Catalog Course Search Details

 Department:    ASTR&

 Course #:    100

 Credits:    5

 Variable:     No

 IUs:    5

 CIP:    400703

 EPC:    n/a

 REV:    2019

 Course Description  

Astronomy for non-scientists with topics including birth and death of stars, workings of the solar system, Big Bang, quasars, pulsars, black holes, and the search for extraterrestrial life.

 Prerequisite  

Prerequisite: Appropriate placement or grade of 2.0 or higher in ENGL 099 and MATH 98.

Contact Hours (based on 11 week quarter)

Lecture: 55

Lab: 0

Other: 0

Systems: 0

Clinical: 0

Intent: Distribution Requirement(s) Status:  

Academic Natural Sciences  

Equivalencies At Other Institutions

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

1. Recognize the historic and cultural significance of astronomy, navigation, and celestial events in a variety of cultures and times.
2. Identify bright stars, planets, and constellations and know how their positions vary as a function of hour, season, and location.
3. Know the similarities and differences among the Earth, its Moon, and the other planets and moons in the Solar System.
4. Know the basic models of the evolution of stars, galaxies, and the universe, and recognize the limitations of these models.
5. Understand some basic ideas on the scientific explanation of the origin and evolution of the universe, and how we can scientifically test these theories.
6. Identifies the ways in which cultural expectations, assumptions and beliefs define who we are, how others see us, and influence how others and we perform science.

General Education Learning Values & Outcomes

Revised August 2008 and affects outlines for 2008 year 1 and later.

Course Contents

1. Introduction, History/Cultural Impacts
2. Calendars, Celestial Motions
3. Solar System-from Ptolmy through Copernicus to Kepler's & Newton's Laws
4. Terrestrial Planets and the Moon
5. Jovain Planets, Meteors, Comets
6. Stars adn Stellar Evolution
7. Exotics-dwarfs, pulsars, neutron stars, black holes
8. Galaxies, Quasars, Hubble's Law
9. Cosmology-Big Bang Theory
10. Extras: SETI, relativity, archaeoastronomy