Class Format
Grading
Exams
Course Schedule
Text book
companion web site
Class Format
Grading
Exams
Course Schedule
Text book
companion web site
Class hours: Mo., Tu., We., Th., 3:10 - 4:00 p.m., Clippinger # 133
| Instructor: | Assoc. Prof. M. Böttcher |
| Office: Clippinger 339 | |
| Phone: 593 1714 | |
| E-mail: mboett at helios.phy.ohiou.edu |
Office hours: Any time you find my office door open (and me in my office).
Text Book: James B. Hartle: ``GRAVITY: An Introduction to Einstein's General Relativity'', Addison-Wesley, 2003, 1st Ed.
Format of the class: Students are expected to attend all lectures. For each lecture, a section (typically ~ 1/2 chapter) will be assigned for reading, and students are expected to be able to actively discuss and answer questions about the reading assignment in class. In addition, there will be weekly homework sets (typically 4 - 6 problems): Homework problem sets for any given week are due on Tuesday (10 a.m.) of the following week.
| Grading will be based on: | Class participation: | 25 % | Problem sets: | 25 % |
| Midterm exam: | 25 % | |
| Final exam: | 25 % |
The grading scheme posted here explains how percentage scores are translated into letter grades throughout the quarter.
| Exam Schedule: | The midterm and final exams will be 2-hr in-class, closed-book exams. Dates and times of the exams will be arranged. |
| Week | Dates | Chapters | Contents | Homework Problems |
| 1 | Jan. 5 - 8 | 1 + 2 | Gravitational physics; | 2-3 [30], 2-5 [30], 2-7 [40] |
| Geometry as Physics | ||||
| 2 | Jan. 12 - 15 | 3 + 4 | Space, Time, and Gravity in Newtonian Physics; | 3-1 [15], 3-5 [30], 4-3 [15], 4-11[40] |
| Principles of Special Relativity | ||||
| 3 | Jan. 19 - 22 | 5 | Special Relativistic Mechanics | 5-4 [20], 5-6 [30], 5-13 [15], 5-17 [35] |
| 4 | Jan. 22 - 29 | 6 + 7.1 - 7.6 | Gravity as Geometry; | 6-6 [25], 6-7 [10], 6-14 [20], |
| Description of Curved Spacetime I | 7-1 [10], 7-8 [15], 7-11 [10], 7-12 [10] | |||
| 5 | Feb. 2 - 5 | 7.7 - 7.9 | Description of Curved Spacetime II | No homework this week! |
| 5 | Th., Feb. 5 | 1 - 7 | MIDTERM EXAM | |
| 6 | Feb. 9 - 12 | 8 + 9.1 - 9.2 | Geodesics; | 8-3 [30], 8-5 [15], 8-11 [25], 9-1 [15], 9-3 [15] |
| 7 | Feb. 16 - 19 | 9.3 - 9.4 + 10 | Geometry Outside a Spherical Star | 9-20 [30], 9-21 [20], |
| Solar-System Tests of General Relativity | 10-3 [5], 10-4 [30], 10-6 [15] | |||
| 8 | Feb. 23 - 26 | 11 + 12.1 - 12.2 | Relativistic Gravity in Action; | 11-2 [15], 11-4 [15], |
| Gravitational Collapse and Black Holes | 12-3 [20], 12-10 [10], 12-12 [20], 12-13 [10], 12-19 [10] | |||
| 9 | March 2 - 5 | 17 + 18.1 - 18.2 | The Universe Observed; | 17-3 [15], 17-4 [15], 17-9 [10], |
| Cosmological Models (I) | 18-2 [15], 18-4 [15], 18-8 [30] | |||
| 10 | March 9 - 12 | 18.2 - 18.7 | Cosmological Models (II) | No more homework! |
| Tu., March 17, 2:30 p.m.: FINAL EXAM | ||||
Markus Böttcher's home page
OU Astronomy and Astrophysics
Department Physics and Astronomy
Ohio University