I am usually available at other times as well. You can drop by 223
Dana, but to check if I will be there, please telephone, send email, or see me after class.
The class meets on M, W, Th 9:15 - 10:20 am (sequence 2)
in room 101 Churchill (CH)
This page will be updated as the quarter goes along, so bookmark this
page and check it often (at least once a week). For detailed assignments, please check the syllabus page as well.
Announcements
(12/5) IMPORTANT NOTE on machine graded exams. On the parts of the final exam to be machine graded, please circle your answers on the exam page. Only when you have finished the machine graded parts should you put your answers on the scan sheet. Not only does this give you a chance to review your answers and avoid mechanical errors,
but it also provides backup in case of computer problems.
(Final Exam) (12/5) As noted above, the final exam will be in 201 Mugar. Please bring a #2 pencil, as the True-False and Multiple Choice parts of the exam will be machine graded. You also need to have your student ID with you. Finally, you
need a proper calculator -- cellphones are NOT allowed.
(12/5) You can download PDF versions of quiz 9 -- the green or blue versions.
These include the answers.
(12/2) Answers for most of the hour exam #3 are posted on the
web site (blue and
green versions).
(11/28) You can download PDF versions of quiz 8 -- the green or blue versions.
(Update) Quiz #8 will cover chapters 10 and 11; the hour exam (#3) will cover chapters 9 -- 11. The material from chapter 12 (and 13) will be covered on next week's quiz #9 on Wednesday, and the final exam will cover the whole semester.
(11/17) Anthony Sandonato, a student in the course, provided a link to an observation of a comet without a tail.
The pictures are interesting, and the page is a nice example of how real observational astronomy is done. If you want to see how actual orbital data looks, click on the link to "Past, Present, and Future Orbits ..." near the top of the page.
(11/12) A tentative syllabus for the rest of the semester is now on the syllabus page.
Please look it over carefully and plan ahead.
(11/4) Quiz 6 will be on Thursday, 8 November. It will cover chapter 8 and most of chapter 9 (the precise limit on chapter 9 will be given in class Wednesday and announced here later in the day).
(11/4) The score on your exam 2 is out of 90 total points. The grade I use for averages is equal to 1.2 times that score.
(10/31) You can download PDF versions of quiz 5 -- the green or yellow versions.
(10/19) (updated 10/31) As already announced, the second hour exam will be on Thursday, November 1. It will cover material from chapters 4, 5, 6, 7.
(10/6) The server for the course web pages went down on Friday (10/5) and lost the contents of the pages. I have now replaced the pages
(Saturday - 1:45 PM), and you should be able to download the virtual quiz. Please email me if you have any difficulty with this now.
(10/5) I have posted a virtual quiz (this is a pdf file you can download) that
you can use as practice for the material we have discussed in class
(sometimes briefly). I will discuss this quiz on Wednesday (10/10).
(10/2) There is some walk-in tutoring available in the
Physics Workshop on the third floor of Churchill. Please see the
Physics Workshop web site for the schedule of available hours.
(9/26) The exam schedule has been revised. The three one-hour exams will be on
Thursday, October 11,
Thursday, November 1, and
Thursday, November 29.
There will be a quiz on Thursday, October 4 on chapter 2 (Light and Matter). There will be no quiz on chapter 3 (Telescopes), but some
material from this chapter will be on the first hour exam, which will
be on Thursday, October 11, as noted above.
(9/14) There is a PBS special one-hour movie "Seeing in the Dark" to be shown on WGBH (Channel 2) this Wednesday (9/19) at 8 PM, and undoubtedly many times after that. There is an interactive web site that allows you to do some virtual exploration in the sky (much like Starry Night, except that this site provides you with a guide). Have a look!
textbook
The textbook for the course is
Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe (5th edition), by
E. Chaisson and S. McMillan (Prentice-Hall, 2007)
There is also a tutorial workbook "Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy", included with the textbook package in the bookstore. We will
use this book in class quite often. The package also contains a CD-ROM with Starry Night planetarium software, which is a good way to look at the sky when no real telescopes are available. -- it is the 'gold standard' of planetarium software.
A syllabus for the course, with
reading assignments, problem
assignments and review material, as well as quiz and exam schedules
is under construction.
Please check it often for updates.
Grading Scheme
Your grade in the course will be based on the following scheme:
Quizzes - 25%
There will be 9 or 10 in class 10-15 minute quizzes during the term.
These quizzes will be based on the lectures, the reading assignments
and the assigned problems. Some will require simple numerical answers.
Others may be true-false or multiple choice questions based on the lectures and the readings. There are no makeups on quizzes for any reason, but the lowest three quiz grades will be dropped.
Exams
There will be three exams during the term, and a final exam at the end of the course (time and place to be announced).
(Update - 12/2) The final exam will be on Friday, 7 December from 8:00 - 10:00 AM in 201 MUgar.
The tentative dates for the exams are October 4 (This exam will actually be on October 11 --
see above), November 1 and November 29. Any change to these dates will be announced at least a week in advance.
Grading
I will compute your exam average in two ways:
Method A -- Each exam will count 20 percent of the average, and the
final exam 40 percent.
Method B -- The best two of your three exams will each count 25
percent of the average, and the final exam 50 percent.
Your final average will be 75% of the higher of the two numbers computed for your exam average plus 25% of your quiz average. How this numerical average is translated into a letter grade will be decided at the end of the term, but two points are fixed -- an average of 60 will be a C- or perhaps a C, and an average of 90 will be an A. Students with an
average below 60, will be reviewed with special attention to attendance, consistency, and a detailed look at the final exam. Based on past experience, the median grade in the course is typically a B-, but it may be higher or lower.
Final Remark
This is a course where you should enjoy the science, and work hard to
understand what it is all about. If you can focus on that, the grade will take care of itself. Do your best.