astr 1270 s14 syllabus

8/10/2019 ASTR 1270 S14 Syllabus

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Unsolved Mysteries in the UniverseAstronomy 1270

Clark 107, MFW 12:00-12:50PM

Professor:Kelsey Johnson

Office:Astronomy #234Email:[email protected]

Office Hours:M, W 2-3:15pm, or by

appointment

TA:Kim Sokal

Office:Astronomy #222

Email:[email protected]

Office Hours:M, T 1-1:30pm, or byappointment

What to expect from this course:

This is not your parents!astronomy course. In fact, this course is designed to bedifferent from typical science courses in general. If you are looking to take a

standard science course, you should take something else. You can expect thecontent during the semester to make your brain hurt or otherwise make youuncomfortable. No pain, no gain. So, plan to deal with it.

Texts:I know how much you love to spend money on books, so I selected four of themfor this course. Despite this awesome topic, it may come as a shock to you that

there is no text designed specifically for a course such as this, and I can !t seemto find the time to write one myself. I have selected four books that I believe

present a good range of perspectives from well-known scientists (maybe not well-known to you yet, but you!ll have to trust me), and I hope that you will not onlyenjoy these books, but also find them tremendously thought-provoking. That is tosay that I expect you will have to do some deep thinking while you are readingthem. A couple of them are getting a bit dated, but I haven!t been able to find atext to replace them yet -- you can play a fun game of What have we learnedabout the universe since 1997? when you read the book by Sir Martin Rees

(he!s a baron now, by the way).

Before the Beginning: Our Universe and Others, by Martin ReesThe Infinite Cosmos: Questions from the Frontiers of Cosmology, by Joseph SilkThe Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World, by Paul DaviesThe Universe in a Nutshell, by Stephen Hawking

In addition, there will be ad hoc readings and videos assigned (see the course

Collab site under Resources). One of the major benefits of the videos is that youcan eat popcorn and inflict them on your roommates and friends while watchingthem.


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Readings:

We have them. You need to read them. Some of them are quite dense. In otherwords, you probably shouldn!t procrastinate reading these until the night beforethe questionnaire is due.

Class Attendance:You are grown ups and can prioritize your time as you wish. That being said, Iexpect you to attend lectures, stay focused, and respect the students in yourvicinity. I have been known to call students out who are occupied with non-classrelated activities during the lecture. Despite this being a large lecture, I will know

who you are (ask former students if you are skeptical). If I say something inclass and you are not there to hear it, guess whose responsibility that is? Youhave been warned.

Correspondence:

I will send any correspondence to the class via your UVa email, You areresponsible for reading the content of all materials sent via email. I don!t textmessage. Ever. I also have this crazy antiquated idea that you will survivewithout checking your messages for more than an hour, so turn off your phonesin class. Yes, I!m old.

Late Policy:NO late assignments will be accepted without a doctor!s (or appropriateauthority!s) note. You can only imagine how much fun it is to deal with thelogistics of late assignments in a class this large. I!ve heard a pretty broad andfascinating range of excuses over the years. If you!re going to make up an

excuse, at least be creative.

Facebook:I!ve created a (secret) Facebook Group for our class (no one outside the group

can see it, the posts to it, or the membership). You are under no obligation tojoin it, but we will use this venue to address common questions and facilitatediscussions. We encourage you to post questions, comments, and relatedmaterial to this group. We will specifically send invitations to join the group tothe email addresses of class members.

Honor Policy:

I like trusting people to do the right thing. The fact that you might be caught andexpelled from UVa shouldn!t keep you from doing the wrong thing. The fact thatthe wrong thing is wrong should keep you from doing the wrong thing. I reportedan honor case just last year; that student is no longer with us. If you are not surewhether something is right or wrong, think about what your grandmother wouldsay (unless your grandmother is in prison).


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Questionnaires:For each topic you will electronically submit responses via Collab*:

1) A Bulleted list of three things you learned in class2) An ad hoc question on the assigned reading (T/F or multiple choice)

3)

A Bulleted list of three questions that you have about the material4)

A quote from the readings that you found interesting and why

We are looking for a single sentence for each bullet point. In other words, thisentire questionnaire should be no more than half a page. Heed this, or feel thewrath of Kim.

* You are encouraged to save your work outside of Collab before submitting. Just in case. What

could possibly go wrong?

These will be graded as follows (AND CURVED such that 2pts !B):

3 = Hey, great job! You are thinking about some interesting stuff.

2 = You did the readings, and you filled out the questionnaire.You did just fine, and you should feel good about yourself.

1 = Hmm. Is this the best you!ve got? Remember that you are paying for thiscourse. Or at least someone is paying for this course.

0 = Collab misses you! Please come back. Redemption is just a few sentencesaway.

Extra Credit Opportunities:Can!t get enough of this cool astronomy stuff? Me neither. Heck, I get paidtothink about the universe, how awesome is that? If you just skipped to this partwithout reading the rest of the syllabus, I have some unsolicited advice: if

skipping huge sections of the reading is your standard M.O. then you will

probably need all the extra credit you can get. Extra credit points are counted

toward your grade with the same value as Reading Questionnaire points.

1) Friday News:You are encouraged to bring in an astronomy-related article that catches your attention

and share it with the class. Bring an overview of the article to class, and submit a 1-page summary via Collab about the article and why we should care. If possible, please

also post to the class Facebook page. Up to 3pts extra credit, limit onenews article per

student.

2) Contact:I love this movie. OK, so it is a little dated now, and the love-story part is pretty sappy.

BUT the astronomy/politics/science/society part is on the mark. After our unit on ET life,


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watch the movie and write up a 1-page response to be submitted via Collab (what you

thought about the movie, what resonated with you, what was interesting, etc). Up to 3pts

extra credit. See class/Collab for due date (~1 week after unit is completed).

3) Elegant Universe:My artistic abilities are severely limited, and trying to illustrate multiple dimensions on a

2-D blackboard ain!t easy. Fortunately there are people in the movie industry who getpaid a lot of money to do this kind of thing. This three-part NOVA series has fantastic

graphics, and it will give you better insight into some of the wackiest stuff in modern

physics. What do cello strings have to do with alternate dimensions and dead cats?

Tune in to find out. Get a pizza, invite some friends over for the pizza, watch the series,

write a 1-page response to be submitted via Collab by the due date (~1 week after unit

on other dimensions). Up to 3 pts extra credit.

4) Fabric of the COSMOS:Pretty much the same thing as (3) but based on a different one of Brian Green!s books.

5) Wrinkle in Time:Do you remember this from when you were a kid? I hope so. Here is your excuse to goback and read a fun children!s book that explores some meaty topics related to this

course. Snuggle in with a cup of tea (or coffee or whatever), and spend a quality

afternoon with this gem. Write up a 1-page response to be submitted via Collab by the

due date (sometime near the end of the semester). Up to 3 pts extra credit.

That is A LOT of extra credit. Plan in advance, because I will not be sympathetic

to pleas for additional extra credit opportunities at the end of the semester.

Grades:

This class will be graded on a curve. My curve. I know what an averageperformance is and it will be rewarded with an average grade. Perhapsshockingly, only half of you are above average. I grew up in Minnesota and I canstill say that (if this is lost on you, you should listen to more public radio).

Questionnaires .... 25%Quiz 1 (Feb 7) . 15%Quiz 2 (Mar 7). 15%Quiz 3 (Apr 11) .. 15%Final Exam (Dec 13, 2-5pm)..... 30%


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Reading Assignments for Unsolved Mysteries

ASTR1270*

Topic

The Mind of

God

The Infinite

Cosmos

Before the

Beginning

The Universe in a

Nutshell

Introduction Preface, ch1

ch 2, 3, 6 Intro, ch 1

Does Extraterrestrial

life exist?ch 16 (195-201) ch 1 ch 6

What happens inside

blackholes?

ch 7, ch 16 (201-

205), ch 17ch4, ch 5, ch 11 ch 1, ch 4

What is the nature of

time?(ch 16 review) ch 13 ch 2, ch 5

What are dark matter &

dark energy?ch 5, ch 10, ch 11 ch 6, ch 7, ch 8

What caused the Big

Bang?Ch2 ch 12, ch 14 Ch 3, ch 9 Ch 3

What determines thatlaws of nature?

ch 3, ch 4,ch 6

ch 9, ch 14

Are there other

dimensions?(ch 14 review) ch 11, 15 (ch 2 again), ch 7

Is the Universe Fine

Tuned?ch 8

(ch 9, ch 14

review)ch 3

If we have time, we will

also include the

following:

What is the shape and

fate of Universe?ch 9 ch9, ch 15, ch 18 ch 8, ch 12 ch 3

What is our place in

the Universe?ch 5, ch 7 ch 19, 20

* subject to revision

astr 1270 s14 syllabus

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