Astronomy 7B

Astronomy 7B is the second and final course in the introductory Astronomy 7 sequence. It is a four unit course.

Prerequisites

Math 1A, Math 1B, Physics 5A or Physics 7A, Physics 5B or Physics 7B, Physics 5C or Physics 7C may be taken concurrently.

Student Comments

“7B is a really fun class, and I learned a lot while GSI-ing for it. 7B is very useful in learning astrophysics ‘culture’ and thinking like an astrophysicist, which I think is a big takeaway of the class (beyond just learning the material that's taught.) By astrophysics culture, I mean there's a big emphasis on things like order of magnitude estimates, dimensional analysis, and ‘observables/directly measurables’ (e.g. distance to a galaxy—not observable; angular separation on sky—observable). To elaborate a bit more on the above, although being comfortable with math and being able to do physics is crucial to being successful in astrophysics, the way you learn to think in an astrophysics class is quite different from a physics class. Astrophysics requires you to be clever in a different way than physics (e.g. how do you measure the distance to that galaxy?), and 7B is a good introduction to that. The material is challenging, not because you have to learn crazy hard math, or do incredibly complex calculations, but because you have to apply all sorts of different concepts from your calculus and intro physics classes at the same time, in a single problem-- having to mix together lots of concepts is what tends to trip up people. If you major in astrophysics, you will certainly take more upper division classes for the detailed derivations and excruciating/complex details, and 7B serves as a great framework for which you can add those details on. If you don't major in astrophysics, but you know calculus and mechanics, and are interested in how the universe works, you would also enjoy 7B. Also, after the 7A/B series, you should be able to go to the weekly astronomy colloquium and have some idea of what the speaker is talking about. Lastly, GSI life advice (for this class and many others.) The GSIs and professors want to help you—come to office hours! Ask us for help if you're struggling—earlier is better than later! Making sure you know how to do the derivations and homework without reference/help is important-- it serves as a great test to whether you really understand the material. A tip from Eugene was to redo your homework with a blank piece of paper, and I'd suggest doing something similar with the derivations. Do not ‘cheat’ by referencing your old homework/notes to get a hint or to check whether you got an intermediate step right! Having to come up with it yourself is key.” – Astronomy 7B GSI