Instructor:

Dmitri Pogosian
Phone: 780-492-2150
Office: CEB 254B
Office Hours: Tuesday 2pm - 4pm
(or email me to set up an appointment at another time)
email: pogosyan at phys.ualberta.ca

Course Website:

Lecture material and announcements will be posted on the course homepage:
http://www.phys.ualberta.ca/~pogosyan/teaching/ASTRO_122

Course Objective:

This course will provide an overview of the current understanding of stars, galaxies and cosmology. The emphasis will be on understanding the physical processes underlying astronomical phenomena.

Prerequisites:

High School Physics (Physics 30) and Math (Pure Math 30)

Text:

You have a choice of three options:

• "Universe: Stars and Galaxies" by Roger A. Freedman & William J. Kaufmann. 3rd Edition with WebAssign
• "Universe", by Roger A. Freedman & William J. Kaufmann, 8th Edition. with WebAssign
• "Universe", eBook , by Roger A. Freedman & William J. Kaufmann, 8th Edition. WebAssign must be purchased additionaly at http://www.webassign.net

Marking Scheme:

Homework (Approx. every week):	30%
Midterm Test (Fri Feb 12th, for alternative arrangements please send me an e-mail):	25%
Final Exam (date to be determined):	45%

Grades:

A grade out of 100 will be calculated using the grade breakdown given above. In past years a letter grade has been assigned using the conversion between percentage and letter grade given below for rought guidance. The percentage ranges are subject to adjustment at the end of the course to fit the curve.

Description	Letter Grade	Grade Point Value	Percentage Range (rough guide only)
Excellent	A+	4.0	[95-100]
	A	4.0	[90-95)
	A-	3.7	[85-90)
Good	B+	3.3	[78-85)
	B	3.0	[74-78)
	B-	2.7	[70-74)
Satisfactory	C+	2.3	[67-70)
	C	2.0	[64-67)
	C-	1.7	[60-64)
Poor	D+	1.3	[55-60)
Minimal Pass	D	1.0	[50-55)
Failure	F	0.0	[0-50)

Homework:

• Homework will be done (predominantly, but perhaps not exclusively) with WebAssign at http://www.webassign.net.
  You must ensure that you have purchased WebAssign access (either with the textbook or separately) and create an account on WebAssign by January 13th ! To do that
  • Refer to the help page and in particular The Quick Start Guide.
  • We shall use "self-enrollment" method, where you create your account by yourself. The class key you should use is
    ualberta 2534 6780
    
  • Please use your University login name for WebAssign account if at all possible.
  • Let me know by e-mail immediately if you have any issues with registration.
  • WebAssign has a grace period until Jan 20th during which you can use it for free. So do not hesitate to register even if you are not certain you will stay in this class
• Homework problems will be assigned approximately once a week. I expect around 10 assignments.
• Late assignments will not be accepted.
• Homework solutions will be posted on the web or WebAssign.
• While it is expected that students will discuss the homework with each other, it should be remembered that outright copying is plagiarism (an offense which could lead to expulsion from the university).

Tests:

• Exact rules will be posted here before the tests.
• A formula sheet will be provided on the midterm and final exams.

UofA Observing facilities:

Although this course will not have a direct observing component this year the students are encouraged to make use of the campus observatory, temprarily located on the roof of FAB building. The observatory is open every Thursday evening, follow the link for details of the programs and times.

Topics Covered