Examples of topics include the sky and celestial motions, Jupiter's moons, rocketry, colonization, and extra-solar planets. Naked-eye and telescope observations will also be made. Discovery through observation, hypothesis, and quantitative analysis are emphasized. The course is built around laboratory exercises which emphasize acquisition of quantitative data, searching for patterns and order in those data, developing hypotheses or models to account for the patterns, and then the critical evaluation of these ideas with an understanding of uncertainty.
Students work in pairs and collaborative learning is stressed.
The laboratory titles are listed below, and are designed to complement the content and sequence of Astronomy 104 . As an example, the Moons of Jupiter lab begins with the students comparing results of a pre-lab exercise introducing Kepler's Third Law. Ultimately each pair produces a measurement of the mass of Jupiter, providing the basis for a closing discussion on precision, accuracy, and measurement uncertainty. Previous Astron 100 or Astron 104 or consent of instructor acceptable for entry into course. Not open to students who have taken Astron 110 .