• 36%: Three one-hour exams (12% each)
• 25%: Homework
• 12%: Research report/mini-project
• 20%: Final exam
• 7%: Attendance and class participation
• 100%: Total

NOTE: In the list of homework assignments below, "textbook" refers to the assigned course text (An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics by Carroll and Ostlie).

Assignment for Wednesday, Dec. 3 (HW #10): (Assigned on Wednesday, Nov. 26).

• Final reading assignment: Handouts of excerpts of Einstein's papers on special relativity (E=mc^2) and general relativity (the curvature of light due to mass, the cosmological constant), for discussion in class next week.

Assignment Due Monday, Nov. 24 (HW #9): (Assigned on Wednesday, Nov. 12).

• Complete the following problems from Chapter 10 in the text: 10.1, 10.3, 10.11, 10.12, 10.13, and 10.14.
• Start reading Chapter 11 (The Sun) in the textbook.

Assignment Due Wednesday, Nov. 5 (HW #8): (Assigned on Wednesday, Oct. 29).

• Complete the following problems from Chapter 9 in the text: 9.6, 9.7, 9.11, and 9.26.
• Start reading Chapter 10 (Stellar Interiors) in the textbook.

Assignment Due Monday, Nov. 3 (HW #7): (Assigned on Wednesday, Oct. 29).

• Submit a title and 1-page abstract/summary of the results of your summer research project that will presented orally in class. Refer to the handout for HW #7 passed out in class.

Assignment Due Monday, Oct. 27 (HW #6): (Assigned on Monday, Oct. 20).

• Complete the following problems from Chapter 8 in the text: 8.1, 8.2, 8.5, and 8.13
• Start reading Chapter 9 (Stellar Atmospheres) in the textbook.

Assignment Due Monday, Oct. 20 (HW#5 --> Take-Home Test #2): (Assigned on Monday, Oct. 13).

• Complete the CLEA "Spectral Classification of Stars" computer lab handed out in class.

Assignment Due Monday, Sept. 29 (HW #4): (Assigned on Wednesday, Sept. 24).

• Complete the following problems from Chapter 7 in the text: 7.2, 7.4, 7.6, and 7.8.
• Start reading Chapter 8 (Classification of Stellar Spectra) in the textbook.

Assignment Due Monday, Sept. 22 (HW #3): (Assigned on Monday, Sept. 15).

• Show that the "coefficient" in Kepler's 3rd law derived from Newton's laws is approximately equal to 1 when the orbital period is measured in years, the orbital semi-major axis in AU, and m1 = m(solar) >> m2.
• Complete the following problems from Chapter 3 in the text: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.8, and 3.9.
• Continue reading Chapt. 3 and start reading Chapt. 7 (Binary Stars) in the text.

Assignment Due Monday, Sept. 15 (HW #2): (Assigned on Wednesday, Sept. 3).

• Complete the following problems from Chapter 2 in the textbook: 2.3, 2.7, 2.10, and 2.11.
• Continue reading Chapters 1 and 2 and start reading Chapter 3 (the Continuous Spectrum of Light) in the text.

Assignment Due Wednesday, Sept. 3 (HW #1): (Assigned as a handout on Wednesday, Aug. 27).

• Purchase a textbook and start reading Chapters 1 and 2 (the Celestial Sphere, and Celestial Mechanics).
• Review all informational handouts passed out in class.
• Complete the two "mini-labs" handed out on the first day of class, on the "H-R Diagram" and "Stellar Evolution."
• Complete the two problems on the homework assignement sheet (see the HW #1 pdf file).

gstacy@phys.subr.edu