Astronomy 141
Life in the Universe
Fall Quarter 2010
Mo Tu We Th Fr 1:30 - 2:18 pm
Stillman Hall 100
Course Instructor: Prof. Barbara Ryden
Office: 4035 McPherson Lab (fourth floor), 140 W. 18th Ave.
Office Hours: Mo Fr 9 - 11 am, Tu We 3:30 - 5:30 pm, or by appointment
Phone: 292-4562
Menu:
[
On-Line Info
|
Lectures
|
Grading
]
The Final Exam will be on Tuesday, December 7,
at 1:30 pm, in the usual classroom. It will be a cumulative,
multiple-choice exam, with 100 questions.
(Details about grading, office hours, course schedule, problem set due dates, and so forth.)
(On selected nights during the quarter, there will be a planetarium
show in Smith Laboratory, followed by an opportunity to view the
sky through a 12-inch aperture telescope.)
(This provides a new astronomical image each day -- the subjects range
from distant galaxies to our home planet, the Earth.)
Week 1 - Introductory Matters -
Reading from Text = Chapter 1
Wednesday, Sep 22:
Introduction
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Sep 23:
Astronomical Numbers
[PDF notes]
Friday, Sep 24:
Imagining Life Beyond Earth
[PDF notes]
Week 2 - Scientific Revolutions -
Reading from Text = Chapters 2 & 3
Monday, Sep 27:
Copernican Revolution
[PDF notes]
Tuesday, Sep 28:
Geological Revolution
[PDF notes]
Wednesday, Sep 29:
Cosmological Revolution
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Sep 30:
Chemical Revolution
[PDF notes]
Friday, Oct 1:
Biological Revolution
[PDF notes]
Week 3 - Our Earthly Habitat -
Reading from Text = Chapter 4
Monday, Oct 4:
The Earth We Stand On
[PDF notes]
Tuesday, Oct 5:
The Air We Breathe
[PDF notes]
Wednesday, Oct 6:
The Geological Record
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Oct 7:
Climate Change
[PDF notes]
Friday, Oct 8: QUIZ 1
Week 4 - Life on Earth -
Reading from Text = Chapter 5
Monday, Oct 11:
What is Life?
[PDF notes]
[Problem Set 1 handed out]
Tuesday, Oct 12:
Cells - Building Blocks of Life
[PDF notes]
Wednesday, Oct 13:
Metabolism
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Oct 14:
Heredity, DNA, & Mutations
[PDF notes]
Friday, Oct 15:
Extreme Life
[PDF notes]
Week 5 - History of Life on Earth -
Reading from Text = Chapter 6
Monday, Oct 18:
Origin of Life: The First Fossils
[PDF notes]
[Problem Set 1 due]
Tuesday, Oct 19:
The Evolution of Life
[PDF notes]
Wednesday, Oct 20:
The Evolution of Us
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Oct 21:
Mass Extinctions
[PDF notes]
Friday, Oct 22: QUIZ 2
Week 6 - Life in the Solar System -
Reading from Text = Chapters 7 & 8
Monday, Oct 25:
Solar System Overview
[PDF notes]
[Problem Set 2 handed out]
Tuesday, Oct 26:
Requirements for Life
[PDF notes]
Wednesday, Oct 27:
Terrestrial Planets
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Oct 28:
Mars
[PDF notes]
Friday, Oct 29:
Life on Mars (?)
[PDF notes]
Week 7 - Life in the Solar System (Part II) -
Reading from Text = Chapter 9 & 10
Monday, Nov 1:
Jovian Planets
[PDF notes]
[Problem Set 2 due]
Tuesday, Nov 2:
Life on Europa (?)
[PDF notes]
Wednesday, Nov 3:
Life on Titan (?)
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Nov 4:
Goldilocks & the Habitable Zone
[PDF notes]
Friday, Nov 5: QUIZ 3
Week 8 - Beyond the Solar System -
Reading from Text = Chapter 11
Monday, Nov 8:
Properties of Stars
[PDF notes]
[Problem Set 3 handed out]
Tuesday, Nov 9:
Meet the Neighbors
[PDF notes]
Wednesday, Nov 10:
"Life" and "Death" of Stars
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Nov 11: NO CLASS
Friday, Nov 12:
Habitable Zones of Other Stars
[PDF notes]
Week 9 - Life Around Other Stars -
Reading from Text = Chapter 12
Monday, Nov 15:
Exoplanets
[PDF notes]
[Problem Set 3 due]
Tuesday, Nov 16:
Properties of Exoplanets
[PDF notes]
Wednesday, Nov 17:
Seeking Other Earths
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Nov 18:
Intelligent Life in the Universe
[PDF notes]
Friday, Nov 19: QUIZ 4
Week 10 - Extraterrestrial Intelligence -
Reading from Text = Chapter 13
Monday, Nov 22:
The Drake Equation
[PDF notes]
[Problem Set 4 handed out]
Tuesday, Nov 23:
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
[PDF notes]
Wednesday, Nov 24:
Colonizing the Galaxy
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Nov 25: NO CLASS
Friday, Nov 26: NO CLASS
Week 11 - Speculations -
Reading from Text = None
Monday, Nov 29:
Have Aliens Visited Earth?
[PDF notes]
[Problem Set 4 due]
Tuesday, Nov 30:
The Fermi Paradox
[PDF notes]
Wednesday, Dec 1:
Life As We Don't Know It
[PDF notes]
Thursday, Dec 2:
The Future of the Solar System
[PDF notes]
Friday, Dec 3:
The Future of the Universe
[PDF notes]
The course grade will be determined from the results of 4 in-class quizzes
(40 percent), a final exam (30 percent), and 4 take-home problem sets
(30 percent). See the course syllabus for more details on the makeup
and grading policies.
Quiz 1: Friday, October 8, in class
Average score = 37 correct
Quiz 2: Friday, October 22, in class
Average score = 37.3 correct
Quiz 3: Friday, November 5, in class
Average score = 37.2 correct
Quiz 4: Friday, November 19, in class
Average score = 36.4 correct
Final Exam: Tuesday, December 7, 1:30pm - 3:18pm, in Stillman 100 (our usual classroom)
Return to:
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Updated: 2010 Dec 3, 1034 EST
[Barbara Ryden]
Image Credits:
© Space Telescope Science
Institute (AURA/STScI)
Copyright © 2010, Barbara Ryden