Astronomy Course Syllabus

Text: Astronomy: A Beginner’s Guide to the Universe

Authors: Chaisson/McMillian

Day Time Activities Content

Day 1 – Morning Go over syllabus, Ice-Breaker The Motions of the Planets, The
Monday Activities, Take Pre-Test Birth of Modern Astronomy

Afternoon Lab: Mathematical Tools

Evening Read Ch. 5 & E.5,
Motions of the Stars Workbook
Activity

Day 2 – Morning Moon Slide Show, Survivor on Properties of the Earth and Moon
Tuesday the Moon (including tides, atmospheres,
interiors, surfaces, magnetospheres),
History of Earth-Moon System, The
Motions of the Moon
Afternoon Lab: The Moon and its Phases

Evening Read 1.3, 1.4, 8.1,

Observing Moon from
Telescope

Day 3 – Morning Jupiter Slide Show, Derivation Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion,
Wednesday of Kepler’s Third Law, Kepler’s New ton’s Laws, The Galilean
Laws and Newton’s Laws Moons of Jupiter
Worksheets

Afternoon Lab: The Moons of Jupiter

Evening Read Chapter 2,

Observing Jupiter and Galilean
Moons
Day 4 – Morning Speed of Light Math Problems, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Thermal
Thursday Blackbody Worksheet, Color Radiation (Blackbody Radiation,
Analyzer Activity Wein’s Law, Stefan’s Law),
Spectroscopy, Formation of Spectral
Lines
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Afternoon Lab: Spectroscopy

Evening Read Chapter 4, Planetary

Formation Presentation

Day 5 – Morning Solar System Slide Show, Inventory of the Solar System, Solar
Friday Assign Planets, Cookin’ Up a System Debris (Asteroids, Comets,
Comet Demonstration Meteoroids), Formation of the Solar
System, Exoplanets
Afternoon Research Planets & Make
Posters

Sunday, Evening Finish Up Posters, Prepare

July 27 Presentations,
Read 8.4 – 8.6

Day 6 – Morning Derivation of the Roche Limit, Planetary Rings and their Formation,
Monday Make a Grapefruit Saturn, Open Roche Limit, Is Pluto a Planet?
Discussion: Why isn’t Pluto a
Planet?

Afternoon Presentation of Planet Posters

Evening Read Ch. 9 & E.4,

Astronomical Lecture

Day 7 – Morning Field Trip: Chabot Space and

Tuesday Science Center

Afternoon Depart: 9:00 am

Evening Return: 5:30 pm

Day Time Activities Content
Day 8 – Morning Discussion of Hydrogen Fusion, Properties of the Sun (Interior,
Wednesday Sun Spotter Activity Atmosphere, Sunspots, Nuclear
Fusion), Stellar Parallax

Afternoon Lab: Stellar Parallax

Evening Read Chapter 10,

Flux and Luminosity Math
Problems
Day 9 – Morning Calculating Apparent and Star Measurements (Stellar Parallax,
Thursday Absolute Magnitudes Luminosity, Apparent Brightness,
Stellar Sizes and Temperatures)

Afternoon Lab: Inverse-Square Law of

Light

Evening Read Chapter 11,

Stellar Nebula
Volume/Mass/Density Math
Problems
Day 10 – Morning Plot Several Stars to Make a Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram,
Friday Massive H-R Diagram on Black Different Types of Stars (Main
Board Sequence, White Dwarfs, Red
Giants, etc.),

Afternoon Fill in Stellar Evolution Chart

Sunday, Evening Read Ch. 14 & 13.5,

August 3 Galaxy Distance Math Problems

Day 11 – Morning Lab: The H-R Diagram Spectroscopic Parallax and the
Monday Cosmic Distance Scale, Determining
Stellar Masses, Interstellar Matter,
Star Formation
Day Time Activities Content
Afternoon Determining dates of
supernovae based on volcanic
eruption data.

Evening Read Chapter 15

Day 12 – Morning Special Relativity Readings Milky Way Galaxy, Variable Stars,
Tuesday from How to Build a Time Galactic Structure, Formation of the
Machine, Dark Matter Essay, Milky Way, Dark Matter, Center of
Calculate Escape Velocity of Milky Way (Black Holes)
Black Hole

Afternoon Lab: The Milky Way Galaxy

Evening Read Chapter 17

Review Math Prob.’s

Day 13 Morning Final Exam Review Cosmology, Redshift, Fate of the

Wednesday Universe, Inflation

Afternoon Lab: The Distance Ladder

Evening Read Chapter 18

Discussion about Fate of the
Universe
Day 14 – Morning Lab: Search for Extraterrestrial Life in the Universe, Astrobiology
Thursday Life, Magnetars Essay, Final
Exam Review

Afternoon Final Exam

Evening No Class

Day 15 – Morning Wrap-Up, Review Final Exam,

Friday Movie

Afternoon Depart for Home