Cosmology is the study of the history, structure, constituents
and dynamics of the universe. Course content includes the core
physical concepts of cosmology, recent astronomical observations,
dark matter and dark energy,
the cosmological constant,
the accelerating and expanding universe,
the cosmic microwave background,
inflation,
and baryogenesis.
3.0 Credits
Weekly problem sets are assigned here.
Problem sets should be completed by Monday of the following week. You
are required to bring the previous weeks problem set to class every Monday
(unless there is a midterm exam). These problem sets will be collected
in weeks were a quiz is not given. When problem sets are collected, a random
problem will selected to take the place of a quiz.
You are strongly encouraged to work with
your classmates on problem sets, however the work on your individual problem
set should be your own.
Quizzes
Short quizzes may be administered in place of collecting
Quizzes are based on the previous week's problem set and material
from the previous weeks lecture.
The two lowest quiz (or problem set) grades will be dropped. Missed quizzes
and absent problem sets are counted as zero.
There will be no quiz make-ups.
Exams
This course has two in class midterm exams and a two-hour final. The exams
are largely based on material from lectures and problems similar to those
found in the weekly assignments. Exam policies can be found
here.
Grading
The final grade will be based on:
Two midterms (1/5) + (1/5) + [Quizzes,problem sets] (1/5) + Final (2/5)
Any student who achieves a percentile score of above 90%, 80%, 70%, 60% is
guaranteed to receive an A, B, C, or D respectively. These percentile scores
may be adjusted downwards based on a class curve and other considerations.