Regular, on time
attendance is expected; habitual absences
typically correlate quite strongly with poor
academic outcomes. However, if you have an
occasional need to miss a class, that's fine
and there is no need to inform me ahead of
time unless it is an extended situation
(illness, travel, etc).
Grading Policies:
Homeworks can be discussed collaboratively,
but each person must turn in their own
solutions with unique writeup/analysis.
Collaborative means talking with each other
about approaches, techniques, etc.
Collaborative does not mean sitting
side-by-side working out the answers, or
swapping final solutions to copy!
Homework should be submitted in the form of a
pdf file, uploaded to the course Canvas page.
Assignments are due at 5:00pm on the due date
unless otherwise noted.
Late HW policy: You get one free late homework
(up to one week late), no
questions asked. After that, it's a penalty of
20% per every 24 hrs late, unless you have an
prearranged, excused reason.
Missed test policy: Don't miss tests.
If you are ill or have some other critical
reason for missing a test, you must let me
know in advance ofthe test,
and document the reason through Undergrad
Studies.
Large Scale Structure
The Expanding Universe and Cosmological
Parameters
RP:
22.3, 23.1-23.3
Apr 7
R(t): the Expansion History under Differing
Cosmologies
Ages and LookBack Times
The Microwave Background
RP
23.1
Apr 9
Midterm Exam #2 (in
class)
(covering material from Feb 22: Spiral
Galaxies I through Apr 5: Large
Scale Structure, and concepts in HW #3
and HW #4) Practice Midterm Equations
and Constants
Bring
a scientific calculator to the test!
Apr 14
Smoothness,
Flatness, and Inflation
The "Cosmological Crisis" of the Early 1990s
CMB and Supernova Cosmology
The Modern Cosmological Model
Apr 16
Description
of HW #5
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
Apr 21
The
Evolution of Early Density Fluctuations
Flavors of Dark Matter
Structure Formation
Hierarchical Galaxy Formation
Apr 23
Galaxy Formation Simulations
Observing High Redshift Galaxies
JWST and the Early Universe
After taking this course,
students should be able to:
Describe the structure and
kinematics of the Milky Way galaxy.
Understand techniques for
determining distances both within our Galaxy and
to other galaxies.
Characterize the properties of
galaxies of different morphological type.
Describe how galaxies cluster in
the universe.
Understand the kinematic scaling
relationships for galaxies of different types.
Explain how galaxy interactions
drive evolution in galaxies and clusters.
Describe the various cosmological
parameters and their effect on the expansion
history of the Universe.
Derive quantitative relationships
for the expansion history of the universe.
Describe qualitatively the
evolution of the hot big bang model.
Describe the growth of structure
and the evolution of galaxies as a function of
cosmic time.
Describe current galaxy formation
models.
Retrieve and use online datasets
to study our Galaxy and other galaxies.
Write quantitative computational
tools to analyse astronomical datasets.
Accessibility Statement
In
accordance with federal law, if you have a
documented disability, you may be eligible to
request accommodations from Disability Resources.In order
to be considered for accommodations, you must
first register with the Disability Resources
office.Please
contact their office to register at 216.368.5230 or
get more
information on how to begin the process.Please
keep in mind that accommodations are not
retroactive.
Academic
Integrity Statement
Students
at Case Western Reserve University are expected to
uphold the highest ethical standards of academic
conduct. Academic integrity addresses all forms of
academic dishonesty, including cheating,
plagiarism, misrepresentation, obstruction, and
submitting without permission work to one course
that was completed for another course.
Please review the complete academic
integrity policy. Any violation of the
policy will be reported to the Dean of
Undergraduate Studies and the Office of Student
Conduct & Community Standards.
