Origin of the Universe

ASTR340, Spring 2007, Prof. Harris 
Lecture TTh 2:00-3:15 PM, CSS 2400

Course Syllabus and Information

Course Description and Purpose

Prerequisites

Textbook

Attendance and Preparation

Examinations

Examination Dates

Homework Assignments

Working Together

Grading

The Honor Code

Absences

Class Web Pages

Special Circumstances

Additional Help

Course Description and Purpose:

A standard phrase these days is that we live in a Golden Age of cosmology.  This is an enthusiastic statement of the remarkable progress that we have made recently in understanding the shape, age, and other properties of the Universe.  This course is an introduction to cosmology -- our perception and study of the Universe on the largest scales --  designed primarily for non-science majors. 

We will begin with a historical view of the human race's beliefs about the Universe, starting with the belief that the Earth itself was the Universe and discussing how scientific observations forced us to acknowledge that human beings are not the center of a static Universe designed to accommodate us.  This was a big adjustment!  We continue with exploring other adjustments to human thought as we can see larger sections of the Universe, understanding that our familiar notions of time and space are a special case of more general notions that become important on large scales.  On large scales time and space are not separate, and, even less intuitively, are affected by the mass of nearby objects.  We will explore these topics by looking at Einstein's beautiful work on special and general relativity.  One of Einstein's predictions was that some parts of space would be so severely curved that no light could escape, and we'll look at the "black holes" that satisfy these properties.

With an understanding of the general properties of the Universe, we will then tackle the fundamental questions of how (and when) the Universe started and how (and when) it will finish.  These topics take us through the discovery of the Universe's expansion, the Big Bang theory of its start, and the very recent results that provide information on its shape and fate.   We take a personal interest in the time between the start and finish -- we live in that era! -- so we will also look at how the matter in the Universe changed with time, eventually becoming galaxies, stars, planets, and us.

Prerequisites:

The prerequisites for ASTR340 are either ASTR100 or ASTR101 or the equivalent introductory course, as well as completion of the CORE Distributive Studies requirement in Mathematics and Sciences. 

Textbook

Foundations of Modern Cosmology, 2nd edition, by J. Hawley and K. Holcomb (Oxford, c. 2005), ISBN 0-19-853096-X. 

Attendance and Preparation

In order to successfully complete this course, you will need to attend lectures and discussion sections. I expect you to be prepared for class by reading the assignments before class. You will be responsible for material covered in class as well as material assigned in the text. T

Examinations:

Each examination will consist of multiple choice questions, numerical problems, and essay questions.

You must bring your ID card and a real calculator (not a cell phone, for instance) to each test.

There will be one midterm exam, given during class hours. The test will cover material presented in the lecture and in the text. The test date is March 15. They are closed book and will require a calculator.    
 
There will be a cumulative final exam which will cover all of the course material. The final exam is closed book that will require a calculator. Because there will not be a separate test covering the last assigned chapters, the final exam will have a slight emphasis on that material. All students are required to take the final exam.

Examination dates and location:

All examinations will be held in in our usual lecture room. If for any reason, the University is officially closed on the day of the test, that test will be given during our next regularly scheduled lecture period.   

The midterm exam will be held in class on Thursday, March 15.
The University has set the date for the final exam as Wednesday, May 16, from 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM.

If for any reason, the University is officially closed on the day of the midterm, the exam will take place on our next regularly scheduled lecture. If for any reason, the University is officially closed at the time of the final, exam will take place at the make-up time given by the University.

See the Absences section for information on missed exams.

Homework assignments:

Assignments are due by the end of class on the due date.  You must hand in your homework, with your work shown, on or before the time due in order to receive full credit.   Homework will not be accepted for credit after the due date. 

Homework assignments must be typed except for equations, drawings, and so on.  This makes your work much easier to read.

If for any reason, the University is officially closed on the day a homework assignment is due, the due date will be postponed until our next regularly scheduled lecture.

See the Absences section for information on late homework.

Working together:

Although you may discuss the homework problems with your friends and colleagues, you must hand in solutions that you understand by yourself and have written in your own words. Sharing ideas through discussion is encouraged, but copying solutions or allowing someone to copy your solutions is not permitted (see the discussion about the Code of Academic Integrity).   You need to learn the material on your own terms, not just find a quick way to produce a solution using someone else's unacknowledged work.  You should list all sources of information you use, including the textbook.  Regardless of the source, anything you write should be written in your own words and not copied or paraphrased.  The same principle, shared ideas but not communal detailed solutions, applies to discussion section assignments unless the instructor specifically tells you that you may submit a single solution as a group.

Grading:

Grades will be calculated according to the following weights:

Homework 30 %
Midterm 30 %
Final exam 40 %
Total
 100 %

We follow the University's definitions for letter grades, with grades assigned as
A
 85-100% of total possible points
B
 70-84% of total possible points
C
 55-69% of total possible points
D
 40-54% of total possible points
F
 below 39% of total possible points

with +/- within A, B, and C.  There will be no extra credit.  The midterm and final exam will be scaled so the class median scores are 70%.  We follow the University's Attendance and Assessment Policy for examination protocol. 

The Honor System: Code of Academic Integrity:

At the core of the University is the Code of Academic Integrity. The instructor strongly supports and rigorously enforces the Code and will report all cases of suspected academic dishonesty to the Student Honor Council.

Absences:

The University's policies on absences and assessment apply to exams, homeworks, and lectures missed for illness, religious observance, or University-sponsored travel.  Students who are ill or have another valid excuse must explain the circumstances to the instructor before the due date of an assignment or exam, and then complete the work within the following week, in order to get full credit. Sending email, calling, or leaving voice mail on the instructor's phone are all acceptable ways to reach the instructor.  In addition to notifying the instructor in advance, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor within one week of the original test to schedule a make-up test. 

Students who intend to be absent for religious observance or university-sponsored travel should inform Prof. Harris by the last day for schedule adjustment, February 6, so we can arrange substitute exams or assignments, if applicable. 

Any absences need to be properly documented in writing.  Here is a guide to writing an explanation for an excused absence.

Class Web Pages:

The homepage for this course contains this syllabus, schedules, contact information for the instructor and  reader, and other useful information. The address is http://www.astro.umd.edu/~harris/ASTR340, or you can find it from the Department of Astronomy web page, http://www.astro.umd.edu.

Special Circumstances:

Students with a documented disability should let the instructor know as soon as possible to discuss academic accommodations. 

Additional Help:

Please do not hesitate to come to the instructor's scheduled office hours or to make an appointment for another time.  The course professor and grader are resources that can only be of help if put to use. Let us also emphasize as strongly as we can that it is essential that you contact us early; if you wait until the last minute it is much less likely that we can help you.  Office hours won't fit everyone's schedule, so if you need to meet at another time other than the regularly-scheduled office hours, contact us after class, by phone, or via e-mail to arrange it.