ASTR 2010 Modern Cosmology

PROFESSOR:  Davide LAZZATI

TEACHING ASSISTANT:  Peter B. ROBINSON

TIME AND PLACE: Mo/We/Fr 02pm-02:50pm, DUANE G125. Some of our classes will be held at the Fiske Planetarium.  Please see the class  calendar  for the dates we will be meeting there (there will also be announcements made in class).
 

COURSE HOME PAGE:  http://rocinante.colorado.edu/~lazzati/ASTR2010/
 

CONTENTS OF THIS COURSE: This class offers an introduction to cosmology, intended primarily for non-science majors.  Major topics to be covered include: 


 TEXTBOOKS:  This class will rely on a variety of sources for readings. There are two required textbooks. 1) "On the Shores of the Unknown: a Short History of the Universe," by Joseph Silk, is a detailed and mostly (though not completely) up-to-date presentation of many of the course topics, and I will be assigning readings from this text throughout the semester.  2) "Before the beginning" by Martin Rees, lends an alternate description, emphasizing the initial moments and addressing some of the unknowns, coincidences and paradoxes of modern cosmology. I will also occasionally post required supplementary readings on the class calendar or Web/CT for you to download.

In addition to these texts, I recommend that you have access to an introductory astronomy textbook, particularly if you have not taken college-level astronomy before. While all concepts needed for this class will be covered in lecture, they may not be adequately covered in the books above, and a good introductory text will be very useful. I recommend The Cosmic Perspective, by Bennett et al., especially during  the first third of the course, and will indicate which chapters to consult as we go. I chose not to make this a required text for two reasons: it covers a very wide set of topics in astronomy, many of which are not relevant to this class; and the book is quite expensive. It is widely used on the CU campus, and I hope that you will be able to find a copy used, or borrow when needed from a friend or library. You do not need any of the CDs or internet accounts that are sometimes linked to this book, but please try to use a 3rd or 4th (latest) edition, as cosmology has been changing rapidly!

PREREQUISITES: None. 

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS REQUIRED:  While this class is largely non-mathematical, you will be required to use some simple algebraic relations and manipulate and interpret numbers and physical units.


ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION  (All students are expected to read this)
 
GRADES:

40% In-class exams; 3 exams, lowest grade dropped
35% Homeworks, plus in-class and on-line work
25% Final Exam  

EXAMS: 40% of your final grade will be based on three in-class exams. The lowest grade of these three exams will be dropped from your grade. The exams will consist partly of multiple-choice or T/F questions and partly of short-answer or essay questions. 

Please see the course calendar for exam dates. Because the lowest exam grade is dropped there will be no make-up exams offered due to medical absences, academic conflicts, personal reasons or religious holidays: if you miss an exam, that will be the one whose grade will be dropped. If you anticipate having conflicts for two or more dates come and talk to me before Jan 27th, 2007.

HOMEWORK: There will be a number of homework and in-class assignments over the semester, which will count for 35% of your final grade.  These will include traditional homework that you do on your own (short answer and essay questions, research questions, mathematical problems), as well as in-class questions to be turned in during class and online questions submitted via Web/CT.

FINAL EXAM:  The final exam, worth 25% of your grade, will be held in Duane G125 from 7:30am to 10am on Saturday May 5th, 2007.  The final exam will be cumulative (based on the entire course) and will be similar in form to the other exams but with more emphasys on essay questions. To request permission to take the make-up FINAL exam because you have three or more finals on May 5th, send email to: lazzati@colorado.edu  before February 28th and list the other finals you will be taking that day. Please take this into account when making your end-of-semester travel plans.

TRACKING YOUR GRADES: You can track your performance in this class via CU's WebCT.  If you have any questions about your grades, please see us during office hours, or make an appointment. In general, if you suspect a simple grading error, it's best to contact the TA first.

INCOMPLETES: The College of Arts and Sciences has strict rules about "Incomplete" grades. Basically, I can give you grade of "Incomplete" only in case of an emergency that is beyond your control, and I must have written documentation. Moreover, your current grade must be passing at the time the emergency occurs.
 

DISABILITIES: If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities.  Contact: 303-492-8671, Willard 322, and http://www.Colorado.EDU/disabilityservices


CU HONOR CODE:    I expect all CU students to be aware of and to follow the CU Honor Code as well as the CU Policy on Classroom and Course-Related behavior.

All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior.  All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-725-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html  and at http://www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/

NOTE: It's fine to help each other with homework; we encourage you to do so, and will also offer help during office hours. But simply copying other people's work without trying to understand it is cheating. The reason homework is assigned is for YOU to learn what you need for the course, and what you hand in should show us that YOU personally understand it.  If we find two or more homework assignments with answers that are so exactly alike that we suspect unthinking copying, we will split the credit for the work equally between each submitter (note that this means you also must be careful not to let others copy your work!).  If you worked with another student on homework assignments to the point where you suspect that you may have very similar answers, please write so on the front page of the homework assignment (e.g. "I collaborated with: Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking on this assignment." )  Similarly, we'd like to know if you received help with a given problem from a tutor- this will not change your grade, but will allow us to track which questions are challenging students the most.

If you copy text or other information from any source for any reason, you must also include a citation to that source (for example,  Bennett et al., "The Cosmic Perspective,"  p. 461;   or    From " Astronomy Picture of the Day Website, http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html,   Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA).) Doing this will keep you from plagiarizing, and will allow us to appreciate your good scholarship.

If a student is caught cheating on a quiz or exam, the minimum penalty will be a grade of F on that exam and the maximum will be an F in the course.   University policy requires us to report any cheating incident to the Honors Council.
 

PERSONAL BEVAVIOR: Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat all students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which they and their students express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender variance, and nationalities.  Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records.  See polices at

http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html   and at
http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code

The University of Colorado at Boulder policy on Discrimination and Harassment (http://www.colorado.edu/policies/discrimination.html), the University of Colorado policy on Sexual Harassment and the University of Colorado policy on Amorous Relationships applies to all students, staff and faculty.  Any student, staff or faculty member who believes she/he has been the subject of discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550.  Information about the ODH and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at  http://www.colorado.edu/odh