American University of Beirut

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Department of Physics

Phys 200 Syllabus

Summer 2022-2023
1. Textbook:

Universe
By R. Freedman, RM Geller and W. Kaufmann
Freeman , 11th Edition 2014

2. Course Motivation:

Phys 200 is a basic Astronomy course that introduces non-science students to the subject
starting by a brief history on old astronomy and continues throughout the latest
discoveries in the field. Despite the straightforward nature of this course, it strongly
emphasizes the scientific methods as fundamental tools of understanding the physical
laws that govern our universe.

Astronomy is one of the oldest science mankind has dabbled with, it reflects in a sense
the struggle of human being to understand and gain knowledge of its surrounding. We
will make a “journey” in this course from the Earth to the solar system with its central
star our Sun, to the stars to arrive at understanding the basic structure of our Galaxy the
so called “Milky Way”.

3. Expected Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
• Describe the difference between the geocentric and heliocentric models of the
solar system.
• Discuss the modern revolution in human understanding of the structure of the
solar system through the great work by Galileo’s, Kepler’s, and Newton’s laws.
• Appreciate the physical concepts and terms used in modern astronomy to explain
the physical nature of various bodies and phenomena.
• Discuss the properties of various cosmic objects, their distances and relative
scale-size in the Universe.
• Apply basic concepts of light-matter interaction to explore and characterize stars
and galaxies properties.
• Describe the evolution of our solar system emphasizing on earth and sun
evolution.
• Describe the components and evolution of our living Erath.
• Discuss and understand stellar evolution and death.
• Think about the possibly of finding life in the universe.
4. Course Content:

Astronomy and the Universe: a general introduction.

Knowing the Heavens
The Copernicus Revolution
Nature of Light
Telescopes
Our Solar System
Our Living Earth
Our Star: The Sun
Nature of the Stars
Stellar Evolution and the Death of Stars
The Milky Way Galaxy

5. Course policy and grading criteria’s:

Attendance: Students are expected to attend all classes. Attendance of the lectures is
mandatory. If a student misses a lecture, he/she is entirely responsible for the material
covered as well as any announcement that was done during class time. Any student
arriving late (i.e., after the start of a lecture) may not be allowed to attend the rest of the
class. There are three 50-minutes lectures per week.

Exams and Final grade: The final grade will be a weighted average of drop quizzes
(10%), Midterm (40%) and the final exam (50%). The Final exam will be scheduled by
the registrar office during the semester.

Midterm will be held on Thursday, July 13.

Last day for withdrawal from courses for the Summer 2022/23 is Friday, July 21, 2023.

O. Malaeb
Physics Department,
Room 319, Ext 4302
oh09@aub.edu.lb

Office hours:
• Monday: 13:15 – 14:00
• Wednesday: 13:15 – 14:00
• Or by appointment (oh09@aub.edu.lb).