ASTRONOMY 120:
INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY
Fall 1998
Professor: Dr. Lee Mundy
Office: CSS 0213
Phone: x51529
Email: astr120@astro.umd.edu
Office Hours: by appointment or drop-by
Teaching Assistant: Unknown
Office: CSS 0213
Phone: x
Email: astr120@astro.umd.edu
Office Hours:
Required Text:
Exploration of the Universe, Seventh Edition,
by Morrison, Wolff, and Fraknoi,
This course is a broad introduction to the science of astronomy. It is designed to be a two-semester sequence with the first semester (ASTR120) concentrating on our Solar System and the second semester (ASTR121) concentrating on our Galaxy and the Universe. The intent of the course is to give the student a solid background in the primary physical concepts relevant to astronomy and a broad exposure to the astronomical universe. This course is for science majors or students with a strong science interest.
In addition to learning about our Universe, a primary goal of this class is to develop your scientific thinking and problem-solving capability. Equations and numerical calculations will be a component of this class. Working knowledge of algebra and geometry (but not calculus) is necessary.
ASTR 120 has two weekly lecture sessions of 1.5 hours and a 1-hour discussion session each week. The lecture sessions will combine lecture, question/answer, and interactive labs. The lectures present material and provide a forum for general questions. They are intended to parallel the text. Thus for better understanding of the lecture material, it is important for you to read the text before lecture. You are responsible for all material presented in class, discussion, and homework, even if it is not in the text.
The discussion periods provide an opportunity think about and apply the lecture material. Discussion periods provide a forum for question/answer sessions, problem-solving, and group discussions of issues brought up in the lecture. You are expected to attend discussion section. At times, there will be graded work to be done in discussion session; you will need a valid excuse (see below) to make up any such work missed.
This class will have required computer exercises and two required night labs. The computer exercises will be associated with the RedShift CD and with use of the WEB. These can be done at home (if you have the equipment), at the WAM labs, or on computers in the astronomy department. While computers are available in the astronomy department, they must be shared with other classes; we will attempt to meet your computer needs, within reasonable constraints. We will have computer orientation sessions connected to the RedShift CD and computer demonstration exercises.
We will be going to the Campus Observatory to look at the sky and use optical telescopes. These night sessions will require your presence on campus at least two nights during the semester. Since we cannot predict the weather, we may have several unsuccessful attempts at night observing. Realistically, it often takes 2-3 scheduling attempts before we get a clear night.
Your final grade will be based on the mid-term exam, class exercises, homework, and the final exam. These factors will be combined in the following percentages to determine your class grade:
30% weight on the mid-term exam;
30% on labs, homework, and class exercises; and
40% on the final exam.
The mid-term exam is scheduled for the date given on the accompanying class schedule. The exam will cover all material presented in lecture, discussion, and lab up to that point. The exam will occur during the regular class lecture hour in the same room.
Homework will be assigned most weeks and is to be turned in at the beginning of class on the designated day. Homework turned in after the beginning of class on the due date will be considered late. Late homework may be turned in up to 1 week after the due date, at a penalty of 20% reduction in score. After one week, we will return graded homework and hand out solution sets; no homework is accepted after that. It is expected that each homework assignment will take 2-3 hours to complete if you are attending lecture and are up-to-date on your reading of the text. At times, written work will be given to be completed during class, which will be graded. Some of these exercises involve the use of equipment; others will be group or individual class presentations.
Lastly, the final exam will be a cumulative exam drawing on all material covered by the lecture, discussion, and labs. The final will be given at the time, and in the room, listed in the University course schedule.
Finally, a word to the wise, the grading structure of this class makes it mathematically impossible to get an `A' grade for the course without doing reasonably well on the homework and class work. In my experience, students who do not do homework seldom get better than a `C' course grade and often get a `D' grade or worse; don't count on being the exception.
The University recognizes only three excuses for missing exams: religious holidays, University-approved travel, and illness. Except for sudden illness, you should provide a valid written excuse in advance of the scheduled exam. If you have an emergency, you must provide a valid written excuse (as defined in the University Handbook) within ONE WEEK after the midterm exam. Make-up exams will be scheduled at a mutually acceptable time and may be written or oral, at my discretion. If you do not have a valid written excuse, you will NOT be allowed to make-up the exam.
If you miss the final exam, a valid written excuse must be provided within two days after the missed final exam. In addition, you must arrange with me a time for a make-up exam within two days after the exam date listed in the University course schedule. This is fixed because course grades are due 48 hours after the final exam has been held.
If you miss in-class work, you must present a valid excuse to us the next time that you are able attend class. We will make arrangements with you to make-up the work.
For the night labs, it may not be possible for everyone to attend on the selected night. If that is the case for you, please be sure that we are aware in advance that you will be unable to attend. We will make arrangements for you to make-up the work.
University academics operate on the basis of the Code of Academic Integrity. Acts of academic dishonesty include cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, and plagiarism. Specifically, activities such as cheating on exams or quizzes, copying homework, knowingly permitting your homework or exam to be copied, and submitting forged excuses for absences from exams or classes are violations of this code. All cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be turned over to the Student Honor Council to investigate and resolve. The normal sanction for academic dishonesty is a course grade of `XF', denoting failure due to academic dishonesty. The Code of Academic Integrity is printed in full in the Undergraduate Catalog. We are serious about this.
There are a couple of potential gray areas that naturally arise in this class so let's try to draw some dividing lines between right and wrong. For homework, you are permitted to work with other students in the class on the homework. This includes discussion of the problem and solution in a cooperative, mutually contributing fashion. However, you should write out your answer in your own words. You should NOT, under any circumstance, simply copy someone elses homework and call that ``working together.'' You should NOT seek out or use ``solution sets'' from previous students. You may seek help on homework problems from the TA or myself. For labs, it is expected that you will work with your partner or partners, but the written work that you turn in should be in your own words and you should have worked through the equations, and plugged in the numbers yourself.
If you have questions regarding what is appropriate and what is not, please talk to me.