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WebCT for homeworks, grades, announcements.
Online Version of Course Syllabus (html).
Here is a new practice exam (doc file) from Spring 2004 that covers questions from chapters 16-19. Answers are here. Note that the final exam covers chapters 15.2-19, and you can find some questions covering chapters 15 on the previous practice exam below.
Here is a new practice exam (doc file) from Spring 2004 . The previous practice exam below includes questions from chapters 10-11. The answer key is here.
Here is an old exam to help you study: old exam in doc format, and solution sheet. Note that there are a number of problems that cover chapters we do not cover on the exam. You should study problems 1-25, 32-36, and 38. (Note that the answer to #28, about the black hole radius, a topic we have not covered yet, should be 9 km, not 3 km.)
I've posted scans of exam1 and the answer key in this directory. Note that for question 3 I accepted either "b" or "d" as an answer (trick question). You should check and make sure you grade on WebCT matches your score. Again, the curve was 12 points.
I've posted scans (and the answer key) from an old exam in this directory. Note that the exam has only 40 questions, whereas we will have 50 (there doesn't seem to be much time pressure even with 50 based on last semester). The exam on Friday Feb. 3 will probably cover just the first two sections of chapter 5.
If you're still looking for a textbook, you might check out www.CowboyBookSwap.com.
A previous student pointed out this webpage that helps illustrate the phases of the moon. This will be useful very soon. Note that if you click on the demos link on top, there are other demos concerning Kepler's Laws, retrograde motion (chapter 4), and other topics in upcoming chapters.
Here is an interesting website to check out. Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy page features good and bad astronomy in movies and TV.
Astronomy Picture of the Day is a great webpage to visit every day.
This is good how to study physics guide. While this is a non-majors astronomy class, the part of the class that many struggle with is the part solving astrophysics-type problems. We won't have a lot of this, but we will have some (none as complex or difficult as the calculus-based examples in the guide, so don't get hung up on them!). Also, students who have not taken college-level science classes sometimes complain that they don't know how to study for this class. This guide has some good suggestions for how to approach such a class. I hope you find it useful.
