ASTRO 1 - GN (Section 1) - Richards

The Astronomical Universe

SPRING 2009 

COURSE DESCRIPTION
     This General Education (GN) course will introduce you to the wonders of the universe and help you to understand how the universe works through the laws of physics. During the semester, you will learn about our solar system, stars, galaxies, and the universe as a whole.

TEXT
     The only required text for this course is the online course on Introductory Astronomy (2007) by Scott Miller and Mercedes Richards. It is free and will be provided online through Angel. If you wish to get additional reading materials, I recommend "Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe" (Fifth Edition) by Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillan. You will also need a planisphere (a tool for viewing the sky) and a radio-controlled Student Response System (also known as a "clicker"). This clicker can be used for all of your other Penn State classes.

We will use the Miller & Richards online textbook as the main source of information. During the lectures, I will update the textbook with the lastest research results or news items relevant to the course.

REQUIRED READING

     During the semester, we will discuss relevant news articles on astronomy that appear in science magazines like Scientific American and National Geographic, as well as newspapers like the New York Times (especially the Tuesday Science Section), USA Today, Centre Daily Times, and the Daily Collegian. All students are required to review the news for this course so that the entire class will be aware of the latest results about the new definition of planets, the the Mars exploration program, the Cassini-Huygens discoveries of monster storms on Saturn, the discoveries of new planetary systems, and other events.

EXAMS and HOMEWORK

     There will be three mid-term exams and a two-hour final exam. The exams will be primarily multiple choice, but there may be some short answer discussion questions, both with emphasis on the lecture material. In addition, there will be weekly online multiple-choice homework assignments that you can complete through the class web pages on Angel at https://cms.psu.edu . The final exam will be comprehensive although emphasis will be placed on material covered in the latter part of the course. This final exam will be held during the week of May 4 - 8. The exact date will be announced later.

TELESCOPE OBSERVING and SPECTROSCOPY LAB PROJECTS

     During the semester, all students are required to complete two out-of-class activities. This will take only one night per assignment during the semester. Due to large class sizes, students have been assigned specific times during which they can complete their lab projects. 

Telescope Observing/Planetarium Lab: 

     The telescope observing sessions will be held on the roof of Davey Labs (6th floor) every Monday through Thursday evening from 8:30 - 10:00 p.m. (Jan. 20 to Apr. 16). Bring your planisphere for this activity. On cloudy nights, the observing lab will be replaced with a planetarium lab in Davey 541A. Your planisphere will be used for this activity. 

Spectroscopy Lab: 

     All students will be required to complete the spectroscopy lab which takes about two hours to complete. 

Telescope Observing: 

     Location: Davey Lab, 6th Floor 

     Time: Monday through Thursday                (dates assigned by last name)

                  8:30 - 10:00 p.m. 

Spectroscopy Lab: 

     Location: 530 Davey Lab 

     Time: Monday through Thursday                (Feb. 16 to Mar. 05 only) 

                  7:30 - 9:30 p.m. 

NEWS and IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES

     All students are required to bring an item of astronomy-related news to class every Wednesday morning starting January 21. This assignment is worth 5% of your final grade. Please write your name clearly on each news article. The publisher and date and of the article should also be submitted with the article. Ten news items will be required to get full credit for this assignment. I will discuss the news every week.  Other in-class activities and random clicker questions will contribute an additional 10% towards your final grade.

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

     If you have any specific questions about the course, please contact me directly. Teaching Assistants (TAs) will also be available to assist you with any questions related to the course. The TA office hours are held in 445 Davey Lab at the following times: MTR 1:00 -- 5:0 p.m., WF 1:00 -- 3:00 p.m.,  starting January 20.

GRADING

     Your final grade for this course will be based on the following scheme: mid-term exams (40%), observing and computer labs (10%), homework (10%), news (5%), in-class activities (5%), final exam (25%). 

ASTRONOMY DIAGNOSTIC TEST

     All students are expected to complete some questions called the  Astronomy Diagnostic Test (ADT), which will give me a sense of how much you already know about astronomy.   These questions will be available online though Angel at at https://cms.psu.edu (under "Lectures").  You will have only about 40 minutes to complete the questions and only one chance to take the test within the first week of the semester.   You will receive course credit based on completion of this activity, not on your actual score, so just try to answer the questions to the best of your ability.   Additional information will be announced in class.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

     You are expected to attend all of the lectures since the homework, in-class activities, and exams will be based primarily on material discussed in class. You are required to take all exams, so it is your responsibility to know the exam dates. The Department encourages all students to take their exams at the scheduled times. Students are required to notify the instructor on or before the exam date in the case of unexpected events, such as a serious medical or family emergency or legitimate unavoidable conflicts related to university business. Students can request makeup exams only if they missed the regular exam for the above reasons. Requests for makeup exams will be approved by the instructor based on merit. If notification is given after the exam, then it is up to the discretion of the instructor to decide whether or not to offer a makeup exam.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY and MUTUAL RESPECT

     All Penn State, Eberly College of Science, and Astronomy Department policies regarding ethics, honorable behavior, and mutual respect apply to this course. These can be found at

• http://www.psu.edu/ufs/policies/
• http://www.science.psu.edu/academic/Integrity/Policy.htm
• http://www.astro.psu.edu/deptinfo/integrity.html
• http://www.sa.psu.edu/ja/conduct.shtml

DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS

     For general information about the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, you may consult the World Wide Web URL address of our home page: http://www.astro.psu.edu. The home page also contains links to other useful sources of information.

Astro 1 (Richards) Home page