studying for every hour in lecture. (Princeton Guidelines.)

6. Visit your professor. (Email or phone to make an appointment if you can’t visit Mondays at 1pm.

summary

Recall column

Scientific Method: Richard Feynman

• Observation, reason, and experiment make up what we call the scientific method.

• The principle of science, the definition, almost, is the following: The test of all knowledge is experiment. Experiment is the sole judge of scientific “truth.”

summary

Recall column

Scientific Method: Richard Feynman

• Where do the laws that are to be tested come from? Experiment, itself, helps to produce these laws, in the sense that it gives us hints. But also needed is imagination to create from these hints the great generalizations - to guess at the wonderful, simple, but very strange patterns beneath them all, and then to experiment to check again whether we have made the right guess.

summary

Recall column

Scientific Method: Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibniz

• There are 2 kinds of truths; those of reasoning and those of fact.

• Truths of reasoning are necessary, and their opposite is impossible.

• And those of fact are contingent, and their opposite is possible.

Scientific Method

Science is a truth of a) reasoningb) fact

summary

Recall column

Scientific Method:

• “Laws of Nature” are defined as general rules that describe how nature works.

• Evolution from one law to another, not a revolution. E.g. Newton’s Law of Gravitation is contained in Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.

Scientific Method

Discuss with your neighbours:Compare the scientific approach to

understanding the cosmos with other approaches such as theological, spiritual, and astrological efforts, in attempts to estimate the probability of sentient, technological life arising elsewhere in the universe. Do you feel that the scientific attitude is basically different than the others? Why?