Integrating Excel Spreadsheets into the Introductory Astronomy Laboratory

Details Integrating Excel Spreadsheets into the Introductory Astronomy Laboratory Integrating Excel Spreadsheets into the Introductory Astronomy Laboratory

May 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008aas...212.3806k&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #212, #38.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.237

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

At Hampden-Sydney College, we teach a one-semester introductory astronomy class targeting non-science majors. This course fulfills the laboratory science requirement, and as such the class is obligated to teach transferable skills such as basic numeracy, quantitative reasoning and data analysis. To this end, we explicitly teach the use of the most commonly available data analysis program, which is currently Microsoft Excel. The laboratory sciences are ideally suited to teaching these skills.
During each laboratory session, students explore an astronomical phenomenon related to the lectures for that week. Randomly assigned partners use computers to analyze their data in spreadsheets and to write detailed reports structured like journal articles.
We present nine Excel templates, along with the corresponding laboratory instructions, that are designed to teach general data analysis techniques using spreadsheets within the context of a traditional astronomy laboratory. These exercises begin with basic calculations and move toward more complex ones such as least squares fitting of sine functions and calculating distances from measured magnitudes and assumed luminosities.

Laboratory Exercises with Excel Templates

Measuring Angles	This first lab uses the small angle formula.
Jupiter's Moons	The students take data with the CLEA lab of Jupiter's moons, but complete the data analysis using Excel. This includes least squares fitting of sine functions.
Astrometry and Parallax	The students complete the Astrometry of Asteroids CLEA lab, but perform the parallax calculations using Excel.
The Resolution of a Telescope	The students measure the resolution of their naked eyes and a telescope, using two eye charts, along with the theoretical resolution of the telescope for comparison.
The Light Gathering Power of a Telescope	The students observe a light bulb using a telescope equipped with a photometer and a mask of variable aperture.
Solar Radiation	The students measure the length of a solar day and the transparency of the earth's atmosphere, using a sundial and a calorimeter.
Binary Stars	The students use photodiodes and oscilloscopes to measure the light curve of a model eclipsing binary star.
Distance and Age of the Pleiades	The students gather data using the CLEA lab of the same name, but they plot an HR diagram along with a distance dependent standard main sequence using Excel. This lab uses luminosities and the inverse square law, instead of absolute magnitudes and the distance modulus.
Hubble's Law	The students gather data using the CLEA lab of the same name, but they use Excel for all the analysis. This lab also favors the inverse square law over the distance modulus to calculate distances.

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