PHY8053 : Galaxies (Inactive)
- Inactive for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Dr David Rosario
- Owning School: Mathematics, Statistics and Physics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
Galaxies are a fundamental building block of the universe. This module will give students a comprehensive physical understanding of the different types of galaxies: their properties, how these are deduced from observations, and the astrophysical models that explain them.
Outline Of Syllabus
The Milky Way, the solar neighbourhood, stars and gas, galactic rotation and stellar orbits. Spiral galaxies, distribution and orbits of stars and gas, masses, spiral arms. Elliptical galaxies, dwarf galaxies, galaxy groups and clusters, active galactic nuclei.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 37 | 1:00 | 37:00 | Completion of in course assignments/report, examination revision |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 22 | 1:00 | 22:00 | Formal lectures |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | Problem-solving class |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 39 | 1:00 | 39:00 | Preparation time for lectures, background reading, coursework review |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The teaching methods are appropriate to allow students to develop a wide range of skills, from understanding basic concepts and facts to higher-order thinking.
Lectures are used for the delivery of theory and explanation of methods, illustrated with examples, and for giving general feedback on marked work.
Problem-solving classes are used to develop the intuition and skills needed to numerically address questions similar to those used in the assessments.
A research report will give students the skills to analyse the research literature and apply their developing knowledge of extragalactic astrophysics to the exploration of real research problems.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 120 | 2 | A | 60 | N/A |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prob solv exercises | 2 | M | 5 | Problem-solving exercises assessment |
| Prob solv exercises | 2 | M | 5 | Problem-solving exercises assessment |
| Report | 2 | M | 30 | Report on a key paper from the research literature |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
A substantial formal unseen examination is appropriate for the assessment of the material in this module. The format of the examination will enable students to reliably demonstrate their own knowledge, understanding and application of learning outcomes. The assurance of academic integrity forms a necessary part of programme accreditation.
Examination problems may require a synthesis of concepts and strategies from different sections, while they may have more than one ways for solution. The examination time allows the students to test different strategies, work out examples and gather evidence for deciding on an effective strategy, while carefully articulating their ideas and explicitly citing the theory they are using.
The coursework assignments allow the students to develop their problem solving techniques, to practise the methods learnt in the module, to assess their progress and to receive feedback; these assessments have a secondary formative purpose as well as their primary summative purpose.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- PHY8053's Timetable