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Modern Astronomy Astronomy 105 |
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Office Hours TR 09:30 - 11:30 PM |
Spring 2008 Room
S-322F 468-3001 |
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Purpose:
Learning Objectives:
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This is a survey course that will stress the historical and descriptive aspects of our knowledge of astronomy. The major aim will be to give each student an appreciation and understanding of the scope and content of our universe. The methods of science will be strongly emphasized.
The overall
objectives of this course are that the learner will: • Gain an understanding of the nature of science and astronomy • Gain an appreciation for the size, scale, and structure of the cosmos • See that the universe is comprehensible through the scientific principles that can be understood by everyone • Gain an increased interest in studying current events in astronomy as a life-long learning activity • Be able to describe the characteristics of objects within the solar system including the sun, planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. • Demonstrate a basic familiarity with stellar life cycles, galaxies, and extragalactic objects.
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Materials: |
The text is The Essential Cosmic Perspective, fourth edition by Jeffrey Bennett, Megan Donahue, Nicholas Schneider, and Mark Voit. Please use this link to help you access the site and register for the course. The course ID is MARKWORTH182. I will make use of some of the online material from the author. I have left some useful tips at this link for the use of masteringastronomy, if you are having trouble.
The order of the course as well as the timing of the exams is indicated in this link. AST 105L, the Astronomy Laboratory is a co-requisite and a new edition of the lab manual is available in the bookstore. Textbooks may be ordered from the SFASU Bookstore online at http://www.sfasu.bkstore.com/.
We are using an audience response system in the classroom this semester. Please buy the “clicker” at the bookstore, save your receipt, and don’t forget to send in the rebate offer. We have created a web page here for procedure in the use of the clickers. Please register your clicker before the end of the first week of class and bring it to every class.
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EMAIL: |
It is vital that you have an email account for this course. We will be using the email facility available through myCourses (formerly WebCT). This is a closed email system (only myCourses traffic), so that the class email will be separate from any other email accounts you may have. Please print important email and keep the messages in a class folder. You will find many study aids on the myCourses course pages.
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Exams: |
There will be four major exams, each covering a limited amount of lecture and text material. Each student must provide a SCANTRON form number 882-ES in order to take each exam. The final exam will not be comprehensive. No make-up exams will be given except by EXCUSED absence. Each major exam is graded on a 100-point scale. No grade curving is done on any grade in this course. The lecture and lab grades will be combined and the same grade will be recorded for both lecture and lab.
The lab exam will be given in lab after the last lab has been completed. See the lab syllabus for details.
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Homework: |
Look for the masteringastronomy assignments under Course Content. Review questions on myCourses will also be assigned for each section of the course (look under the Assessments tab). Lastly, class participation will be graded using the audience response system. See the next section for point values for these activities.
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Grading: |
Lecture % of Lecture % of Course
Lab % of Lab % of Course
I am aware that the sum of the lecture part of the course comes to 105%. This is your “technology bonus.” Take advantage and maximize your point totals in Reviews, Homework, and Class Participation. |
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A 90 - 105 B 80 - 89 C 70 - 79 D 60 - 69 F < 60 This syllabus and other course materials can be made available in other formats. This course meets certain objectives of the ExCET/TEKS. A copy of the objectives and course correlations is available in the ExCET Advisor's office. F-1 Visa
Holders
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