Phy 121 Earth, Light, and Sky

Schedule of activities and deadlines - Spring 2012

Link to previous 2011 schedule - reference only

D. Collins (link to Office Hours)
link to Syllabus

Most Monday and Wednesday evenings for Astronomy Observation/Photo Sessions. 7:30 - 9:00 (later after Spring Break). Each student is expected to attend two 2-hour Observation/Photo sessions for 5% of the class grade. At least one regular afternoon class will be canceled to accommodate evening observations. The second afternoon class will be canceled only after everyone completes two 2-hour observation sessions.

Tues	Thurs	Even Friday
1. Jan. 17 Syllabus. Sign up for MOODLE. Assign Planisphere - complete by Thurs. Discuss Celestial Sphere On-line Moodle practice quiz. In-class quiz on Thursday - bring completed planispheres	Jan 19. Reading assignment for Monday. (Ch. 27 to page 632). Practice on-line "quiz Ch. 27a" on the reading. Prepare for in-class quiz on Monday. (Planisphere and Ch. 27) Images of SS (from Kaufman and Comins) Discussion: Celestial sphere Activity: Practice using the planisphere Discuss origin of Solar System - see text	Odd Friday, no class
2. Jan. 24 - Choose topics for 1st project - due Thurs. In class quiz: Planisphere Activity: Scale model of Sun and Earth. discuss Ch 27a and assign 27b pp. 632 to end. plus reading quiz. Solar images - Dunn Solar Telescope See Pluto photo by fall 2008 astro class	Jan. 26 Quiz on Tuesday's class and planisphere again. Re-do the scaled Sun position. We need to be more careful with precision. Several teams measure the distance. Discuss the APA citation requirements for the mini-project. APA Style Tutorial Assignment due Tuesday, Jan 31: Write a paragraph of material from your reading about your mini project and include at least one reference that is not Internet. (Magazine or peer-reviewed article, book, newspaper. Reference may be from an on-line publication, but not a typical website such as Wikipedia, or Google search). Use the library search tools. Set-up scaled Sun-earth outside. Also do scaled Earth-Moon system. Discuss types of planets, comets.	Jan 27. Collins out of town. Go to library and find article(s) - non-google - on your mini-topic. Use the reference librarian on duty if needed. Real Sun and Scaled Sun comparison
Jan 31. Turn-in paragraph and title and at least one reference (APA Style) for first mini-project. Quiz: Ch 27b (restricted to material discussed in class), telescope image of Sun, sunspots, shimmering limb, clock drive, Scale model of Sun-Earth, Properties of planets. On-line Quiz Ch. 27b. These questions will be on the first hour exam. New experiment: Sun Tracking Experiment. Lab report due next Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. Discuss Moon phases. Moon phase applet See Moon Photo from Ally Giles and Maddy Miller.	Feb. 2 Ch 2 on-line quiz - prepare for in-class quiz on Tuesday. Quiz covers both Ch. 2 and today's experiment. Begin .Motion. Video Lab CartNRider I - No Thrust; II - Thrust. Experiment: Cart N Rider video and analysis. See photo for sun tracking results New on-line quiz - Solar Tracking (in-class quiz on Thursday) Assign Ch. 2. Describing Motion See Fire-Extinguisher Thrust on-line	Odd Friday, no class
4. Feb. 7 In-class Quiz - Sun Tracking Lab report due: Sun Tracking. See lab instructions. Analyze video of coasting cart and the fire extinguisher cart Inertia and Acceleration Assign Ch. 3 - Newton's Laws	Feb9 Quiz. Quiz solution How to measure slope of scatter plot - Image of Plot to project Review for exam. ELSReview1_2012.html - final edition. All old quizzes can be seen here. On-line quizzes for review:"quiz Ch. 27a" On-line Quiz Ch. 27b Ch 2 on-line quiz Solar Tracking on-line quiz	Feb. 10. Exam I - Review outline - updated for 2012 Moonrise over Swannanoa Star Trails by Patrick Addabbo Anti-Sunset animation
5. Feb. 14 Lab report due: Video of coasting and thrusting. See handout for format. NOTE: Lab report due date post-poned until Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 Liquid Nitrogen demonstrations - intro to LN2 bottle rocket. Will the rocket be launched if the LN2 has no earth to push against? See PPOW for Jan 27, 2012	Feb. 16 Lab Report due (coasting and thrust) Demo with video: Liquid N2 bottle rocket. Video on YouTube Demo Newton's II law with fan carts 2 ball drop - Video on WWC server	Odd Friday, no class
6. Feb. 21 Free-Fall analysis of 2-ball drop. Report due Tues, Feb. 28. (video on G:\classes\physics\videos\2BallDrop\ Newton III. Can Crush Video Expect an in-class quiz on Thurs on 2Ball Drop and Newton III. Extra Credit: Write a Physics Photo of the Week discussion (to be published for the public) for one of the three recent video experiments: 1.Can Crush Collision and Newton III - photo1, animation, equally crushed cans 2. 2-ball drop - animated photo Why fall at same acceleration? 3. LN2 rocket - no "Earth" to push against - animated photo Write-up for extra credit is due next Thursday, March 2.	Feb. 23. Begin Electricity. Electrostatics. Ch. 7 to page 125. PhET Simulation - balloon and sweater Van de Graaf Generator PhET: John Travoltage Electric Hockey Electric Field of Dreams .Moodle quiz. - Electricity I Ch. 7. Electricity. - Coulomb's Law Newton's IIIrd Law	Feb. 24. First mini-project due. No quiz. Lab Experiment: "Cranking I" - electric lamps This is the first of two electricity experiments. Both electricity experiments will be due at the same time (March 6)
7. Feb. 28 In-class quiz Report due: Free fall analysis In-class quiz on electrostatic electricity and simple circuits from Cranking I. Moodle quiz. - Electricity I On-line quiz: "Electricity II" Lab Voltage, Current, and Resistance. . Electric current and voltage; Discuss Ohm's Law, Series/parallel circuits, schematic diagrams	Mar. 1 Finish Lab: Voltage, Current, Resistance. Lab report on Electricity I and II (as one report) du Tuesday, March 6.	Odd Friday, no class
8. Mar. 6 Finish Electricity II - currents in series Report due Thursday, Mar.8. (Electricity I and II) Begin Experimental mini-project. Revised topics list. Experimental results due on ... Magnetism demos.	Mar. 8. Discuss Electric Power and Energy, Appliances, Kilowatt hours. Moodle quiz: Electric Power and Energy. Appliances, calculation of electricity use. Spread sheet. Review for exam. Conferences on projects - supplies gathering.	Mar. 9. Exam II - In class quizzes posted for review. Updated review - on line Demonstrate mixing color and light
Spring break	Spring Break	Spring Break
9. Mar. 20 Light and Color. Experiments Mixing colored lights, primary additive colors, primary subtractive colors, spectra. Report due Tues, Mar. 27 Projects MOODLE Quiz: "Light and Color" Should do before Thursday, Mar. 22 Text read pp. 153-156	Mar. 22 Daylight spectrum (solar) and H spectrum See photo and discussion	Odd Friday, no class
10. Mar. 27. Light/Color Lab Report due Lenses and Simple telescope - Experiment PhET Lens Applet	Mar.29 No quiz. Finish Lenses and Simple Telescope. Measure magnification by eyeball estimation, digital camera, and calculation as ratio of focal lengths. Demo on how telescope works.	Mar.30 Quiz on telescope and lenses. Finish discussions of focal length and telephoto lenses. Begin Earth Science/Geology Read Ch. 22. p-waves, s-waves - Wikipedia P-wave, s-wave animations More animations - including Rayleigh and Love waves Slideshow: "Layered and Twisted rock strata" Slideshow: "Plate Tectonics - Ch. 22"
11. M95 Galaxy Apr. 3. Simple Telescope lab report due. Start density experiment. Moodle Quiz: "Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics" no closing date	Horsehead Nebula Archimedes principle and density Animations - plate tectonics	Odd Friday, no class
12. Apr. 10 Density lab report due. It requires comparing the average density of the Earth with the density of the rocks and a discussion. Density of Earth Slideshow: "Layered and Twisted rock strata" Slideshow: "Plate Tectonics - Ch. 22" Slide show - Earth history (ch 26 a) Slide show - Grand Canyon and relation to Earth History	April 12. Review for Exam. Slide show -Sediments, Synclines, Anticlines Grand Teton Orogeny - Barringer Crater, Arizona - Rocky Mountain Morphology Tutorial on mountain forming Note: these new topics will be tested on both Exam III and Exam IV.	April 13. Mini project data due - photographs, drafts/sketch of creative project, some measurements. Exam III Review on-line (link updated for 2012) In-class quizzes posted here. Moodle Quizzes: MOODLE Quiz: "Light and Color" Moodle Quiz - "Simple Telescope" Moodle Quiz: "Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics"
13. Apr. 17 Begin Meteorology - climate, seasons Text pp. 579-582 Lab Activity: Relative Humidity Report due Tues, April 24. Text pp. 594-595. Water capacity for air vs temp. Extra credit: Measure relative humidity on another day (early morning fog, during rain, ...) and turn-in with lab report.	April 19. Research report draft due - Draft optional since many data submissions showed drafts. Barometric Pressure - static Convection Global convection - slide show Coriolis?	Odd Friday, no class
14. April 24. Rel. Humidity lab report due. Coriolis demo and movie making. Global air circulation, cyclones, anticyclones, fronts Class demo and video make: Coriolis Video Results.	April 26 Quiz Finish global air circ. Notes about BRP field trip for Friday	Apr 27.2:30 - 5 BRP field trip. Barometric press vs. altitude, Geol. formations, Natural History Lab report due on Thursday, May 3. Monday, April 30 - attend NSS 4:00 - 5:30 for extra credit. Write a summary on one of the presentations. Part of Capstone Carnival.
15. May 1. Experimental Mini Project Report due. Share projects with 3-minute presentations Polar-temperate interface for weather cyclones, anti-cyclones Weather patterns El Nino - La Nina Time lapse of cyclones Cloud types Storms Lightning, April 30, 2012	May 3. Elevation and Baro Pressure due Cyclones, cold fronts, warm fronts Cyclone time-lapse - PPOW April 17, 2009 Cold Front from satellite - PPOW Jan 29, 2010 Cumulus Clouds, Fair weather cumulus - PPOW - 2007 - May 4 convection --> thunderstorm - PPOW for 2007- Sept. 14 Inversion - prevents convection - PPOW for 2005 - Feb. 18. Lenticular clouds - PPOW James Halal Cloud time-lapse	Odd Friday, no class
16. May 8 Review. On-line review. Updated for 2012 Lecture demos Evaluations Past quizzes for review (Quiz 20-22 updated for 2012) Exam IV. (30 minutes)	May 10. No class to accommodate the photo sessions and extra time for BRP trip.	May 11. No Classes at WWC

Geology Slide Show Flat and Folded Strata
Grand Teton Orogeny

Meteor Crater Slide Show

Place keeper

Interference of laser light Applets on wave interference http://www.phy.ntnu.edu.tw/java/doubleSlit/doubleSlit.html http://www.falstad.com/mathphysics.html	Orig Mar. 8. Read Ch. 8 to p.153; pp. 156-160. Finish Light and Color. Voltage, Current, Resistance lab accepted on-time, but late papers will not be accepted after March 22.
Begin waves. Ch 8 to p. 147. MOODLE quiz "Sound and Waves" Simulation of String Wave (PhET) Applet on Longitudinal and transverse waves (Russell). Orion Nebula photo on March 1, 2011	Resonance - Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse Light - Read Ch. 8 pp. 153-160 Color. Refraction. Begin experiment: Light and Color MOODLE Quiz: "Light and Color" - should finish by Friday, Mar. 9.
Review Light and Color; Uses of spectroscopy. Lab report on Light and Color due Tues, Mar.27, 2012. See pp. 175-181 for discussion of spectra and "Quantum jumps".	Discuss quantum jumps Solar Spectra Image Lenses and Simple telescope Moodle Quiz - "Simple Telescope"
Slide Show: Ch. 22 b; Slide Show: Synclines - Photos and Theory	Mar.30 Moodle quiz: Plate Tectonics (closes April 17 (after Exam III) Begin lab: Density
April 26. Quiz. Practice quiz for April 21, 26. Lab Activity - Baro Pressure and Elevation. (report due Monday, May 10, 2011