1 / 35

Astrobiology: A Planetary Prospective PTYS 214

Astrobiology: A Planetary Prospective PTYS 214. Space Sciences 308 Tuesday-Thursday 11:00 - 12:15 a.m. Teaching Team. Instructor: Dr. Elisabetta (Betty) Pierazzo Office: Space Sciences 423A Phone: 626-8596 before class (otherwise 547-3951) Email: betty@psi.edu

keefe-bray
Download Presentation

Astrobiology: A Planetary Prospective PTYS 214

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Astrobiology: A Planetary Prospective PTYS 214 Space Sciences 308 Tuesday-Thursday 11:00 - 12:15 a.m.

  2. Teaching Team Instructor:Dr. Elisabetta (Betty) Pierazzo Office:Space Sciences 423A Phone: 626-8596 before class (otherwise 547-3951) Email: betty@psi.edu Office Hours:T 9:30-10:30a; Th 12:30-1:30p or by appointment TAs: Lissa Ong & Devin Schrader Office: Space Science 330 (Lab Room) Phone: 621-1479 Email: long@lpl.arizona.edu schrader@lpl.arizona.edu Off. hrs:Mon 3:30-4:30p Wed 2:00-3:00p or by appointment

  3. Class Web Site • www.lpl.arizona.edu/undergrad/classes/spring2011/Pierazzo_214 • Check for: • Announcements • Syllabus and Schedule • Teaching team contact information • Lecture notes • Homework assignments • Review sheets for exams • Other information

  4. PTYS 214-2 on D2L • You will find PTYS 214-2 listed on D2L • Mainly it provides the link to the main web page listed before • I’ll load grades on the D2L page for your convenience

  5. No official textbook – useful websites will be provided for each class • All lecture slides will be posted on the web • You are expected to take notes

  6. Grading • Midterm exams 20% • Final exam: 30% • Quizzes: about 10 20% • Homeworks: 9 to 10 30% • Extra credit: Student presentations up to 10%

  7. Grade Scale Final grades will be determined based on the overall performance of the class Reference grade scale: A: 87.5% B: 75 – 87.5% C: 62.5 - 75% D: 50 – 62.5% E: < 50%

  8. Exams • Midterm: in-class, 1-hour exam Tuesday, Mar. 8 • Final: 2-hour exam • Tuesday,May 10, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm • Exams are multiple choice and short essays • (some essays will have math) • Makeup exams – Instructor must be notified in advance Makeup exams will be all short essays

  9. Make-up Midterms • Make-up exams are available if you are absent for: • A University approved activity • Official religious holidays • 3) Amedical emergency for which you can provide a doctor’s note (email/call instructor as soon as possible) • 4) Jury duty • Other situations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis • No makeup Final!

  10. Homeworks • Homework is due in class on the date listed • Homework is graded on a 10 point scale • 50% off if turned in by the next class (exceptions same as makeup exams) • The lowest score will be dropped from the final grade estimate • Homework can not be e-mailed – hard copies only • Each student is required to write up his or her answers independently - No cut-and-paste!

  11. Quizzes • Generally given towards the end of class • Cover current and previous 1-2 lectures • Graded on a 4 point scale • The lowest score will be dropped from the final grade estimate • You can ask for a make-up quiz if you are absent for: • A University approved activity • Official religious holiday • Medical emergency • Juror duty

  12. Extra Credit: Student Presentation (Increase your grade by up to 10%) • Review and present in front of the class one article about an Astrobiology topic • Acceptable Articles are from scientific journals • Nature, Science, Astrobiology Journal, International Journal of Astrobiology, and Scientific American Journal • All articles MUST be approved by the instructor • Teams of two-three students are allowed • Presentations length: no more than 10 minutes • Deadline for requesting Extra Credit: Thursday, Mar 3 • (must have a date and an article)

  13. Examples of student presentations from previous semesters • The KEPLER mission • Relevance of the iron-sulfur world • The habitability of Titan • Biosignatures in ancient rocks • Biological terraforming of Mars • Distribution of stars most-likely to harbor life • Discovery of methane on an extrasolar planet • Ancient hot springs on Mars DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE! WE MAY RUN OUT OF CLASS TIME AND YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO DO THE EC!

  14. Cheating • You will be given “0 pt” for cheating on assignments (quiz or homework) • Cheating on exams will result in immediate failure in the class • In all cases a letter will be sent to the Dean of Students describing the incident

  15. Classroom Behavior Check out the University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity and podcast: http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu (click on “Academic Integrity” on the left)

  16. Classroom Behavior • No Food or Drink permitted in the classroom. Bottled water is fine • Pagers/cell phones should be off • Late arrival/Early departure are exceptions, not the rule • Disruptive behavior will be reported – loud talking, leaving in the middle of a lecture without prior notice to instructor • Please help keeping Room 308 in good shape!

  17. Class Participation You are strongly encouraged to: • Ask questions during lectures • Participate to class discussions • Be active in class activities What Is Your Reward? Well-posed, insightful, discussion-promoting questions will be worth extra-credit points added to the overall homework grade

  18. Let Us Know About You… • Your Name • Your Email address (UofA preferred) • Your Major • Your Science background (i.e., high school, college algebra, etc.) • Which Astrobiology topics are of interest to you and what would you like to learn in this class Information Sheet back to us at your earliest convenience

  19. What do you expect to learn in this class?

  20. What is Astrobiology? Science that studies the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe - It is a mix of other sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Planetary Science, Climate, Astronomy, Geology Basic Scientific Questions: • How does life begin and evolve? • Does life exist elsewhere in the Universe? • What is the future of life on Earth and beyond?

  21. What is Science? Tool to understand how the natural world works • Search of repeatable patterns that can tell us something about the workings of various phenomena in the Universe • The best way to describe patterns is with equations that provide specific, quantifiable predictions

  22. Science is:The Scientific Method • Observations • Identifying Patterns & formulate Hypothesis • Prediction • Testing Hypothesis (more observations and/or experiments) • Formulate Theory • Basic assumption:Physical events are predictable and quantifiable

  23. Science is NOT: • Capable of finding absolute truths (but you may prove that something is false!) • Required to be unbiased (but it requires the ability to move beyond belief and carry out tests) • Capable of addressing every question • Required to start at a particular point in the scientific method Remember:A THEORY IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE LAST TEST IT DID NOT FAIL Examples of non-sciences? Astrology, Creationism, Belief in UFO’s, Psychic Phenomena, The X Files

  24. 1) How does life begin and evolve? 2) Does life exist elsewhere in the Universe? 3) What is the future of life on Earth and beyond? Science Religion vs. Testability required Testability not required

  25. Why Astrobiology now? • Although multicellular life is unlikely elsewhere in our Solar System, we are learning that microbial life is verytenacious • Although we always new the universe was full of stars, we have only veryrecently discovered it is full of planets • We are finally gaining the technological capability to scientifically study the extremes of life, and Solar System and extrasolarplanets After thousands of years of speculation, YOURS is the generation with the capability to detect extraterrestrial life!

  26. Challenges of Astrobiology Humans cannot make life out of the abiotic materials (so far) Only one example of biosphere (so far) – Earth But we have not ruled out Mars yet! Humankind is not good at space travel

  27. Course Outline • Introduction: What is Life? • Follow the Carbon • Follow the Energy • Follow the (liquid) Water • Life on Earth • Life on Mars • Life on outer Solar System Moons • Life beyond the Solar System

  28. Math in PTYS-214 • PTYS-214 is not a Math class, but… • … Math is the language of Science, we cannot • avoid using it • Math is useful! • You can survive without it… • …but if you know it you will use it! • It is ok to feel lost, it is not ok to give up. • We are here to help you! • Math used in this course: Mainly Algebra • Conversion of Units • Applications of equations

  29. Units of Science: SI*The International System of Units(also Metric System, or MKS System) Distance: Meter (m) 1m = 3.28 ft 1 km = 1000 m = 0.62 mi 1 AU = 1.5×108 km Mass: Kilogram (kg) 1 kg = 2.21 pounds 1 ounce = 28.35 grams Mass of Earth = 6×1024 kg Time: Second (s) 1 min = 60 s 1 yr = 3.1536×107 s 1 hr = 3600 s Temperature: Kelvin (K) 1 K = 1°C = 1.8°F 32°F = 273 K = 0°C 212°F = 373 K = 100°C *from the French Le Système International d'Unités

  30. Conversion of Units:Use Fractions Treat units of measurements like a fraction: - Write fractions that are equal to 1 and multiply by them 1 km = 1000 m  - If you see the same unit in the numerator and denominator, you can cancel it Hint: keep the unit you are moving to in the numerator

  31. Example How many meters are in a mile? 1 mi = 1.61 km  1 km = 1000 m  Then: 1 mi = 1610 m

  32. Scientific Notation Shorter way to write very large/small numbers Based on powers of 10 -Example: Light travels at a speed of 300,000,000 m/s Too Long!!!! Starting from the left, put the decimal point after the first non-zero digit (i.e., to its right), and count the digits to the end 300,000,000 m/s =3.0  108m/s - Same concept for small numbers: Move the decimal point after the first non-zero digit, count the steps you moved and add a minus sign to the exponent 0.0012 m = 1.2  10-3m

  33. Example: multiply two numbers expressed in scientific notation 2104 4105 1.Multiply the coefficients: 2  4 = 8 2.Add the exponents: (104)  (105) = 104+5 = 109 2104 4105 = (24)10(4+5)=8109

  34. It is all about practice! -Multiplication: (2104)  (4105) = (24)10(4+5) 1. Multiply the coefficients: 2  4 = 8 2. Add the exponents: (104)  (105) = 104+5= 109 -Division: (7108) : (2103) = (7:2)10(8-3) 1. Divide the coefficients: 7 : 2 = 3.5 2. Subtract the exponents: (108) : (103) = 108-3= 105 - Addition/Subtraction:extract maximum common exponent (2104) + (4105)= (2)104+ (410)104 = (2+40)104 = 42104 = 4.2105

  35. Homework #1Due in class Tuesday, Jan. 18 • Simple practice exercises about scientific notation and unit conversion • Provides a useful unit conversion sheet that you should keep as a reference for the rest of the semester

More Related