1. Big Bang, Black Holes, No Math ASTR/PHYS 109 Dr. David Toback Lecture 1

2. Get comfortable… we will be using the full lecture time today
Before we start…
Get comfortable… we will be using the full lecture time today
Studies show that the students who sit up front get the best grades
They also tell you WHY

3. Overview What this course is really about and why I’m teaching it
How the course is organized
Stuff you’ll need for the course and the next lecture

4. Big Picture
This course is really designed to teach the wonder and excitement of the universe around us
I want it to be understandable
By the end of the course, I want you to be able to communicate the understanding AND the excitement to others

5. The story of how the Universe came to be the way is now
I think in terms of stories as well as questions and their answers
The story of how the Universe came to be the way is now
We have a good degree of confidence in this story

6. Some of the Questions How did the Universe come to exist?
A Big Bang occurred… then what?
How did we get from a Big Bang ~14 billion years ago to the Universe we have today?
What are black holes REALLY?
What are dark matter and dark energy?
Is the Universe REALLY expanding? Will it contract again and we’ll all die?
Should I be worried?

7. Questions and Evidence
These are important questions for all for humankind
Everyone should know about (some of) these questions and what we know about the answers
You should also know something about the evidence

8. Aside before we continue
I will admit I have a bone to pick… I think there is WAY too much ignorance about science and too much science phobia
I prefer a world where there is evidence-based decision making
Some of the many problems:
Physics taught for people to USE rather than enjoy (physicists/engineers in training)
Learning to DO physics requires math, and lots of it, which makes it un-fun for many people
Often taught by people who have forgotten what it was like to not understand

9. Communicating the Excitement
A great deal of the understanding can be had WITHOUT the math
You can enjoy music without being a musician or a composer
As future leaders I want you to be able to go out into the world and effectively teach your senators, friends, co-workers, etc. why this stuff is exciting and important

10. Back to the Course
This course is designed to teach you about the Big Bang, Black Holes, Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and other stuff, and to do it without the Math
Next talk about HOW we’ll do it…

11. Being a Detective
Want you to use evidence to make decisions like a detective (Sherlock, Elementary, Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, Bones, House, Law & Order, others…)
Don’t need you know HOW to do DNA tests
Do need you to understand that DNA tests (using blood from the scene of the crime) can tell us whose blood it is)
Can we put together evidence that would convince a jury?

12. What’s the Evidence?
What is the evidence that the Big Bang actually occurred?
What is the evidence that supports our understanding of the “history” of the Universe?
What is the EVIDENCE for little things we can’t see directly with our own eyes?
Atoms, protons, electrons, Dark Matter
Black Holes

13. Course Content These are REALLY big questions
We want to know what we observe in the universe
Big and Small
To do this we need to understand some of the most important ideas in science
Quantum Mechanics
General Relativity
Others

14. Don’t worry
Don’t worry… we aren’t going to do ALL of physics in a semester
We aren’t going to ask you to calculate anything
What we want is for you to understand, and re-tell, the story and explain some of the evidence

15. How the course is organized
Next few slides are on course organization, grades etc…

16. Will use the full time period
Class Time
We meet from 5:45PM to 7:00PM
Will use the full time period
I expect you to be on time and prepared for class

17. Coming to Class
Need you to be proactive DURING class!! Get into it and have fun
If you need sugar or caffeine go for it… just do it quietly
Candy/Soda machine just outside the door at the top of the steps
Laptops will only be allowed in the first 5 rows, and with explicit permission

18. Class Time
Lecture will be a time where you and I interact by asking and answering each others questions
You will need prepare BEFORE lecture
Do the reading assignments
Write down, and turn in online, questions on the reading
“Pre-Lecture Reading Questions”
Be ready to be answer questions in class using a clicker
If you don’t understand something, ask a question in class!

19. Course Work
You will:
Read about the Big Bang and Black Holes in the books
Ask and discuss questions before, during and after class
Answer some questions in paper format, and learn to be a critic of excellent writing
Take quizzes online about the material

20. faculty.physics.tamu.edu/toback/109
Course WebSite
Course Home Page
faculty.physics.tamu.edu/toback/109
Most things can be found there… if you can’t find it, send me at
Syllabus is also
on Howdy

21. Textbooks Required Textbook Big Bang, Black Holes, No Math (Toback)
Extra credit for students who me corrections which make it better
eBook or paper is fine. Can order now at bigbang.physics.tamu.edu
Recommended books
Briefer History of Time (Hawking)
The Science of Interstellar (Thorne)
Theory of Everything (Hawking)
Stephen Hawking’s Universe (Filkin)
The First Three Minutes (Weinberg)
Other readings on the Web
Make sure you get the most up-to-date versions of each (see webpage)
Not “Brief History”, Briefer History
I find purchasing them online is much cheaper
Paperbacks available for most

22. Grades
I like for my students to do well and I like giving lots of good grades
It will be a lot of work, so if you don’t want to keep up with the class every day, work hard and stretch your mind, you should drop now
I’ll expect you to keep at it until you get it right
Do all the work and I’ll make it worth your while, both in terms of fun and your grade
If you blow off the easy stuff or don’t ask for help when you need it, then I’m unlikely to have much sympathy when you ask for a grade change at the end of the semester

23. Grades The course grade will be: Short Papers: 90%
In-class quizzes and Pre-Lecture Reading Questions Assignments: 5%
End-of-Chapter, and other online quizzes: 5%
No in-class exams or final

24. Requirements to Pass the Course
Some things need to be turned in to pass the course
All the stages for each Paper Assignment (in CPR)
All the End-Of-Chapter quizzes
Pre-Lecture Reading Question Assignment for Unit 1
Some things MUST get a passing grade to pass the course
All End-Of-Chapter quizzes and Pre-Lecture Reading Questions for Unit 1
Some things in the course are pass/fail the first time, but are for a grade after that
Unit 1 PLRQ
Note: you are allowed (but not encouraged) to get a zero on the later PLRQ assignments

25. Will talk more about the papers as we get closer to doing them
If you want to learn more about them now, go to the FAQ page

26. Regular and Honors Sections
Regular sections
ASTR
PHYS
Honors sections
ASTR
PHYS
There is no difference between the Physics and Astronomy sections (All meet together)
Students in the honors section will have an extra research paper – See Course WebPage

27. Recitation No recitation for this course
However, there are assistants who are here for you to ask questions, get help with your eCampus work and give you feedback on your paper drafts
Katrina Colletti and Xuji Zhao

28. Lab – ASTR/PHYS 119
You are not required to take the Lab for this course
Useful if you want to use this course as a Tier 2 science course, or just want to learn more/get more in-depth
Two different sections, pick one
Tuesday: 12:45PM-2:45PM
Wednesday: 12:40PM-2:40PM
Will meet this week
You need to read the lab Manual and do the prep work BEFORE lab

29. More about the various assignments

30. Pre-Lecture Reading Questions
It is important to learn how to ask good science questions, and to be well prepared for Lecture
For these reasons we will have a number of PLRQ Assignments
Will be turned in online
Will be doing a full Unit at a time
Each assignment has 2 stages (more on this later)
Will us the Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) system (more on this later also)
There is a set of guidelines on what we are looking for on the websites, and practice quizzes online before we start
You will be responsible for reading instructions before next class
First set is Pass/Revise, you have to keep redoing them until you get a passing score

31. In-Class Quizzes There will frequently be in-class quizzes
Most will be done with an iClicker
Can buy the old ones
Register with your UIN at (we will be using eCampus)
We will some times do written answers
Bring a sheet of lined paper and a pen everyday

32. End-of-Chapter Quizzes in eCampus
There are End-of-Chapter quizzes for each chapter
Helps ensure you have a good knowledge of some of the important FACTS for each chapter
Will be done online, using eCampus
Are assigned AFTER we finish the chapter in lecture, and due before the next lecture

33. End-of-Chapter Quizzes Cont.
Bad news:
To pass the course you need to get a perfect score on all of them
Good news:
You can take as many attempts as you want until you get a perfect score
I will only count your best score
I REALLY want you to learn and get good grades!

34. More on eCampus Quizzes
There are free warm-up quizzes before the End-of-Chapter quizzes
Need a 100% on them (don’t worry… they are easy)
There will be a course pre-test called AMS (Astronomy Misconception Survey) AFTER you finish the warm up
Please do your best. Won’t count as part of your grade. We just want to know what you know coming into the course
After these are done you will get a set of CPR and PRLQ quizzes
Instruction quizzes
Practice Quizzes
When these are done you will be able to get to the End-of-Chapter Quizzes
First one is Chapter 2 (no chapter 1 quiz)
EOC quizzed due AFTER we finish the chapter in lecture

35. Review: Plan for Each Chapter
Example for Next Time
Before Lecture:
Read Chapters 1-4 in BBBHNM (Unit 1)
Write down FOUR questions for Unit 1
Will give more instructions on how to submit CPR next time, don’t need to turn this in during class. Just hold on to them for now
Do the warm-up eCampus quizzes
During Lecture
Listen & Ask Questions
Take clicker and other quizzes
More CPR/PLRQ Instructions
After Lecture
If we finish Chapter 2, then take End-of-Chapter quiz 2 in eCampus
PLRQ for Unit 1 in CPR

36. Typical Order of Things to Do!
Things will be a little different for the first week, but here is the general picture
Write PLRQ Questions and Submit to CPR (stage 1) before due date
Go to Lecture, take in-class Clicker quizzes and actively participate
Read Chapters for the whole Unit
After we finish a chapter in Lecture, do the End-of-Chapter Quiz in eCampus
After Stage 1 due date, do Stage 2 of CPR for PLRQ

37. Just for Fun…
We have created a “just for fun” Facebook account for students (past, present and future) who want to stay in touch with the course
Learning about the Big Bang and Black Holes Without the Math
It’s not part of the course, but I try to post fun, related things there periodically
If you send me something fun (and appropriate) I’ll post it for everyone
If you send me something fun, but inappropriate, I’ll say thank you and just enjoy privately
Also, lots of fun stuff on

38. Frequently Asked Question Page
Can be found on the main course page
In general, you should check there if you have a question about the course or assignments before ing
Don’t want to highlight to your professor you haven’t done the reading when you

39. Next Time…
Start with in-class written quiz and in-class iClicker quiz
Talk more about eCampus and CPR stuff
End-of-Chapter Quizzes
PLRQ Assignments
Lecture is on Chapter 2
The Very Big

40. Prep for Lecture 2 Pop Quiz
The in-class quiz at the beginning of the next class on will contain at least two of the following questions:
Why are you taking this class?
What do you most want to know about?
Be prepared to answer these two honestly (there are no right answers, and don’t tell me what you think I want to hear)
Are you taking ASTR/PHYS 119? Why/Why not?

41. Prep for Next Time – L1 Reading: Required: BBBHNM: Chapter 1-4
Recommended Reading:
BHOT: Chap. 1-3
SHU: Chap. 1-2
TOE: Chap. 1
Pre-Lecture Reading Questions
Read Instructions on what kinds of questions we are looking for at
Write down 4 questions on paper from Unit 1 (Chapters 1-4) or the recommended reading
Instructions on what to do with them next time
eCampus:
Read eCampus Instructions on the main course page
Complete Warm-up quizzes, AMS, CPR and PLRQ quizzes in eCampus
Other Prep:
Make sure you are receiving using the Official A&M , will use it for class announcements
Bring lined paper and your iClicker to the next class

42. Full Set of Readings So Far
Required: BBBHNM: Chap 1-4
Recommended:
BHOT: Chap. 1-3
SHU: Chap. 1-2
TOE: Chap. 1

43. End of Lecture

44. Prep for Lecture 2 Pop Quiz
The in-class quiz at the beginning of the next class on will contain at least two of the following questions:
Why are you taking this class?
What do you most want to know about?
Be prepared to answer these two honestly (there are no right answers, and don’t tell me what you think I want to hear)
How many pages are there in the “Pre-Lecture Reading Question Grading Guidelines”?
What is the webpage for the “physics department eCampus instructions?”
What is the website for the BBBHNM book?
Are you taking ASTR/PHYS 119? Why/Why not?

45. End-of-Chapter Quizzes in eCampus
There will be End-of-Chapter quizzes for each chapter
Will help ensure you understood each chapter
Are assigned AFTER we finish the chapter in lecture, and due before the next lecture
Will be done online, using eCampus
Before we start on them, we will do some practice in eCampus

46. You will need a netID account
You are responsible for checking it periodically for
Will use it for eCampus stuff and turning in your papers

47. Books continued…
Again, the goal of this course isn’t to understand Everything about the Universe (that would mean understanding ALL of physics) but to be able to understand enough of it to be able to tell the story
If you don’t understand something, ask a question in class!

48. The Big Questions
What do we really know about the universe? How do we know it? Where did the universe come from? Where is it going?
Did the universe have a beginning? If so, what happened before then?
What is the nature of time? Will it come to an end?
Can we go backward in time?

49. Just getting started…
It’s tough to be energetic this time of the day!!
I like enjoying class, so I’ll work hard for this to be fun for all of us
I’ll try to take one break per class for humor, and often show short video clips at the beginning (please be on time)
You guys will need to send me good videos and jokes, I don’t have enough!

50. Stuff You’ll Need for the Course
In general
For the next lecture and the weeks after that