Geol 1950G: Astrophysical & Dynamical Processes in Planetary Science will teach you how to use physical and geophysical analysis to construct a quantitative understanding of the formation and evolution of the Sun, the solar system's planets and small bodies, and extrasolar planets. The goal is to provide senior undergraduates and graduate students with a set of core facts and current theories about planetary science. Lectures, problem sets and exams will be used to construct a quantitative framework on which you can evaluate, and place into context, hypotheses and theories discussed in upper-level courses.

The class is divided into three unequal parts:

1. (Big part) Formation and early evolution of the Sun, planets, and planetary satellites.

2. (Big part) Interiors of terrestrial planets, giant planets, and small bodies.

3. (Small part) Beyond the solar system.

The course meets from 2:00 - 2:50 PM Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in Lincoln Field 209.

Instructor: Amy C. Barr Mlinar

Lincoln Field 303

Campus Phone: 3-5163

e-mail: amy _ barr (at) brown (dot) edu

Office Hours: Mondays 11 AM to 1 PM, or by appointment.

[Syllabus as a PDF Document]

Computer Resources

To complete the final problem set in this course, you will need access to a computer running Windows, a Mac (with Developer tools installed), or the campus CCV cluster.

[Swift Lab Resources]

The class will meet in 3 one-hour blocks per week.

Students will be evaluated on:

Seven roughly bi-weekly problem sets (45% of the course grade)

Two "hour exams", each of which is a one hour in-class written exam, with a calculator (not an iPad, iPod, iPhone, etc.) the Purcell constant sheet, the front side of an 8.5x11 inch sheet of paper of notes (Each are worth 15% of the course grade)

A final exam, three hours, in-class, with a calculator, the Purcell constant sheet, and the front-and-back of an 8.5x11 inch sheet of notes (20% of the course grade)

Class attendance/participation (5% of the course grade)

I encourage you to work collaboratively on the problem sets. However, the work that you write down on your paper must reflect your understanding of the material, and your thought processes. I expect your written solutions to problem sets to be YOUR original creative work.

The official textbook for the course is Planetary Sciences by DePater & Lissauer, 2nd edition. Please note that, unfortunately, the copy in the Brown Univ. library is the first edition.

Additional books that you may find helpful, which are all available from the library, or in my lab (LF 323-325):

An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics by B. W. Carroll and D. A. Ostlie

The Physical Universe by F. Shu

Geodynamics, by D. Turcotte & G. Schubert

Solar System Dynamics by C. Murray & S. Dermott (the Brown Univ. library copy has been lost).

Planetary Interiors by W. Hubbard (this is out of print, but I have a copy and the Brown library has it, as well).

Impact Cratering: A Geologic Process by H. J. Melosh (also out of print, but we have many copies floating around the LF building).

[Edward Purcell's Constant Sheet]

[Mid-Semester Feedback Form (.doc)]