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UT AST 309L - Syllabus

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Astronomy 309L (46765)--Scalo The Search for Extraterrestrial IntelligenceSyllabusClassroom and time: Welch 3.502, MWF 2Professor: John Scalo Office: R.L. Moore 17.220 Phone: 478-2748 (home; best place to call me); office number is 471-6446. email: [email protected] Office hours: M4:30-5:30, W4:45-6:00. Meetings at other times can be easily arranged. However Iurge you to feel free to call me at my home or office, or to talk to me after class (in the foyer just outside theclassroom--I have free time after most of our classes except on Wednesdays); for short questions there is usually noneed for you to walk all the way to my office, and I welcome phone calls at home.Teaching Assistant: Nairn BaliberOffice: R.L. Moore 16.308Phone: 471-3453Email: [email protected] hours: T 1-3; Th 3-5 (tentative)Class Website: link to it through http://www.as.utexas.edu/astronomy/education/courses.htmlThe course website will contain the syllabus, an outline of most class lectures, and illustrations you candownload; extra reading in the form of articles that will be assigned (you can read them online or print them); a wayfor you to easily check your exam scores; and a simple way for me to distribute handouts or make slight revisions tothe reading assignments. I will explain downloading of articles to you in class. I urge you to check the websiteoften.Reading: Required book: Bennett, Shostak, & Jakosky (BSJ), Life in the Universe (1st ed., 2003)(This book is expensive, but was used in the Fall, and last Spring, so you should be able to locate a usedcopy; even if not, you will be able to get the “rebate” by selling your book at the end of the semester, unless youform a deep emotional attachment to it, as I’m sure you will.)This is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field, so the textbook will have to be supplemented by thelectures and by outside readings. These additional readings will be made available through the class web site and onreserve at one or more of the UT libraries.A list of the reading assignments for each topic covered in the course is given below. More detailed guidesto the reading assignments will be handed out separately.Grading:Exams: 100% of your grade will be based on five exams, All exams will be weighted equally except thatyour lowest exam score will only receive a weight of 1/2 compared to the others. So you have to take all the exams,but if you have an off day (or week, etc.) it won’t hurt your final grade too much. The topics and dates of the exams(tentative—any changes will be announced heavily in class and at the class website) are listed below. There will beno comprehensive final. The exams will consist almost entirely of multiplevbchoice questions, depending on classsize. I will try to prepare you for the nature of the exam questions by occasionally giving sample questions duringlectures, by trying to point out the types of information that I expect you to understand or remember, and givingexamples on review sheets.In case of medical or other non-academic emergencies or situations, contact me as early as possible—it willusually be possible for you to take an exam a day or so early or late in these cases (but not for academic reasons).We will try to get exam grades available to you through the UT e-Gradebook system (athttps://utdirect.utexas.edu/diia/egb/) within one or two days of the time of the exam. Usually you should be able toget your exam grades on the same day (or evening) as you take the exam.Final grades are assigned on the basis of A=87-100, B=78-86.9, C=67-77.9, D=55-66.9, F<55.Homework: The homework in this class will be ungraded except in the sense that references to it willappear on each exam in the form of an exam question. Usually once per week I will send out class email containingone or more questions relating to the topic you are reading about and I am lecturing about. You should try to answerthese (for yourself, not to me) within a day or two of receipt of the email. Most of these questions will be basic andfairly easy, and serve the purpose of having you keep up with the reading and lectures (lagging on these is the mostcommon cause of grade decline in this class); many will involve searching on the www concerning developmentstoo recent to be covered in your text (e.g. the recent Mars and Titan missions). These questions will be much moredifficult to answer if you wait until just before the exam—it will take you longer to dig up the answers during a timewhen you should be just studying for the exam. I will always insert exam questions that directly test whether youknow the answers to these questions—that is how you will be “graded” on these homework questions.Just under the cutoff?If at the end of the semester you are just under the cutoff for a grade (by, say, one, or two, or 0.3,percentage points), whether you are just under a D, say, or an A, do not call Prof. Scalo asking him to lower thecutoff--this is unfair to all concerned. Cut-offs will not be lowered to accommodate your individual score. Scoresat the end of the semester are not rounded up, so, for example, a 77.7 will get you a C.Special requestsIf you have any special request of any sort (excluding those not allowed, like lowering the grade cutoff),please put the request in writing, preferably by email, or call me on the phone. Please state clearly and explicitlyyour request and why it is reasonable. Include a phone number so that I can contact you about your request.Obviously (I hope) this procedure does not apply to minor requests such as “Could you write a littlelarger on the board?” etc. Any suggestions for improvement of the class as we proceed will be greatlyappreciated, either in person, by phone, or by email.AttendanceAlthough I will not take attendance records because of the class size, you should keep in mind that theexams are based heavily on the lecture material (as well as the textbook and other readings), and that the “notes”that I will make available to you are only outlines or abstracts of my lectures. The biggest single danger in thiscourse is to fall far enough behind, either through lack of reading or spotty attendance, that you cannot reallyunderstand the material being covered. I therefore urge you to attend all classes.Dropping the course (see http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/01-02long.html#Spring and GeneralInformation, ch.4, for details of required


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UT AST 309L - Syllabus

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