Class Information and Syllabus for ASTR 111, Section 01, Fall 2008


Class News

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Midterm grades will be issued on 10/8/08 based on 342 possible points (6 labs through the telescope function study, 12 homeworks through 6a, and two tests).

Office hour on Thursday 10/16/08 will be 10:45 - 11:45 am.


Previous News


You may obtain up to 12 points of extra-credit for a "constellation report". Here are details.

You may study FSU's Foucalt Pendulum for up to 20 points of extra credit. Here is the Pendulum Study Worksheet.

Document Description

This document is on-line at http://astro.uncfsu.edu/class/111/. It serves as the primary source of information and the syllabus for Professor Mattox's section of Astronomy 111 at Fayetteville State University. Other than the class news that appears above, this document will not change substantially during this course.

Links to Internet Course Resources

Here is the current class schedule.
Here is FSU's blackboard facility.
Here is the Toolbox for Astro 111.
Here is the publisher's website for the 5th edition of our text.
Here is math refresher text for this class.
Here is a powerpoint presentation about unit conversion. Here are web pages for the FSU Observatory.
Here are more astronomy internet links.

Class Information

Course number: ASTR 111
Course name: Astronomy I
Credit Hours: 4
Our text is Astronomy Today by Chaisson & McMillan, 6th edition. It is required for the class. It may be purchased and/or rented at the FSU bookstore or purchased on-line. This course will cover: Appendix 1, scientific notation; Appendix 2, astronomical measurement; chapters 1-3 and 5-15 of the book (i.e., the first 15 chapters, except chapter 4).

There is no prerequisite to this course. Students may enroll in ASTR 112 before or after completing ASTR 111, but the recommended sequence is 111 first and 112 second. Facility with high school level algebra will be assumed - we will be using fractions, proportions, graphs, and scientific notation (which is reviewed in appendix A-1 of the text).

If you have taken ASTR 112 from Prof. M., you are not expected to repeat labs that are assigned for both ASTR 111 and 112 (e.g., the angle measurement lab). If you feel a need to repeat a lab, you are to request permission to do so. Otherwise, you will be assigned a topic of independent study of equivalent effort (and class point value).

We will be using PRS infrared response devices (clickers) during lecture. When you enter the planetarium for each lecture session, you are to sign the attendance log and then find the clicker with the serial number assigned to you. After class, you are to return your clicker to its storage box.

Professor M.'s office is in room 319 of the Lyons Science Building. You may visit him during his office hours, by appointment, or any other time he is available.
Professor M.'s office phone number is 672-1652. He checks dailey for voicemail left at this number.
You are also encouraged to communicate with Professor M. using e-mail. His address is JMattox@uncfsu.edu.
You will receive 20 points of extra-credit for your first visit with Professor Mattox during his office hours.
If you miss any class without prior permission, or get a grade of D or lower on any assignment, or fail to turn in any required assignment, you are required to check-in with Professor Mattox during his office hours.

This course is offered by FSU's Department of Natural Sciences. The dept. office is in room 100 of the Lyons Science Annex Building.

Catalog Course Description

A general introductory course covering major areas of modern astronomy. Topics include the solar system. Laboratory activities illustrate different techniques used to gather and interpret information about these objects.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
1. Identify major planets.
2. Determine the major properties of planets.

Reading Assignments

See the class schedule for the date by which you are expected to read each section of the text. Any material in these sections of the text may appear in the in-class tests and/or the comprehensive final. If you want to obtain a grade better than a C, you will need to read all assigned sections of the text.

Homework

Homework for ASTR 111 will be assigned for nearly every class lecture meeting.

The first homework assignment is to be submitted on-line by 12:00 pm on 8/25/08 - the homework form for it is linked from the class schedule: http://astro.uncfsu.edu/class/111/schedule.html. BE CERTAIN THAT YOUR NAME IS ON YOUR HOMEWORK FORM BEFORE YOU SUBMIT IT.

The homework is to be submitted on-line using the form linked from the schedule. The submission deadline is 60 minutes prior to the beginning of class. Late submissions will not be accepted without special permission from the instructor for special circumstances (and then probably not for full credit). Homework will correspond to approximately 250 class points.

Unless the server at http://astro.uncfsu.edu/class/ is not functioning, only on-line submissions will be accepted. Upon successful submission, your browser will display a letter from the instructor that includes the statement, "Your ... homework for ASTR was received...". If you don't see this, it is likely that your submission was not successful. In this case, you should use the back button on your browser to return to the form and resubmit. Repeat until you see "Your ... homework for ASTR 112 was received..." appear. If this doesn't happen, you should use the back button to return to the form, print it with your responses, and take the printout to your instructor before class. Alternatively, if the server isn't working, you may paste your responses into an e-mail and send it to your instructor.

It is recommended that you do your homework for this class with a stable internet connection (e.g. on campus, or cable modem or DSL). A good approach is to first print the homework form, browse the chapter again as you look over the questions, and then pencil in your responses. You may wish to keep your marked-up copy of the form as a back-up. If you must use an unstable internet connection (e.g. dial-up), it is recommended that you initially type your response to each item into a computer file with word or notepad, and then paste into the internet form for submission.

If you later realize that part of your submission was missing or wrong, it is acceptable to resubmit part or all of the homework. Include a comment indicating the reason for a second submission.

Lab Work

ASTR 111 is a laboratory class. Lab work will correspond to approximately 250 class points. Pre-lab exercises and/or procedure documents for each lab will be linked from the schedule. You should print a copy, do pre-lab exercises, and bring your copy to lab. Lab reports are due by 5 pm on the day before the next lab meeting.

For some of the lab work, we will use Starry Night digital planetarium software. You are expected to become competent with this software.

You may borrow the Starry Night installation disk from prof. M. to install this program on your home computer or notebook.

Much of the work that will be done in completing laboratory activities will require the student to complete graphs and make calculations. For these reasons you MUST bring to each lab session a ruler and a calculator. Your final report should contain conclusions that you made while working on the project. The format expected for the report will be specified for each lab.

Part of the work for this course will be night observations of planets, stars, etc. Students will be notified about that approximately a week in advance of scheduled observing sessions. Observations can only be done in nearly cloud free regions of the sky. Therefore, all observing sessions are contingent upon a nearly clear sky, and will be canceled if the sky is cloudy at the time the observing session is scheduled to begin. Prof. M. will update a voice recording at 672-1785 to announce cancellations and to provide his latest assessment of the prospects for a clear sky.

Testing

There will be a number of in-class exams for a total of approximately 250 possible class points. A comprehensive final will account for approximately an additional 200 class points. It will be closed book and closed notes.

Grading

All class assignments will be graded, and the class points for each will be available on-line at FSU's blackboard facility. You are encouraged to check blackboard to insure your points have been accurately entered for all assignments.

There will be a total of 1000 points possible. Students earning 920 points or more will receive a grade of A; a B corresponds to 820-919 points; a C to 700-819; a D to 501-699; and an F to 500 points or less.

You may calculate your standing in the class by dividing your current blackboard point total by what is possible at the time of your calculation, multiplying by 1000, and comparing to the grade specifications given above.

Please note that the university no longer issues WN grades. You will no longer be automatically withdrawn from a 100 level course for non-attendence. If you fail this class due to non-attendence, your final grade will be a FN which denotes failure due to non-attendance, and is counted toward your GPA as an F. It is your responsibility to withdraw if it is warranted.

Attendance

Punctual attendance at each lecture and lab session for this course is essential to your success.

You will be asked to sign an attendance log for each session. The attendance sheet will indicate the number of unexcused absences for each student. If your absences exceed 10% of the total contact hours, you are eligible to receive an INTERIM GRADE of EA which denotes EXCESSIVE ABSENCES. If you come to class late, or leave early without prior permission, you will receive a half-day unexcused absence.

Expectations

In this class, you are expected to adhere to the Bronco Way; to strive for Positive Energy, Unity, High Expectations, and Accountability. In addition, you are expected to observe the following principles: excellence, integrity, community, and ethics.

Use of e-mail

You are also expected to use the electronic mail account that is provided for you by the university (username@uncfsu.edu), reading mail regularly, and using it to write to your peers and/or instructor when appropriate.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the appropriation and recapitulation of the work of another as if it were your own. More information about it can be found at http://honor.unc.edu/students/plagiarism.html.

Plagiarism is an act of academic misconduct at FSU. It will not be tolerated in this course. Acts of plagiarism are subject to the disciplinary measures specified in the FSU Student Handbook.

It may be appropriate in a some cases to include verbatim copy of a passage from your text or from the Internet in a homework response. This should not normally constitute the entirety of your response, and should be given only with attribution.

Disclaimer

To accommodate emergent circumstances, the professor reserves the right to make reasonable changes in the syllabus while the course is in progress. Any understandings between a student and the professor including, but not limited to, changes, expectations, or modifications to course requirements or procedures must be in writing and must be signed by both parties. Any question of interpretation of course requirements or of understandings between a student and the professor will be at the discretion of the professor.