JTW > Courses > Physics 1411: Introduction to Astronomy
[Sitemap]

In the spring semester of 2001, I taught a one-semester astronomy course for non-science-majors at The University of Texas at Brownsville. The problem sets and lecture notes, in HTML format, were made availble to the students over the web.

If you'd like information on the course or teaching materials beyond what's listed below, feel free to email me at john.whelan@astro.rit.edu.

Text

The text used was Voyages through the Universe by Fraknoi, Morrison and Wolff (Harcourt College, 2000)

Syllabus

I. The Sky (Observational and Ancient Astronomy)

(Voyages Chapters 1-4)

II. Planets (Planetary/Solar System Science)

(Chapters 6, 9 and 11)

III. Stars (Stellar Structure & Evolution)

(Chapters 17 and 21)

Lecture topics

• Introduction and Overview of the Universe
• Astronomical Tools
• Motions on the Sky and Models of the Universe
• Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion
• Galileo, Newton, and the Birth of Classical Physics
• Conservation of Momentum and Angular Momentum
• Newton's Universal Theory of Gravitation
• Coördinates on the Earth and the Celestial Sphere
• Calendars, Tides, Seasons and Eclipses
• Light as an Electromagnetic Wave
• Temperature Scales and Blackbody Radiation
• Spectral Lines and the Doppler Effect
• Review: Quantitative Reasoning and Proportionality
• Review Session
• A Crash Course in Geology
• Venus
• Mars
• The Galilean Satellites
• Titan, Triton, and the Pluto-Charon system
• Background Information on Stars
• Stars
• The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
• Stellar Evolution
• Death of a Star