Howard
Payne Course Numbers
Principles of Astronomy: PSC 1409
Includes 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of laboratory per week
Purpose of the Course
1. This course is designed as an exploration of the basic physical concepts and principles associated with astronomy for students who will most likely not major in physics or astronomy so they may become more scientifically and technologically literate.
2. This course will contain both lecture and lab components to provide both experience and knowledge in the area of astronomy.
3. This course should increase student appreciation for scientific advances and the impact it has had on the student’s understanding of the Universe.
4. This course should help the student understand the scientific process and how astronomers hypothesize, test, and validate astronomical concepts.
5. This course should develop the student’s ability to synthesize a group of facts into a conceptual model and allow the student to demonstrate this comprehension with basic astronomical principles.
6. This course should actively engage the student in learning through various in-class activities.
7. This course should develop the student’s ability to work cooperatively with others in a group setting in order to communicate ideas and knowledge while working towards a group goal.
8. This course should increase the student’s comprehension of the Solar System, Galaxy and Universe including the vastness of space.
9. Finally the student should appreciate the wonder and beauty of the Universe.
Intended outcomes for the course
Students will view astronomy and physics in a more positive, less intimidating way. The student will be able to explain basic known facts, evolving ideas and frontier discoveries in astronomy using physical principles and concepts. The student will demonstrate basic mathematical skills and the use of the scientific method of investigation. The student will be skilled at integrating technology into scientific discovery and presentations. The student will be confident enough in their own astronomy knowledge that he or she can reasonably determine good astronomical science from poor astronomical science when seen in the news, on the internet or TV, brought up in social conversations or when needed in deciding voting issues or jury duty decisions.
Prior knowledge
The student must be able to set up and solve basic algebraic problems; create PowerPoint presentations, and do basic navigation on the Internet. If the student is unable to do these, the student, in all likelihood, will have some difficulty and should plan to spend extra time solving problems, learning PowerPoint and surfing the Web with direction. Additionally, the student is expected to write grammatically correct responses to some questions on homework, lab reports, in discussion forums and on the exams.
Teaching Methodology
In many courses you have had before, the professor’s responsibility was to lecture and your responsibility was to take notes and memorize material. Not so in this course. In this course, my responsibility is to find ways to help you learn astronomy, and your responsibility is to actively engage in your own learning of astronomy. My main goals for this course are for you to understand the nature of science through the eyes of astronomy; understand the big ideas and methods in astronomy; and develop a lifelong interest in astronomy and current events surrounding astronomy. To meet these three goals, you will read in your text and glean out the important information, there will be questions to answer to help you access the important information, you will do animated self-guided tutorials, you will learn to correctly label relevant celestial objects, you will devise creative ways to learn about the sun, moon, and planets, you will have access to current issues in astronomy and discuss these issues with others in forums, you will do labs which simulate actual astronomical research and their will be training on the basic stars and constellation in the summer sky.
Keeping current with material is an essential activity, points for assignments, paragraphs, and worksheets can no longer be earned 1 week after their scheduled due date. Students should spend approximately twelve hours per week reading the text, watching the animations, doing the assignments, working on labs, writing in discussion forums and reviewing using the eBook CD.
Sample Topical Outline
Topic 1 Telescopes
Topic 2 Asteroids and Comets
Find An Asteroid Discussion Forum
Stars and Constellations in September Part 1 Discussion Forum
Topic 3 The Moon, and Mercury
Retention of atmosphere about a planet Discussion Forum
Topic 4 Venus and Mars,
self-guided tour quiz “Super Spaceship Voyage to Venus”
Discussion Forum "View the Martian Surface"
Stars and Constellations in September Part 2 Discussion Forum
Topic 5 Jupiter and Saturn
Self-guided tour quiz “Jupiter - Differential Rotation “
Topic 6: Uranus and Neptune
Stars and Constellations in October Part 1 Discussion Forum
Topic 8: The Sun
Self-guided tutorial “Voyage to the Sun".
Topic 9 Stars
Discussion Forum—Multi-wavelength cloud with embedded stars
Stars and Constellations in October Part 2 Discussion Forum
Topic 10 Interstellar Medium
Topic 11 Stellar Explosions
Discussion Forum Death Sequence High mass Star
Discussion Forum Recurrent Nova
Topic 12 Black Holes and Neutron Stars
Self-guided tutorial “Escape Speed and Black Hole Event Horizons”
Stars and Constellations in November Part 1 Discussion Forum
Topic 13 The Milky Way
Self-guided tutorial “Gravitational Lensing”
Discussion Forum: Milky Way
Topic 14 Galaxies
Discussion Forum: Psalms 8:2-4