Undergraduate Course: Astrophysics (PHYS10102)
Course Outline
| School | School of Physics and Astronomy |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Undergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This 20pt, Level 10 course is a core course for all Astrophysics students in S1 of Senior Honours. It is designed to be accessible to students in all other degree programmes within the School of Physics & Astronomy. With content similar to the previous Astrophysics 3 course, and working from the premise of no prior astrophysics experience/knowledge, students are introduced to the key concepts of observational astronomy, the basic properties of stars and their evolution, the interactions of stars with their galactic surroundings and the resulting ionized interstellar medium. The second half of the course considers the properties of galaxies, starting with our own Milky Way, then external galaxies, active galactic nuclei, dynamics of star clusters, the galaxy luminosity function, and galactic clustering.
The course is self-contained, but is also intended to link naturally with the 10pt, level 10 course in Cosmology which follows in semester 2. Taken together, these two courses should provide students with a solid, balanced, physics-based understanding of the structure of our Universe, and our place within space and time.
|
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2014/15 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
|
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
15/09/2014 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 40,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Summative Assessment Hours 3,
Revision Session Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
131 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
100 %,
Coursework
0 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Astrophysics | 3:00 | |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
*Apply knowledge of core concepts in physics to astrophysical properties of stars and galaxies;
*Formulate solutions to problems in astrophysics involving new concepts with limited guidance;
*Demonstrate knowledge of the frontiers of the discipline, for example, through cases where current theories fail to explain a set of observational data;
*Locate and make use of detailed information on current topics in astrophysics in the primary research literature;
*Summarise current thinking in astrophysics in a variety of written and oral forms, both alone and in collaboration with others. |
Assessment Information
| 100% exam |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Ast |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ken Rice
Tel: (0131) 668 8384
Email: wkmr@roe.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Paula Wilkie
Tel: (0131) 668 8403
Email: Paula.Wilkie@ed.ac.uk |
|
© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 29 August 2014 4:37 am
|
University Homepage