Astronomy 16: Modern Astrophysics
Archive of Assignments
Week 11
Read all of Ch. 6 of Nutshell.
The eleventh homework assignment is now available [pdf | Word]. It is due in class.
Week 10
Read all of Ch. 5 of Nutshell.
The tenth homework assignment is now available [pdf | Word]. It is due by 5PM on Tuesday, November 10.
Week 9
Read the end of Ch. 4 of Nutshell, starting where we left off last time, at p. 85.
The ninth homework assignment is now available [pdf | Word]. It is due by 5PM on Tuesday, November 3.
Week 8
Read the beginning of Ch. 4 of Nutshell, up through the middle of p. 85.
The eighth homework assignment is now available [pdf | Word]. It is due by 5PM on Tuesday, October 27.
Week 7
Prepare for our makeup class by reading over Ch. 3, and preparing questions. Our next class will serve also as a review for the midterm.
Week 6
Finish reading Ch. 3 in Nutshell.
The sixth homework assignment is now available [pdf | Word]. It is due by 5PM on Tuesday, October 6.
Week 5
Read Ch. 3 of Nutshell, up through p. 48.
The fifth homework assignment is now available [pdf | Word]. It is due by 5PM on Tuesday, September 29.
Week 4
We'll read just the beginning of Ch. 3 of Nutshell, from p. 31 to p. 41, up through the end of sec 3.3. Also, read as much of Ch. 5 in Ryden and Peterson as you can. If you only can read a few pages, please concentrate on section 5.4 (pp. 127-130) and section 5.6 (pp. 133-137). Skimming the rest of the chapter, at least, would be useful, too.
The fourth homework assignment is now available [pdf | Word]. It is due by 5PM on Monday, September 21.
Week 3
We're still finishing up the material in Ch. 2 of Nutshell, but there are a few missing ingredients: radiation transfer and the concept of optical depth (closely related to mean free path); and local thermodynamic equilibrium considerations including the Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution for an ensemble of particles at a certain temperature, the Boltzmann distribution of excited electrons in the energy level structure of an atom, and the Saha equation describing the ionization state equilibrium. To prepare for our discussion of these topics on Wednesday, please read as much of Ch. 5 in Ryden and Peterson as you can. If you only can read a few pages, please concentrate on section 5.4 (pp. 127-130) and section 5.6 (pp. 133-137). Skimming the rest of the chapter, at least, would be useful, too.
The third homework assignment is available [pdf | Word]. It is due by 5PM on Monday, September 14.
Week 2
Please re-read Astrophysics in a Nutshell chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2. Then read on to the end of chapter 2.
The second homework assignment is available [pdf | Word]. It is due in class on Wednesday. Note: This assignment is very short, and designed to get you ready to participate in our concluding discussion about angles. Please get in touch with me ahead of time if you're confused by it. Also, note: on the assignment sheet are some study questions you should be thinking about as you're doing the reading, and you should be ready to discuss them in class. I'd recommend jotting down a few notes for each one and bringing those to class, but you do not have to hand anything in.
Week 1
Please read the preface of Astrophysics in a Nutshell. Then read chapter 1 and the first half of chapter 2 - up through p. 22, sec. 2.2.3: Luminosities and Radii - prior to our first class meeting on September 2.
The first homework assignment is available [pdf | Word]. It is due in class on Wednesday.
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This page is maintained by David Cohen
cohen -at- astro.swarthmore.edu
Last modified: November 19, 2009