Astronomy C161

Astronomy C161 is the a course on relativistic astrophysics and cosmology. It is a four unit course.

Overview

This class covers the fundamentals of cosmological physics. The class begins with a brief overview of general relativity and elaborately explores topics such as the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric, big bang nucleosynthesis, inflation, and large scale structure. Astronomy C161 is for the student seeking introduction to the field centered around answering deep questions about the birth and evolution of the universe.

Prerequisites

Physics 110A, Physics 110B, Physics 112 may be taken concurrently.

Student Comments

"As taught by Chung Pei Ma this class can be tricky. Her assignments are designed to be tough and there is one graph that you need to plot using the computer every assignment. There is an emphasis on the derivation of the various cosmology equation. Everyone will pair up with one other student and do a presentation in the frontiers of cosmology. On the last week of instruction, there is a test, toughest ever in Berkeley, that basically served as a final. The stuff on the test is perpendicular to what was taught in the class..."-Andrew Hsu, former webmaster, giving out the perspective of someone on the losing side of the class.