ASTR380: Spring 2025
Life in the Universe

Course Description:

The Universe is vast, containing some 100 billion galaxies each containing roughly 100 billion stars, each circled by perhaps 10 planets. That is an unimaginable large 1023 planets in the Universe, each one potentially capable of supporting life. We have so many questions!

This course will tackle these fascinating questions head on, applying relevant scientific understanding from multiple fields. This is a young field but one that is advancing rapidly. The course will investigate many different sources of information to answer fundamental questions about life, such as:

This course is intended primarily for juniors and seniors who are not majoring in the physical sciences. We will use a little mathematics in this course and a lot of physical reasoning, and we will use information from geology, climate science, and biology as well as from astronomy, all sciences that are relevant to the understanding of the origin of life. Your challenge will be to master this diverse and extensive body of knowledge and my goal is to help you accomplish this.

Course Expectations:

Attendance: In order to succeed in this course, I expect you to attend all lectures which will be held in person. Attending class is extremely important - it is by far the best way to learn! The material on the homeworks and exams are based upon the material covered in the lectures and in the text. If you have to miss a lecture be sure to look at the class slides and, ideally, another student's notes to make sure that you understand what was covered. To encourage attendance, there will be questions, in class quizzes, and group work all worth points that can only be earned during class. Your responses will count towards your participation grade in the class.

Preparation: I expect you to be prepared to work. You will understand the lecture more easily if you look again at the previous lecture slides and your class notes before the next class. A careful reading of relevant topics in the textbook is also recommended. Try to make sure that everything is clear and that you do not fall behind. I encourage you to ask questions in class, during office hours, and over ELMS email.

Study Habits: Study wisely and ask for help if you need it. If you just cram the night before the exam, you probably will not do very well. It is better (and easier) if you keep up with the material on a daily basis. Make it a point to read book material in pace with the lectures; this is one of the best study habits you can have. If you have questions, please see me. Prof's Tip: Before each exam, make several pages of condensed notes summarizing the class! By doing this, you find areas that you need to know more about. This is an excellent way to begin your studying!

Grading:

I grade on a point scale with different assignments weighted as shown in the table.

ASSIGNMENT
Homework
Exam I
Exam II
Participation
Final
Total
POINTS
150
100
100
150
200
700

Letter grades will be assigned based upon your curved cumulative score. Here is how your grade will be determined from your point total in the class.

Letter Grade
Course Total
Percentage
A
630-700
90%-100%
B
560-629
80%-89%
C
476-559
68%-79%
D
385-475
55%-67%
F
0-384
0%-54%

The point scale makes it possible for everyone in the class to do well. For example, if everyone scores above 80% in the course, you would all receive either a B- or better letter grade. I do use +/- modifiers - you will get a "+" if you are in roughly the upper 1/3 of students with the same letter grade and a "-" if you are in the lower 1/3. I may adjust the number of points required to get a given grade depending on the class averages; however, any adjustment will make it easier to get a given grade, never more difficult. You can monitor my current estimate of your grade from the class webpage as the semester progresses.

Exams

There will be two in-class midterm exams. These exams are closed book with no electronic devices allowed. The exams emphasize understanding of concepts rather than memorization and, accordingly, you may refer to a single page of your handwritten or typed notes (front and back). Each exam will consist of short answer questions, numerical questions, and essay questions. These exams allow you to show how well you are keeping up with the class material. If for whatever reason, the University is officially closed on the exam date, the exam date shifts to the next lecture date.

According to University rules, the final exam for this course will be held on Monday, May 19 from 8:00am to 10:00am in our classroom. This final exam is cumulative, that is, it will cover all material discussed in this course. However, since some material will not be covered by the midterm exams (see Lecture Schedule), the weight on that material will be higher. The final will include short answer, essay, and problem solving questions with the exact combination to be determined. This exam, like the midterms, are closed book. Three pages of notes (front and back) are allowed.

Missed Exams

If you are not able to take an exam due to illness or other legitimate reasons (as outlined in the Academic Info section of the schedule of classes) and you wish to take a make-up exam, you must

Homeworks

There are a number of homework assignments in this course, most with flexible deadlines. All homeworks will be made available from ELMS, will be turned in there, and will be graded and returned to you there as well. Assignments are always due at 11:59pm, with a several hour grace period. Late homeworks will be assessed a late penalty; to avoid this, feel free to turn your homework in early. Multiple submissions will be supported - we will grade the last one submitted by the deadline. If necessary, please convert things to PDF format before turning them in on ELMS.

Although you may discuss the homework problems with your friends, the final writeup must be in your own words. Copying from a friend's homework, a book, a website, allowing a friend to copy your homework, and/or mindlessly using ChatGPT or the equivalent is academic dishonesty and will not be tolerated in this class. If you consult a reference other than the course text, please acknowledge it in your homework - this includes websites!

Participation

A significant part of your grade will be based on your in class participation. Many things will count toward this score including interactive and individual work done in class, attendance as measured by bonus point questions and in class activities, and attentiveness and interactivity during class. The best way to succeed in any class is to attend and pay attention to lecture, to read the book, and to think critically about the course material. Participation points are designed to encourage these activities. Phones and the internet are distracters in class and have been demonstrated to lead to poorer academic performance. I will do my best to make the class periods lively, informative, and entertaining - please do your part by turning your devices off and focusing your attention on the class.

Extra Credit

There will be no extra credit papers or projects. The only way to earn extra credit in this class is:

Academic Integrity

The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be aware of the definitions and consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit http://www.shc.umd.edu/SHC/Default.aspx; pay particular attention to the links for students. We are very serious about this.
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