ASTR330 (Hamilton)
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

I recommend that you start each homework assigment well in advance by reading the book chapters as we talk about them in class. Keeping up with the reading will make doing the homework problems a lot easier, will help you prepare for the exams, and is an excellent way to keep up with the class.

Each homework will consist of approximately five Questions from the Book, several Web Exploration Problems, and one short Written Assignment.

Homework #1 (50 Points) Due Thursday Feb. 13

Questions from the Book

Chapter
Review Questions
Quantitative Exercises
Chapter 1
-
1
Chapter 2
4
-
Chapter 3
4
-
Chapter 17
7
-

Web Exploration Problems:

Do these Problems: W1, W2, W3, W4, W5

Written Assignment

Choose a topic in Planetary Science that interests you and do a web search. Pick an interesting website and write a paragraph about it, describing what you learned and what you found most interesting. Include a link to your site at the beginning of your paragraph like this: where you replace each YOURLINK with the full web address (e.g. http://www.astro.umd.edu/~hamilton/ASTR330/index.html). Post your link and paragraph on the ASTR330 Bulletin Board for the whole class to see!

Homework #2 (50 Points) Due Thursday Mar. 13

Chapter
Review Questions
Quantitative Exercises
Chapter 4
5
-
Chapter 5
-
2
Chapter 6
6
-
Chapter 7
2
-

Web Exploration Problems:

Do these Problems: W6, W7.- for part d) of W7., post any interesting initial conditions on the webpage if you'd to show others what you have seen.

Written Assignment

Find an article about a new research result in Planetary Science in a recent popular science magazine (Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, Scientific American, Discovery, Omni, etc.). It is probably easiest to find back issues at the library. You can also try magazines like Science and Nature which have short 2-4 page articles, but written at a higher level. You can search for these online with the ADS Search Engine. Under "Filters", click on the "Selected publications" button and put "Natur Sci" in the nearby box. Then put your topic of interest (e.g. Mars) in the "Title Words" box and "2000" in the first YYYY date box. Submit to get a list of recent relevant articles. Read some abstracts to see what looks interesting, and then head to the library with the date, issue number and page number of your favorite article.

Read the article carefully, perhaps a few times so that you fully understand it. Then summarize, in a typed page and in your own words, who the researchers were, where they work, what they discovered, how they did it, why it is important, and how it relates to what we have studied (or will study) in the class. Be sure to highlight anything that your found confusing. Write up a one page summary of the article as if you were describing the article to another student in the class.

Homework #3 (50 Points) Due Thursday Apr. 17

Chapter
Review Questions
Quantitative Exercises
Chapter 8
3
-
Chapter 9
3
-
Chapter 10
5
-
Chapter 11
9
-
Chapter 13
3
-
Chapter 14
9
-

Web Exploration Problems:

Do these Problems: W8, W9

Written Assignment

Follow several of the links that other students posted on the ASTR330 Bulletin Board. Write up 4 or 5 sentences about the link that you like the best (What's there, why its good, etc.).

Homework #4 (50 Points) Due Thursday May 8

Chapter
Review Questions
Quantitative Exercises
Chapter 15
6
-
Chapter 16
7
-
Chapter 18
-
2

Web Exploration Problems:

Do these Problems: W10,W11,W12,W13,W14

Written Assignment

Find another article about a new research result in Planetary Science in a recent popular science magazine (see HW#2). Follow directions carefully so that the grader will give you maximum credit for your work!

Read the article carefully, perhaps a few times so that you fully understand it. Then summarize, in a typed page and in your own words, who the researchers were, where they work, what they discovered, how they did it, why it is important, and how it relates to what we have studied in the class. Be sure to highlight anything that your found confusing. Write up a one page summary of your article as if you were describing the article to another student in the class.

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