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UGA ASTR 1010 - ASTR1010_magnani_0112

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ASTR 1010 – Astronomy of the Solar System Spring 2012 Professor: Loris Magnani Office: Physics 238 Phone: 542-2876 E-Mail: [email protected] Web Page: www.physast.uga.edu/~loris/astr1010/prob.html Class Hours: MWF 01:25 - 02:15 PM in Physics 202 Office Hours: MW 3:30 - 5:00 PM (or by appointment) INTRODUCTION Welcome to ASTR 1010. This course is a general introduction to solar system astronomy for non-science majors. The principal goals of the course are to give you an idea of how a physical science like astronomy works and to introduce you to some of the latest discoveries about the solar system. Some of the topics we will cover are: our place in the Universe, the calendar, the physics of motion and gravity, the formation of the solar system, basic geology of the terrestrial planets, terrestrial planet atmospheres, the jovian planets, and the smaller objects in the solar system. We will only look at these things superficially, but in enough detail to give you the type of understanding of each topic that a well-educated person in the 21st century should have. Astronomy is a quantitative science. As such, we will treat many of the topics quantitatively using high-school algebra. We will not use trigonometry or calculus. However, I will expect you to be able to handle numerical problems involving simple algebraic equations and scientific notation, both on the homework and on the exams. Thus, you will need a scientific calculator for this course. Graphing calculators are OK. COURSE MATERIALS The following items are REQUIRED for this course: • 21st Century Astronomy: The Solar System, 3rd edition – Hester, Smith, Blumenthal, Kay, and Voss • The Demon-Haunted World – Carl Sagan • A simple scientific calculator, to be used for arithmetic ONLY. It should be able to handle scientific notation. The use of PDAs, cellphones, or other electronic equipment with calculator functions is NOT allowed.STUDENT RESOURCES The course web site at http://www.physast.uga.edu/~loris/astr1010/prob.html will have course information and announcements, homework assignments and solutions, exam solutions, etc.. If you cannot come to my regular office hours, or need additional help, please set up an appointment (by e-mail, phone, or in person). Tutors are available either through the UGA Tutorial Program at Milledge Hall, or directly through the Department of Physics and Astronomy. (This should not be construed as an endorsement, recommendation, or requirement for this course.) GRADING POLICY At the end of the semester, your overall grade will be determined from your performance on 3 midterm exams, 10 short, in-class quizzes, group notes (explained below) and the final exam. The weight for these components is as follows: 3 in-class exams – 15% each for a total of 45% Group notetaking – 14% 10 quizzes – only 8 best scores used; 2% each for a total of 16% Cumulative final exam – 25% Letter grades will then be assigned following the standard scale: A corresponds to 93.00 – 100.00 A- corresponds to 90.00 – 92.99 B+ corresponds to 87.00 – 89.99 B corresponds to 83.00 – 86.99 B- corresponds to 80.00 – 82.99 C+ corresponds to 77.00 – 79.99 C corresponds to 73.00 – 76.99 C- corresponds to 70.00 – 72.99 D corresponds to 60.00 – 60.99 F corresponds to less than 60.00 Note: Grades will NOT be rounded up to TWO decimal places: for example, a final score of 89.99 is a B+ and will not be considered to be an A-.Any requests for a re-grade of a quiz, essay, or exam must be made no later than ONE WEEK after the item is returned in class (whether you are there to pick it up or not). EXAMS & QUIZZES There will be 3 in-class exams during the semester as well as a cumulative final exam. The format of the exams will be multiple-choice. All the exams will be closed-book and closed-notes. Most of the questions will be qualitative but, for the few quantitative questions, you may use a calculator for arithmetic only. The quizzes will be in-class and based on the material assigned to be read for that day (see the second part of the syllabus, below, for reading assignments). On each quiz I will ask you 4 questions based on that day’s reading and you will write out the answer on a sheet of paper. Since I will select only your 8 best scores out of a total of 10, you can afford to miss one or two of these, so there will be no make-up for the quizzes. The quizzes will be given randomly during the semester, so you need to show up for class every day in order to be sure not to miss a quiz. If you have a valid excuse for missing class (medical or other, serious, emergency) and there is a quiz that day, then you may be excused from that particular quiz (and so your quiz score would be based on the best 7 out of 9 quizzes). However, you must show me evidence of what the emergency was and I am the final arbiter as to whether it was a valid excuse or not. If you miss one of the exams due to serious illness or family emergency, a make-up exam will be administered within two weeks of the missed exam at a mutually convenient time. However, you will be asked to provide evidence of such illness or emergency and, once again, I am the final arbiter as to what constitutes an emergency. GROUP NOTE-TAKING Fourteen percent of your grade will be based on group note-taking. The class will be divided into groups of 6 to 8 students. I will assign members to each group after the first week. Each group will be responsible for coming up with a set of notes at the end of the week based on the three classes for that week. The notes should be based on the input of all the members of the group. You might want to break the task up into taking the actual notes each class, collating the best notes into one set, and writing or typing up that set for submission. The notes can be turned in directly to me or left in my mailbox by 4 PM on the following Monday afternoon (so you can have the weekend to work on them). If the notes are deemed (by me) to be satisfactory, your entire group will receive one point of credit to a maximum of 14 points. The best notes each week will be posted on the website.STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES Please make a reasonable attempt to arrive


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