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For one-semester college courses in Introductory Astronomy.
This package includes MasteringAstronomy®.
Teaching the Process of Science through Astronomy
Inspired by an activities-based classroom approach, The Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals is the briefest introduction to astronomy in the Bennett series. By focusing on the process of science and fundamental concepts of astronomy, The Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals allows time for the use of other instructional tools in the course. Each concisely written chapter is formatted into two main sections followed by a Process of Science section, making learning targeted and expectations clear for students.
The Second Edition of The Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals presents recent dramatic advances in astronomy and how they change our understanding of the cosmos. This new editionfocuses on essential subjects of astronomy chosen for their importance to the field, interest, and engagement level, using goal-oriented lessons and practical tools tobring astronomy to life. The textbook is now supported in MasteringAstronomy to create an unrivalled learning suite for students and instructors.
Bring Learning Full Circle with MasteringAstronomy
MasteringAstronomy from Pearson is the leading online homework, tutorial, and assessment system, designed to improve results by engaging students before, during, and after class with powerful content. Instructors ensure students arrive ready to learn by assigning educationally effective content before class, and encourage critical thinking and retention with in-class resources. Students can further master concepts after class through traditional and adaptive homework assignments that provide hints and answer-specific feedback. The Mastering gradebook records scores for all automatically graded assignments in one place, while diagnostic tools give instructors access to rich data to assess student understanding and misconceptions.
0133858642 / 9780133858648 Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals Plus MasteringAstronomy with eText, The -- Access Card Package
Package consists of:
0133889564 / 9780133889567 Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals, The
0133905306 / 9780133905304 MasteringAstronomy with Pearson eText -- ValuePack Access Card -- for The Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals
0321712951 / 9780321712950 Starry Night College Student Access Code Card
0321765184 / 9780321765185 SkyGazer 5.0 Student Access Code Card (Integrated component)
Jeffrey Bennett
JEFFREY BENNETT, a recipient of the American Institute of Physics Science Communication Award, holds a B.A. in biophysics (UC San Diego), and an M.S. and Ph.D. in astrophysics (University of Colorado). He specializes in science and math education and has taught at every level from preschool through graduate school. Career highlights including serving 2 years as a visiting senior scientist at NASA headquarters, where he developed programs to build stronger links between research and education, and proposing and helping to develop the Voyage scale model solar system on the National Mall (Washington, DC). He is the lead author of textbooks in astronomy, astrobiology, mathematics, and statistics, and of critically acclaimed books for the public including Beyond UFOs (Princeton University Press, 2008/2011), Math for Life (Bid Kid Science, 2014), What Is Relativity? (Columbia University Press, 2014), and On Teaching Science (Big Kid Science, 2014). In 2014, his five children’s books (Max Goes to the Space Station, Max Goes to the Moon, Max Goes to Mars, Max Goes to Jupiter, and The Wizard Who Saved the World) became the first books launched to the International Space Station for the Story Time From Space program. He lives in Boulder, CO with his wife, children, and dogs. His personal website is www.jeffreybennett.com.
Megan Donahue is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Michigan State University and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her current research is mainly about using X-ray, UV, infrared, and visible light to study clusters of galaxies: their contents–dark matter, hot gas, galaxies, active galactic nuclei–and what they reveal about the contents of the universe and how galaxies form and evolve. She grew up on a farm in Nebraska and received an S.B. in physics from MIT, where she began her research career as an X-ray astronomer. She has a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Colorado. Her Ph.D. thesis on theory and optical observations of intergalactic and intracluster gas won the 1993 Trumpler Award from the Astronomical Society for the Pacific for an outstanding astrophysics doctoral dissertation in North America. She continued postdoctoral research as a Carnegie Fellow at Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California, and later as an STScI Fellow at Space Telescope. Megan was a staff astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute until 2003, when she joined the MSU faculty. Megan is married to Mark Voit, and they collaborate on many projects, including this textbook and the raising of their children, Michaela, Sebastian, and Angela. Between the births of Sebastian and Angela, Megan qualified for and ran the Boston Marathon. These days, Megan runs trails, orienteers, and plays piano and bass guitar whenever her children allow it.
Nicholas Schneider is an associate professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado and a researcher in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. He received his B.A. in physics and astronomy from Dartmouth College in 1979 and his Ph.D. in planetary science from the University of Arizona in 1988. In 1991, he received the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Young Investigator Award. His research interests include planetary atmospheres and planetary astronomy. One research focus is the odd case of Jupiter’s moon Io. Another is the mystery of Mars’s lost atmosphere, which he hopes to answer by serving as science lead on the Imaging UV Spectrograph on NASA’s MAVEN mission. Nick enjoys teaching at all levels and is active in efforts to improve undergraduate astronomy education. In 2010, he received the Boulder Faculty Assembly’s Teaching Excellence Award. Off the job, Nick enjoys exploring the outdoors with his family and figuring out how things work.
Mark Voit is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the College of Natural Science at Michigan State University. He earned his A.B. in astrophysical sciences at Princeton University and his Ph.D. in astrophysics at the University of Colorado in 1990. He continued his studies at the California Institute of Technology, where he was a research fellow in theoretical astrophysics, and then moved on to Johns Hopkins University as a Hubble Fellow. Before going to Michigan State, Mark worked in the Office of Public Outreach at the Space Telescope, where he developed museum exhibitions about the Hubble Space Telescope and helped design NASA’s award-winning HubbleSite. His research interests range from interstellar processes in our own galaxy to the clustering of galaxies in the early universe, and he is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is married to coauthor Megan Donahue, and cooks terrific meals for her and their three children. Mark likes getting outdoors whenever possible and particularly enjoys running, mountain biking, canoeing, orienteering, and adventure racing. He is also author of the popular book Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe.
Chapter 1: A Modern View of the Universe
1.1 The Scale of the Universe
Tools of Science: Doing the Math
1.2 The History of the Universe
1.3 The Process of Science in Action: Defining Planets
Chapter 2: Understanding the Sky
2.1 Understanding the Seasons
2.2 Understanding the Moon
Tools of Science: Angular Sizes and Distances
2.3 The Process of Science in Action: The Puzzle of Planetary Motion
Chapter 3: Changes in Our Perspective
3.1 From Earth-centered to Sun-centered
3.2 Hallmarks of Science
Tools of Science: Telescopes
3.3 The Process of Science in Action: The Fact and Theory of Gravity
Chapter 4: Origin of the Solar System
4.1 Characteristics of the Solar System
Tools of Science: Conservation Laws
4.2 The Birth of the Solar System
4.3 The Process of Science in Action: The Age of the Solar System
Chapter 5: Terrestrial Planets
5.1 Terrestrial surfaces and atmospheres
Tools of Science: Basic Properties of Light
5.2 Histories of the Terrestrial Worlds
5.3 The Process of Science in Action: Global Warming
Chapter 6: The Outer Solar System
6.1 Jovian Planets, Rings and Moons
Tools of Science: Newton’s Version of Kepler’s Third Law
Why are Jovian moons so geologically active?
6.2 Asteroids, Comets, and the Impact Threat
6.3 The Process of Science in Action: Extinction of the Dinosaurs
Chapter 7: Planets Around Other Stars
7.1 Detecting planets around other stars
Tools of Science: The Doppler Effect
7.2 Characteristics of Extrasolar Planets
7.3 The Process of Science in Action: Planets and the Nebular Theory
Chapter 8: The Sun and Other Stars
8.1 Properties of the Sun
Tools of Science: Spectroscopy
8.2 Properties of other stars
8.3 The Process of Science in Action: Visualizing Patterns Among Stars
Chapter 9: Stellar Lives
9.1 Lives in Balance
9.2 Star death
Tools of Science: Quantum Laws and Astronomy
9.3 The Process of Science in Action: Testing Stellar Models With Star Clusters
Chapter 10: The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard
10.1 White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars
10.2 Black Holes
Tools of Science: Einstein’s Theories of Relativity
10.3 The Process of Science in Action: Searching for Black Holes
Chapter 11: Galaxies
11.1 Our Galaxy: The Milky Way
Tools of Science: Observing Different Kinds of Light
11.2 GALAXIES beyond the Milky Way
11.3 The process of science in action: Seeking Supermassive Black Holes
Chapter 12: Galaxy Distances and Hubble's Law
12.1 Measuring cosmic distances
Tools of Science: Measuring Distances with Standard Candles
12.2 The Implications of Hubble’s Law
12.3 The Process of Science in Action: Observing galaxy evolution
Chapter 13: The Birth of the Universe
13.1 The Big Bang Theory
Tools of Science: Particle Accelerators
13.2 Evidence for the Big Bang
13.3 The Process of Science in Action: Inflation
Chapter 14: Dark Matter and Energy
14.1 Evidence for dark matter
Tools of Science: The Orbital Velocity Law
14.2 Gravity versus expansion
14.3 The Process of science in Action: Evidence for dark energy
Chapter 15: Life in the Universe
15.1 The Search for Life in the Solar System
15.2 The Search for Life Among the Stars
Tools of Science: Planetary Spacecraft
15.3 The Process of Science in Action: The Evolution of Earth and Beyond
The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.