AST 302 Daily Log
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Thursday, April 27:
Announcements:
· Projects next Tuesday
Review
Thursday, April 20:
Announcements:
· Lab (substitute): Fate of the Universe tutorial
Ch. 24
Tuesday, April 18:
Announcements:
· Solar Lab Due
· Using physics for a cool car crash
· A letter to the Pope about evolution
· A pretty critical review of Wilbur's book with a couple links responding to his criticism of evolution (scroll down a bit) [I'm not sure about the source, but I'm with him on the criticism]
Ch. 23
Sunday, April 9:
I just got a book by the Dalai Lama XIV: The Universe in a Single Atom : The Convergence of Science and Spirituality. Good reviews on Amazon, but I'm skeptical.
Saturday, April 8:
What we saw at our observation Saturn and Titan.
Science and Spirituality in a video
Gravitational lensing live video input?
Friday, April 7:
An interesting article concerning the confluence of religion and scientists.
Also, Ken Miller, a Catholic scientist, on evolution on the
Colbert Report.
Thursday, April 6:
It looks clear, see you at 8pm.
Thursday, April 6:
Announcements:
Ch. 22 & 23
I posted html and pdf versions of the Solar spreadsheet below (4/4).
Wednesday, April 5:
Announcements: Since it is SNOWING in April, the observation is postponed
Tuesday, April 4:
Announcements:
· Observations this week (W & Th 8pm) if weather holds up (meet downstairs)
· Second Part of Projects Due
Ch. 22
Lab 2 Solar Altitude data: Spreadsheet
and in html and pdf formats as well
- Compute the number of days from the beginning of the data set
- Compute the altitude of the Sun based on the height of the water bottle and its shadow's length (show a sample calculation)
- Plot Altitude versus number of days
- Does your data support a change in the altitude? How?
- Is this the change you expected?
- Did anything special happen at the equinox? Was this expected?
- What possible errors come into play? For example, if we took the measurements at
2pm some days and 2:05pm other days, how would this affect your results?
Did measurements on the same day differ? Why?
- Given these possible sources of error, and given the unavoidable uncertainties in
our measurements, can confidently conclude anything?
Thursday, March 30:
Announcements:
· Observation next week
· Syllabus was messed up but is now fixed
Review Ch. 21
Tuesday, March 27:
Announcements:
· Return Tests
· Hubble's Law Lab
Ch. 21
Thursday, March 16:
Announcements:
· Test (Chs. 17-20) next Thursday
· HW2: Black Hole tutorial
Ch. 20
Tuesday, March 14:
Announcements:
· What is the Universe expanding into?
Index of refraction lab
Ch. 19
Thursday, March 9:
Announcements:
· Test in two weeks
Movie: Einstein's Big Idea
Interesting article on the role of water in extraterrestial life
Tuesday, March 7:
Announcements:
· H-R tutorial due
· Extra Credit presentations to be presented April 18.
Ch. 18
Discuss Crab lab and standard deviation
Thursday, March 2:
Announcements:
· Class cancelled because of snow.
· Interesting
article on scaling in biology from a few years ago
· How to tell if
something is crackpot
· Some new books added to the extra credit list
Thursday, February 23:
Announcements:
· Hand back tests
· Hw1: HR Tutorial (due in a week and a half)
· Lab due next Tuesday
· Project Descriptions due Tuesday
· Extra Credit notices due Tuesday
Ch. 17
Tuesday, February 14:
Announcements:
· Test Thursday
· Article about going to the moon
Review
Thursday, February 9:
Announcements:
· Handout (PDF)
· Test next week
Ch. S4--Building Blocks
Go over Lab 3--Ohm's Law
Tuesday, February 7:
Announcements:
· Handout (PDF)
Ch. S3--General Relativity
Lab 3 -- Ohm's Law are due
Lab 4 -- Making an H-R diagram
Thursday, February 2:
Announcements:
· Handout (PDF)
Ch. S3--General Relativity
Lab 2 -- First measurement
Lab 3 -- Ohm's Law ...went over graphs Lab3.xls
Tuesday, January 31:
Announcements:
· Handout (PDF)
· Read S3 for Thursday
Read over aspects of the purported moon hoax
Ch. S2--Special Relativity
Lab 2 -- Postponed due to weather
Lab 3 -- Ohm's Law
Thursday, January 26:
Announcements:
· Handout (PDF)
Ch. S2--Special Relativity
Tuesday, January 24:
Announcements:
· Pass out syllabus
· Read Ch. S2 for Thurs
· Handout (PDF)
What we did learn
What we will learn
First lab....Lab1.doc or Lab1.pdf
Friday, January 6:
Announcements:
· Setting up the class web page.
Things won't be finalized for a while yet so check back.
Back up to class webpage.
Steve Liebling (home)