Cuesta College :: Astronomy 10 :: Spring 2008

Calendar	Policies	Goals	Grades
		Quiz 1
		Quiz 2
		Quiz 3
		Midterm 1
		Quiz 4
		Quiz 5
		Quiz 6
		Midterm 2
		Quiz 7
		Quiz 8
		Quiz 9
		Midterm 3
		Quiz 10
		Quiz 11
		Quiz 12
		Final Exam

Supplemental materials for these learning goals will be added frequently.

Final Exam Learning Goals and Supplemental Resources [Fix, Astronomy: Journey to the Cosmic Frontier, 4/e, Chapter 27] [Reading guide (*.pdf)] [CPS inquiry questions (*.pdf)] [CPS review questions (*.pdf)] (Study all learning goals from Quiz 10, Quiz 11, and Quiz 12, in addition to the three new learning goals listed below.) Understand what conditions are plausible for life, and how the Drake equation uses assumptions about these conditions to estimate how many advanced technological civilizations there are in the Milky Way. Astronomynotes.com website: Characteristics of life From a biological point-of-view. Habitable planets Characteristics of planets that would be most likely to support life. Lifezones and suitable stars Characteristics of planet distance and star type that would be most likely to support life. Websites: NOVA Origins: The Drake Equation Calculator (www.pbs.org) Understand the factors that go into each term, and how they each affect N, the total number of technological civilizations in the Milky Way. The Drake equation (www.wikipedia.org) Concentrate on the meaning of each factor, rather than the specific numbers that go into them. Understand the pro/con arguments for/against extremely low and extremely high estimates generated by the Drake equation. Wikipedia.org website: The mediocrity principle Argument against N = few, but has Rare-Earth counter-argument. Fermi's paradox Argument against N = many, but has various counter-arguments (Scale, Occam's Razor).   The issue of SETI being an unscientific pursuit is also discussed. Understand how fundamental mathematical and physical concepts, binary counting and pictogram anticoding are used in attempts to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations, and the difficulties that arise due to the incommensurability problem, and properties of the electromagnetic spectrum. In-class activity 30, Surmounting the Incommensurability Barrier (*.pdf) Understand how pictograms are anticoded, and how meaningful mathematical expressions can be expressed as pictograms. Anti-Coded Messages handout (*.pdf) Two different approaches (and two purported hoaxes) to encoding information to be sent between advanced technological societies. NASA Astronomy Pictures of the Day: Arecibo Radio Telescope, Puerto Rico A Message from Earth Websites: Arecibo Message and Chibolton "Reply" Binary counter from Mission to Mars (*.gif animation) (Touchstone Pictures, 2004). The Arecibo Message, Decoded The Chilbolton "Reply" to the Arecibo Message Listed with other notable crop circles in 2001. Chilbolton "Photograms" Bird's-eye view and close-up photos of the Chilbolton "reply." Is the Latest Crop Circle a Message from E.T? SETI.com's official interpretation of the Chilbolton "reply" (as archived at www.archive.org). Hello Kitty Crop Circle Celebration of Hello Kitty's 30th birthday. (www.viceland.com) Driver comes a cropper in police chase A driver allegedly under the influence of cocaine, pursued by four police cars in a corn field in the Netherlands. Would this pattern be interpreted as a purposeful sign of intelligence by extraterrestrials? (www.metro.co.uk) Website: Pioneer 10, 11 Message Plaques Pioneer 10, 11 Mission Link to a high-definition image of the message plaque. Spacecraft artifacts as physics teaching resources Decoding the Pioneer 10/11 plaques (Physics Teacher vol. 39, p. 506 (2001)). Websites: Miscellaneous Messages Sent and "Received" Evpatoria Radio Telescope, Ukraine NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: A Cosmic Call to Nearby Stars Evpatoria's coded Encounter 2001 ("Cosmic Call") message. Encounter 2001 Message Complete list of all pages sent from Evpatoria. Interstellar message says "ET call Earth" BBC News on Encounter 2001 message. Paul Houx detects error in 'Alien Message' Human error in Encounter 2001 message. Teen-Age Message Messages sent by the Moscow Center of Teen Activity. The ERSO Arcturus Project Fictitious ET message received by "Ed's Radio SETI Observatory." SETI @ Home Computer screensaver to analyze raw radio telescope data. The Incommensurability Problem Excerpted from an article on challenges in creating interstellar messages. Archived Quizzes and Exams Final Exam, Summer 2007 (*.pdf) Final Exam, Fall 2007 (*.pdf) Final Exam, Spring 2008 (*.pdf) Please read the disclaimer regarding archived quizzes and exams before downloading.