Astrobiology: A Planetary Prospective

PTYS 214Space Sciences 308

Tuesday-Thursday

11:00 - 12:15 a.m.

Teaching Team

Instructor: Dr. Elisabetta (Betty) Pierazzo Office: Space Sciences 423A Phone: 626-8596 before class (otherwise 547-

3951)Email: betty@psi.eduOffice Hours: T 9:30-10:30a; Th 12:30-1:30p

or by appointment

TAs: Lissa Ong & Devin SchraderOffice: Space Science 330 (Lab Room)Phone: 621-1479Email: long@lpl.arizona.edu schrader@lpl.arizona.eduOff. hrs: Mon 3:30-4:30p Wed 2:00-3:00p

or by appointment

Class Web Site

www.lpl.arizona.edu/undergrad/classes/spring2011/Pierazzo_214

Check for:– Announcements– Syllabus and Schedule– Teaching team contact information– Lecture notes– Homework assignments– Review sheets for exams– Other information

PTYS 214-2 on D2L

You will find PTYS 214-2 listed on D2L

Mainly it provides the link to the main web page listed before

I’ll load grades on the D2L page for your convenience

No official textbook – useful websites will be provided for each class

All lecture slides will be posted on the web

You are expected to take notes

Midterm exams 20%

Final exam: 30%

Quizzes: about 10 20%

Homeworks: 9 to 10 30%

Extra credit: Student presentations up to 10%

Grading

Final grades will be determined based on the overall performance of the class

Reference grade scale:A: 87.5%B: 75 – 87.5%C: 62.5 - 75%D: 50 – 62.5%E: < 50%

Grade Scale

Exams

Midterm: in-class, 1-hour exam Tuesday, Mar. 8

Final: 2-hour exam Tuesday, May 10, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

Exams are multiple choice and short essays (some essays will have math)

Makeup exams – Instructor must be notified in advance

Makeup exams will be all short essays

Make-up exams are available if you are absent for:

1) A University approved activity

2) Official religious holidays

3) A medical emergency for which you can provide a doctor’s note (email/call instructor as soon as possible)

4) Jury duty

Other situations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis

No makeup Final!

Make-up Midterms

Homeworks

Homework is due in class on the date listed

Homework is graded on a 10 point scale

50% off if turned in by the next class (exceptions same as makeup exams)

The lowest score will be dropped from the final grade estimate

Homework can not be e-mailed – hard copies only

Each student is required to write up his or her answers independently - No cut-and-paste!

Quizzes

Generally given towards the end of class

Cover current and previous 1-2 lectures

Graded on a 4 point scale

The lowest score will be dropped from the final grade estimate

You can ask for a make-up quiz if you are absent for:a) A University approved activityb) Official religious holidayc) Medical emergencyd) Juror duty

Extra Credit: Student Presentation(Increase your grade by up to 10%)

Review and present in front of the class one article about an Astrobiology topic

Acceptable Articles are from scientific journals Nature, Science, Astrobiology Journal, International Journal of Astrobiology, and Scientific American Journal

All articles MUST be approved by the instructor

Teams of two-three students are allowed

Presentations length: no more than 10 minutes

Deadline for requesting Extra Credit: Thursday, Mar 3(must have a date and an article)

Examples of student presentations from previous semesters

The KEPLER mission Relevance of the iron-sulfur world The habitability of Titan Biosignatures in ancient rocks Biological terraforming of Mars Distribution of stars most-likely to harbor life Discovery of methane on an extrasolar planet Ancient hot springs on Mars

DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!

WE MAY RUN OUT OF CLASS TIME AND YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO DO THE EC!

Cheating

You will be given “0 pt” for cheating on assignments (quiz or homework)

Cheating on exams will result in immediate failure in the class

In all cases a letter will be sent to the Dean of Students describing the incident

Classroom Behavior

Check out the University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity and podcast:

http://deanofstudents.arizona.edu(click on “Academic Integrity” on the left)

Classroom Behavior

No Food or Drink permitted in the classroom. Bottled water is fine

Pagers/cell phones should be off

Late arrival/Early departure are exceptions, not the rule

Disruptive behavior will be reported – loud talking, leaving in the middle of a lecture without prior notice to instructor

Please help keeping Room 308 in good shape!

Class Participation

You are strongly encouraged to: Ask questions during lectures Participate to class discussions Be active in class activities

What Is Your Reward?

Well-posed, insightful, discussion-promoting questions will be worth extra-credit points

added to the overall homework grade

Let Us Know About You…

Your Name

Your Email address (UofA preferred)

Your Major

Your Science background (i.e., high school, college algebra, etc.)

Which Astrobiology topics are of interest to you and what would you like to learn in this class

Information Sheet back to us at your earliest convenience

What do you expect to learn in this class?

What is Astrobiology?

Science that studies the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe

- It is a mix of other sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Planetary Science, Climate, Astronomy, Geology

Basic Scientific Questions:– How does life begin and evolve? – Does life exist elsewhere in the Universe? – What is the future of life on Earth and beyond?

What is Science?

Tool to understand how the natural world works

Search of repeatable patterns that can tell us something about the workings of various phenomena in the Universe

The best way to describe patterns is with equations that provide specific, quantifiable predictions

Science is:The Scientific Method

Observations

Identifying Patterns &formulate Hypothesis

Prediction

Testing Hypothesis (more observations

and/or experiments)

Formulate Theory

Basic assumption: Physical events are predictable and quantifiable

Science is NOT: Capable of finding absolute truths (but you may prove

that something is false!)

Required to be unbiased (but it requires the ability to move beyond belief and carry out tests)

Capable of addressing every question

Required to start at a particular point in the scientific method

Remember: A THEORY IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE LAST TEST IT DID NOT FAIL

Examples of non-sciences? Astrology, Creationism, Belief in UFO’s, Psychic Phenomena, The X Files

vs.

Science Religion

Testability required Testability not required

1) How does life begin and evolve? 2) Does life exist elsewhere in the Universe? 3) What is the future of life on Earth and beyond?

• Although multicellular life is unlikely elsewhere in our Solar System, we are learning that microbial life is very tenacious

• Although we always new the universe was full of stars, we have only very recently discovereddiscovered it is full of planets

• We are finally gaining the technological capability to scientifically study the extremes of life, and Solar System and extrasolar planets

After thousands of years of speculation, YOURS is the generation with the capability to detect extraterrestrial life!

Why Astrobiology now?

Challenges of Astrobiology

Humans cannot make life out of the abiotic materials (so far)

Only one example of biosphere (so far) – Earth But we have not ruled out Mars yet!

Humankind is not good at space travel

Course Outline

Introduction: What is Life? Follow the Carbon Follow the Energy Follow the (liquid) Water Life on Earth Life on Mars Life on outer Solar System Moons Life beyond the Solar System

Math in PTYS-2141. PTYS-214 is not a Math class, but…

… Math is the language of Science, we cannot avoid using it

3. Math is useful! You can survive without it…

…but if you know it you will use it!

5. It is ok to feel lost, it is not ok to give up. We are here to help you!

4. Math used in this course: Mainly Algebra Conversion of Units Applications of

equations

Units of Science: SI* The International System of Units

(also Metric System, or MKS System)

Distance: Meter (m)1m = 3.28 ft 1 km = 1000 m = 0.62 mi 1 AU = 1.5×108 km

Mass: Kilogram (kg)1 kg = 2.21 pounds 1 ounce = 28.35 grams

Mass of Earth = 6×1024 kg

Time: Second (s)1 min = 60 s 1 yr = 3.1536×107 s1 hr = 3600 s

Temperature: Kelvin (K)1 K = 1°C = 1.8°F 32°F = 273 K = 0°C

212°F = 373 K = 100°C

*from the French Le Système International d'Unités

Conversion of Units:Use Fractions

Treat units of measurements like a fraction:

- Write fractions that are equal to 1 and multiply by them

1 km = 1000 m

- If you see the same unit in the numerator and denominator, you can cancel it

Hint: keep the unit you are moving to in the numerator

ExampleHow many meters are in a mile?

1 mi = 1.61 km 1 km = 1000 m

Then:

1 mi = 1610 m

Scientific Notation

Shorter way to write very large/small numbersBased on powers of 10

- Example: Light travels at a speed of 300,000,000 m/s

Too Long!!!! Starting from the left, put the decimal point after the first non-

zero digit (i.e., to its right), and count the digits to the end

300,000,000 m/s = 3.0 108 m/s

- Same concept for small numbers: Move the decimal point after the first non-zero digit, count the steps you moved and add a minus sign to the exponent

0.0012 m = 1.2 10-3 m

Example: multiply two numbers expressed in scientific notation

2104 4105

1. Multiply the coefficients: 2 4 = 8

2. Add the exponents: (104) (105) = 104+5 = 109

2104 4105 = (24)10(4+5)=8109

It is all about practice!

- Multiplication: (2104) (4105) = (24)10(4+5)

1. Multiply the coefficients: 2 4 = 8 2. Add the exponents: (104) (105) = 104+5 = 109

- Division: (7108) : (2103) = (7:2)10(8-3)

1. Divide the coefficients: 7 : 2 = 3.5 2. Subtract the exponents: (108) : (103) = 108-3 = 105

- Addition/Subtraction: extract maximum common exponent

(2104) + (4105) = (2)104 + (410)104

= (2+40)104 = 42104 = 4.2105

Homework #1Due in class Tuesday, Jan. 18

Simple practice exercises about scientific notation and unit conversion

Provides a useful unit conversion sheet that you should keep as a reference for the rest of the semester