Prof. James Schombert
Office: 461 Willamette, 6-5214
Office Hours: 9-10am MWF
email: js@abyss.uoregon.edu

Course Content:

Our star, the Sun, is directly or indirectly the source of all the energy necessary to sustain life on our world. This course will study the birth, evolution and death of stars in the Milky Way galaxy, with a particular emphasis on the underlying science behind stellar and galactic evolution, the observational aspect to astronomy and our knowledge of how the Universe operates on the stellar scale. This course is the second in a sophomore/junior level series of astronomy courses (AST221,222,223) for the General Science program. The topics are parallel to our AST1XX series of class, but with greater depth and mathematical treatment. This classes are intended for science majors interested in astronomy or non-science majors with sufficient math backgrounds.

Course Organization:

Most lectures in this course will be delivered electronically. The lecture pages will be on the Web in HTML (hypertext mark-up language) format so that they are accessible from any computer, either at home or on campus. All students are required to obtain computer accounts on gladstone (or any Internet server of your choice) since all the course material is in Web format. class is encouraged to use the Xterminal Lab in Willamette 112 to review the course notes. The address for this course is abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast222.

In addition, we will spend a significant amount of time working out mathematical exercises in class. If you miss class, please make sure you get the notes of the blackboard examples from a classmate since they will not be posted at the website.

Grading:

Grading will consist of the following:

• Two exams (Midterm and Final) worth 1/2 of your grade
• Eight problem sets worth the other 1/2 of your grade

The problem sets (and their due dates) are at this web site. The problem sets are a vital part of the learning processes for this class. The assignments must be handed in on time and showing all your work in a neat and concise fashion. The problem sets will be graded and returned the next class (Thursday). I strongly encourage you to work in groups on the problem sets (although you won't); however, the work you hand in should be your own analysis and writing. Note that the two exams are in class (the final is on the last day of classes). These exams are essay exams, eight questions each.

Textbook:

The textbook for this class is Zeilik and Gregory, Intro Astro and Astrophysics. The reading assignments are a follows:

Academic Honesty:

A recent survey of UOregon upperclassmen has indicated that 91% admit to cheating on a written assignment or exam. Every effort will be made in this class to deter dishonesty through classroom procedures. You are all welcome to work in groups on Homework assignments, however exams must be based on individual work only (i.e. don't look at someone else's exam). It is degrading to impose draconian security measures to enforce honesty. Instead, we will use the honor system in this course and allow each of you to uphold your personal standards of conduct. For those of you who have failed to develop your own ethics, the University has designed the Student Conduct Program.

Accommodations:

If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please see me as soon as possible. And please request that the Counselor for Students with Disabilities (H. Gerdes, hgerdes@oregon) send a letter verifying your disability.