ASTRONOMY 121, SECTION 4, SPRING 2008
INTRODUCTION TO THE
SKY
AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM
How to reach me:
- Office: 251B Astronomy Building (530 McCormick Rd)
- Office hours M,W 4-5, T 1-2, or by appointment.
- Phone: 924-7494
- Email: rwo@virginia.edu
- Class schedule code: 101NV
Teaching Assistant: the teaching assistant is Genevieve de
Messieres, (Astronomy Building 220). You can ask questions or
make an appointment to see her by email at ged3j.
Texts: Available in Newcomb Hall Bookstore.
- Foundations of
Astronomy, by Michael Seeds [Ninth Edition].
NOTE: we will NOT be using the electronic response system
this semester. You do NOT need to buy a "clicker."
Used copies of the seventh or eighth editions should serve
equally well insofar as the main content is concerned. However, the
section/page numbering may differ from the assignments given in class.
- War of the Worlds, by
H. G. Wells. (Science fiction novel.) If you prefer electrons to
ink, you can find a copy of this book in the UVa
Electronic Text Center.
Supplementary materials: Special materials, including
study guides for the material covered in lectures and a short set
of supplementary notes which will substitute for some of the
reading in Chapters 6 and 7 in the text, will be posted on the class
home page.
Class Home Page: The home page for this class is located at
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/class/oconnell/astr121/.
This contains the syllabus, schedule, announcements, study guides,
supplementary notes, grades, exam reviews, Weblinks, and observing
weather information. If you have a question, this is where you
should look first.
Schedule and Important Dates:
click here.
Lectures:
Lectures are given MW 2-3:15. Each study
guide contains notes, illustrations, and links covering the
material discussed in one lecture. Study guides will be posted to the
course Web page prior to a given lecture.
Most guides are in HTML format for fast and easy retrieval over the
Web. To take full advantage of them, you should print out a hardcopy
of each guide before the lecture, bring it to class with
you, and annotate it during the lecture.
Lecture Attendance: I don't require attendance at lectures, so
it's up to you. But it's a proven fact that students who regularly
attend the lectures get better grades. "Puzzlah" credit (see below)
is also only available during lectures. If you miss some lectures, the
study guides will help fill in.
Grading and Course Credit:
Your final grade will be
determined from a curved grading system with a 700
point maximum possible score. The grading scale will be adjusted
according to the performance of this particular class. However, the
following minimum point cut-offs are guaranteed: 650 points =
A-; 580 points = B-; 490 points = C-. These cut-offs may be moved
lower if the class overall does not perform as well as expected, but
they will not be increased. The grading curve I aim for is the
following: A(25%), B(35%), C(30%), D/F(10%).
(Please note that the
grading scale is not the 90%=A, 80%=B and so forth that
you may be familiar with from high school or other UVa courses.)
- Examinations: There will be two midterm exams and the
final. The two midterms will each be worth a maximum of 200
points. The final will be worth 225 points. The three exams
are therefore worth a maximum possible 625 points. All exams
will be primarily objective, with roughly equal weight on the reading
and the lectures. The final will be cumulative but will emphasize
material from the last half of the course. For those interested,
there will be a review for each exam given outside of regular class
time.
- "Puzzlahs": These are brief, in-class questions or
exercises which you can do in consultation with other students. A
correct answer is worth 2 points; a wrong answer is worth 1 point.
This means that you will receive some credit for simply attending
class. There will be a Puzzlah offered in each class for a possible
total of 50 points. Some will be based on the reading or other
assignments you are expected to have done before the lecture. You
will need a pencil to fill out the computerized answer forms.
This modest in-class credit is intended to encourage you, but not
compel you, to attend lectures.
- Constellation Quiz: All students are expected to take a
nighttime constellation quiz, in which they will be guided by a TA in
learning the constellations and becoming familiar with the night sky.
A brief introduction will be given in class. The quiz is worth a maximum
of 25 points.
The quizzes will be given at the Student
Observatory (outside the Astronomy Building) Monday through
Thursday nights. You can complete the quiz in one
evening. The last night for the Quiz is Tuesday, April 29.
There will be two quiz sessions each night, beginning at 9 PM and
10 PM, respectively. You must be present at the start of your
session. Full details are at the Student Lab Information
site.
Because space is limited for each session, you must register for
the quiz in advance using an on-line
sign-up page.
There will be no observing on cloudy nights. Nights within one week of
New Moon (the darkest sky) are best---see the Sky
Events listed on the course schedule. A telephone recording
giving the status of the Observatory (open/closed, likely observing
conditions, etc.) is available by calling 924-7238 after 7 PM
each night. You can also check the weather
forecasts and maps on the Web. Please note: weather is
unreliable. You should do your best to complete the quiz as early in
the semester as possible.
- Extra Credit: By doing the following optional
assignments, you can obtain extra course credit. This can be used,
for instance, to offset a low exam score or to substitute for the
Puzzlah credit. A maximum of 60 points can be earned this way,
roughly equivalent to a difference of one letter grade. You can do
any or all of the optional assignments (each worth a maximum of
20 points).
Work submitted after Friday April 11 will be worth a maximum of
only 10 points each. The deadline for submission of extra
credit work is Friday, April 25.
- Telescope Observing. Here you will make and record
observations of several different astronomical objects using the
historic 26-in refractor and two smaller telescopes at McCormick
Observatory. You must meet the TA guides in the parking lot outside
the Astronomy Building at 9 PM sharp. Bring a car if you have one.
Telescope observing will be held only on Monday and Thursday nights,
and, again, you must register in advance. See the
Student Lab Information
site for details.
Instructions and worksheets will be
provided by the TA's, who will also collect worksheets. No observing
on cloudy nights; call the 924-7238 recording after 7 PM. for
information on that night's session.
- The Orbit of Mars. Here you will use Kepler's actual
data to determine the shape and size of the orbit of Mars, a
re-creation of a classical investigation which changed the course of
science. Instructions are at
the Student Lab
Information site.
Requires about 3
hours and involves high-school level math.
- Revolution of the Moons of Jupiter. Here you will use
the motions of Jupiter's satellites to determine the mass of Jupiter.
You make simulated "observations" of the four bright satellites using
a computer program. Requires about 3 hours of time, and involves
high-school level math. Use ITC computers to do the lab after
downloading the instructions and answer sheet (2 separate items) from the Student Lab
Information site.
Course Level and Pre-requisites: This course satisfies 3 hours
of the College Natural Sciences Area Requirement. It is primarily a
descriptive and qualitative introduction to astronomy designed
for liberal arts students. There are no pre-requisites. No prior
exposure to college-level science or math is assumed, and you will not
be expected to understand the subject mathematically. You will,
however, be asked to place your understanding of the subject in a
quantitative perspective. For instance, you should be
familiar with the relative sizes of the various objects we discuss in
the solar system and the relative lengths of the timescales involved
in their evolution.
Please note: except for the Puzzlahs, collaboration of any
kind on any submitted work in this course is expressly forbidden. All
work must be pledged, and your pledge will be taken to signify a
completely independent effort. The only help you should seek should
be from me or the TA's.
Last modified
January 2008 by rwo
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