Course: Astronomy 110
Section: Section 4
Web Site: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~stockton/a110.htm
Instructor: Alan Stockton
Phone 956-7995 (IfA) or 956-2973 (Wat 404)
Email stockton@ifa.hawaii.edu
Teaching Assistant: Mark Willman
Phone 956-6989 (IfA) or 956-6305 (Wat 402)
Email willman@ifa.hawaii.edu
Location: Watanabe 112
Time: Tuesday/Thursday 9:00--10:15 AM
Office Hours:
Prof. Stockton: Tuesday 10:30--12:00 AM at Watanabe 404
or by appointment after Thursday class or at the Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive.
You are strongly encouraged to visit me during these office hours, to ask questions about the course material, to discuss other issues, or just to have a general conversation so that we can get to know each other better.
Mr Willman: Wednesday 3:45--4:45 PM at Watanabe 402
or by appointment at the Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn
Drive.
Note: The Institute for Astronomy (IfA), 2680 Woodlawn Drive, is labeled as "Astronomy Facilities" on some Campus maps. It is just makai of the Manoa Shopping Center, opposite Noelani School, and next door to the Manoa Public Library. The Rainbow Shuttle runs from the Student Center at Varney Circle to the upper Manoa faculty housing and the IfA every 20 minutes. Take the bus labeled "Faculty Route", and stay on it as it makes two stops at the faculty housing. On the way back towards campus from faculty housing, the bus makes two stops at IfA. When you make your appointment with either of us, we will tell you how to find our office.
Book:
The textbook for the course is "The Essential Cosmic Perspective" by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit (2nd edition). I have chosen this book because it emphasizes the big picture, rather than concentrating on details. It also tends to minimize astronomical "jargon", which I think makes the material more accessible to the non-specialist. Pay special attention to the "Time Out to Think" and "Common Misconceptions" paragraphs that are inserted in the text, as well as "The Big Picture" at the end of each chapter--these may be helpful in orienting yourself to the material being discussed. When you finish a chapter, a good way to check your understanding of it is to try to answer the review questions at the end of the chapter. The two pages on "How To Succeed in Your Astronomy Course" (pp. xviii--xix) are also worth looking at. We will not cover all of the material in the book. Specific reading assignments are given on the course plan; you are expected to have read these before the corresponding lecture. You are responsible for material in these reading assignments whether they have been discussed in the lectures or not, and you are encouraged to communicate with the instructor or TA if there is something in the reading that you are having difficulty understanding.
New copies of the textbook include 2 CDs: a CD version of the textbook itself, and a simple "planetarium" program called "Voyager SkyGazer". However, some of you may have used copies that do not include these CDs, and it is not essential to have them for this course. I will be showing examples from the SkyGazer CD in class when we look at the motions of objects on the sky.
Objectives and Content of the Course
This is an exciting time for astronomy. The combination of the Hubble Space Telescope and the new, very large ground-based telescopes (many of which are here in Hawaii) has brought about a renaissance in our understanding of the Universe that is evidenced almost daily in the news media. This understanding is a cultural heritage that belongs to us all, and fortunately most astronomical discoveries can be presented in ways that can easily be appreciated by those without rigorous scientific training (unlike, say, the equally important discoveries of particle physics). The two main purposes this course are (1) to present what astronomy has found out about the nature of objects in the Universe, how they relate to each other (and to us), and what we know about their life histories and the overall history of the Universe itself; and (2) to explore how science works, using astronomical discovery as an example: what are the purposes, methods, and limitations of science as a means of acquiring knowledge?
Much of the material will be presented in standard lecture format, though I hope in a highly interactive way. Questions are always encouraged; if something is not clear to you, there is a very good chance that you are not the only one who is confused, and it is important for me, as the instructor, to know when I have not explained something clearly enough. For the purposes of this class, there is no such thing as a "dumb" question.
However, studies in how people learn have shown that a lecture format alone is not the best way for most people to learn. As someone has said, "A lecture is a procedure by which the instructor's notes are transferred to the student's notes, without much happening in between." Students learn better if they actually spend some time grappling with the material. Accordingly, roughly every two weeks, at the beginning of new sections of material, we will have some interactive activities. These will be described in more detail later.
Common Courtesy in Class
Out of respect for the rights of your fellow students, you are expected to observe common courtesy in classroom interactions. For example:
Mathematics
This course is essentially a non-mathematical introduction to astronomy. However, astronomy does deal with large ranges of distances and times, and we have to talk about numerical quantities. We will occasionally have to deal with very simple formulae or ratios of quantities in order to understand certain important relations. These will always be explained in detail. In addition, you will have to resurrect your ability to understand and manipulate (i.e., multiply and divide) numbers in "powers of ten" notation, e.g., 3000 = 3 x 103. We will give you any help you need in doing this; also, see Appendix C1 and C2 in your textbook.
Quizzes and Examinations:
Quizzes and examinations may include any material presented in the lectures, reading assignments, or homework questions. There will be a quiz almost every week. The quizzes will usually consist of 5 multiple-choice questions similar to those that will be given on the midterm and final. No make ups will be allowed for missed quizzes, but the quiz grade will be based on the best 9 of the 11 planned.
The midterm and final will be computer-graded; you must use a #2 pencil for thes exams, since the computer makes errors when trying to read ink. Make sure you are carrying a photo-ID with you to the final exam. We will check that students taking the exam are properly registered. You will be required to sign as well as print your name on your answer sheet.
Failure to do so will result in a zero mark for the exam. No latecomers will
be admitted to the exam once at least one student has left.
Make-up exams will be allowed for serious emergencies only. You must contact the instructor as soon as possible if you miss an exam. A make-up exam, if permitted, will consist of essay-type questions only. Permission to take a make-up exam for the midterm for an athletic-related absence must be obtained in advance; otherwise, no make-up exam will be allowed. No athletic-related absences will be permitted for the final exam.
A review session will be offered sometime after the last lecture and before the beginning of finals week.
Homework:
Homework assignments will be given roughly once a week, as scheduled in
the calendar. The homeworks may require simple calculations, graph drawing or
answers of a few sentences. They are designed to encourage you to think logically.
Your homework should be of collegiate quality: neat, easy to read, and well-organized. You may find that to achieve this quality, you have to do your initial work on a separate sheet before transferring it to the homework sheets that are handed out to you (you can also download and print out a new sheet from the course web site).
One week will be allowed for homework. All homework is due by the beginning of class on Thursday. Homeworks that are left for, or handed in to, the TA in Wat 402 before 9:00 AM on the following Tuesday will be graded at 50%. No credit will be given for any homework handed in later than 9:00 AM on Tuesday. The purpose of this policy is to allow return and discussion of graded homeworks at Tuesday's lecture.
You will be graded on your best 12 out of 14 homeworks. Homeworks will count for 25% of your final grade.
Collaboration:
You should make every attempt to work out homework problems on your own. If, after putting in some effort, you remain stuck, then you may come to the instructor or TA for help, or discuss your homework with another student. In the latter case, you must report the nature and extent of any collaboration on your answer sheet. Moderate collaboration during homeworks will not be penalized but large-scale copying will be regarded as cheating and will be dealt with severely, as will any cheating on quizzes or on the final exam.
Level of Effort Required
The average student should expect to have to put in about 3 hours of study outside of class for each class session (i.e., about 6 hours per week). This will include reading, understanding, and reviewing material in the text, reviewing class notes, doing homework, and preparing for quizzes and exams.
Grading:
Last modified 13 January 2003
Alan Stockton (stockton@ifa.hawaii.edu)