INST 2403 The Expanding Universe

Dr. Uwe Trittmann Office: Science 106 Phone: Secretary: Colleen Kasson ( ), Science 308 Office Hours: MW 1-2pm or by appointment.

Course Materials Textbooks: –Astronomy: A Beginner’s Guide to the Universe, 7th Edition, by Chaisson and McMillan (Addison-Wesley 2012) –Lecture Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy, 2nd ed., by Edward E. Prather, Tim P. Slater, Jeff Adams, and Gina Brissenden (Benjamin Cummings, 2007) –Need to buy WebAssign access, too!WebAssign Course Web Page: Observatory schedule, lecture notes, study guides, the syllabus, notices, online resources, …

Assignments and Grading Homework (20%) Skylab (13%) Rooftop Visit + Essay (2%) Group discussions & Activities (8%) Constellation Quiz (7%) Three In-Class tests (each 10%) Final exam (20%) [comprehensive!]

Homework We will use WebAssign, an online homework system Procedure different than described in syllabus You need/have already a WebAssign access card

Skylab Equivalent of a term paper, but more experimental 5 different experiments, or one simulated experiment You can work in groups of up to 4 on the Skylab Start early - weather is always a factor Ask questions! Due May 6, first draft February 22 (strict deadlines!)

A Glance at this Class The whole universe in 14 weeks!  Expect to work at least as hard for this course as for your major classes The focus is on concepts, not facts; on the methods and tools of science: –How do we know? –How can we measure it? –How can we predict it?

Science and Quantitative Reasoning Without quantitative reasoning there is no progress in science (Galileo) However, (quantitative) reasoning is also very useful in everyday life –Interest rate, gas mileage, buying a used car, that guy from Nigeria…

Making Sense of Numbers Need to know how to read graphs, functions Want to compare to relevant scale  choose convenient units Underlying concepts have to be clear –There is evidence that the disconnect between scientists and the public starts at simple concepts, like area, volume, ratios and graphs –We’ll start there and we’ll move up to the stars!

Example: Relevant Scales The mass of the Earth is 6 x kg This number can be used in equations easily Nobody has a sense of how heavy that is Need to compare to relevant scales –Mass of Sun: 2 x kg  Sun’ mass = 300,000 Earth masses –Mass of Jupiter: 2.4 x kg  300 Earth mass = 1 Jupiter mass –Mass of Venus: 4.7 x kg  1 Venus mass =1 Earth mass Relevant Scale: 1 EM = 1 Earth mass

Example II The radius of the Earth is 6 x 10 6 m Convert to miles (1mile = 1600m): 3800 miles That is something we can fathom But: use it to get insight!

Insight from Numbers We know ANY volume SCALES like the radius to the third power Volume of Earth: 6 3 x (10 6 ) 3 m 3 = 216 x10 18 m 3 = 1 EV Sun (radius 7 x10 8 m): 1.5 million Earth Volumes But: only 300,000 times the Earth mass! Conclusion: the Sun is made from material that is 5 times lighter than the stuff the Earth is made of!

Getting a sense of how things are working by using (quantitative) analysis Analyzing things meaning breaking down complicated stuff we cannot understand into smaller and smaller pieces, until we can solve the little problems, then piece them together again.

Asking questions to ask questions Scientists often come off as pretending to know everything (Sheldon) In fact, they have a healthy self-confidence that they can at least say something about everything Why? They simplify things enough to make a rough estimate, then compare to reality –Correct? Hah! I was right! –Not correct? How interesting! We can explore more!

Example: How many people live in Australia? No idea. Say something: –Can get size of this continent –Know size & inhabitants of USA –Proportionality tells us there should be XX million Australians Conclusion: there are much fewer! Next Question: Why?