PHYS133:
Introduction to Astronomy
All Sections
Spring 2008
Instructor: Jamie Holder
Phone: 302-831-2545 E-mail: jholder@physics.udel.edu
Scheduled Office Hours:
Wed 4:00-5:00PM, Fri 2:30-3:30PM, or by appointment
Office Location: 222 Sharp
Lab
Website: http://www.physics.udel.edu/~jholder/Phys133/PHYS133.htm
Text: The Essential Cosmic Perspective, 4th Edition, Bennett et al.
Description of Class
This class
provides an overview of astronomy, from the solar system to the structure of
the universe. This is a lab class
that has an emphasis on the role of data in science. Each semester is different, and it can be hard to predict the
exact schedule. If necessary, I
will adjust the topics and schedule:
1. Our Place in the Universe
2. Telescopes and Light
3. The Solar System
4. Stars
5. Our Galaxy and Cosmology
Warning
Some high school
math required. Only one class of PHYS144 and PHYS133 can count toward graduation.
Exam Schedule
There will be two
exams during the semester. The
first will be on Wednesday, March 19th and the second on ********. The final
is scheduled during finals week on Wednesday, May 28th at 10:30am in SHL131. An example exam for the first mid-term is here - ignore questions on chapter 5 (9,11,12,19,21,23,30,31,35)
The final exam will cover chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16.1 and 16.2. The final is scheduled during finals week on Wednesday, May 28th at 10:30am in SHL131.
50% of the final will be on the newer material (Chapters 12, 15, 16.1 and 16.2)
The review lecture for the final exam is here
Labs
First lab is in the week starting Feb 25th
Lab Instructors: Dana Boltuch, Nurdan Anilmas
Experiments play
an essential role in science. You
are required to sign up for one of the PHYS133 lab sections. You are allowed to miss one lab, or if
you do them all, your lowest grade will be dropped. Please save this for emergencies rather than attending a
party. There will not be an
opportunity to make up labs.
Some of the labs
are computer-based and simulate the process of collecting and analyzing
astronomical data. Others will
make use of our optical telescopes.
Since the latter labs depend on the weather, we cannot give a definitive
schedule of labs. It is likely that
some section will be able to observe outdoors, say on a Monday, when another
section, say on a Wednesday, will have to stay indoors. It may be necessary to
adjust the lab grades if the different TAs prove to have different grade
distributions so that no section will be at a disadvantage.
Homework Assignments
Most of the
assignments will be on the Mastering Astronomy system. Please go to masteringastronomy.com and register for the
class MAHOLDER54203. Use your University of Delaware ID
(not your social security number) as your ID number. These assignments make use of interactive feedback and are
designed to use the Socratic Method.
The computer will assign your score according to the algorithm
documented on the website. You
will get a small bonus (extra credit) if you do not use the hints, but it is
much better to use the hints than to guess wildly. You will get multiple chances to answer each question, but
you lose credit for each wrong answer.
There will also
be occasional written assignments, approximately every other week. You should try to do all these problems
by yourself., but if you get stuck, you may talk to classmates You may not copy the solutions from
someone else or have them do the problems for you. Some assignments may ask you to work in a group,
in which case you will have to state clearly what each student contributed to
the assignment.
The honors class
will be required to do additional assignments. These will explore topics in greater depth and in particular
make more use of mathematics as a tool to understand the world.
Requirements
You are expected
to attend lecture and participate.
You are expected
to spend a full two hours in laboratory each week.
You are required
to do any preparatory reading.
The honors
section is required to attend a special discussion section. Mondays 2:30-3:20pm, SHL 122
Grading
Regular sections:
Mid-Semester
Exam#1 15%
Mid-Semester
Exam#2 15%
Final Exam 25%
Laboratory 20%
Mastering
Astronomy/ Other Homework 25%
Honors Section:
Grade Computed as
for Regular Section 80%
Honors
Assignments 20%
Letter Grades
A: 92.500 – 100.00
A-: 89.500 – 92.499
B+: 86.500 – 89.499
B : 82.500 – 86.499
B-: 79.500 – 82.499
C+: 76.500 – 79.499
C : 72.500 – 76.499
C-: 69.500 – 72.499
D+: 66.500 – 69.499
D : 62.500 – 66.499
D-: 59.500 – 62.499
F: Below 59.500
Please note that
I have already included the "rounding up" in this table, so if you get a 79.500
it rounds up to 80 and you will get a B-, but if you get a 79.499 you will get
a C+. There has to be a cutoff
between grades somewhere.
Extra Credit project: details are here
Cheating Policy
You are, as in
all classes, bound by the university's policy on cheating, plagiarism and
academic misconduct. It is also
worth remembering you are subject to federal, state and local laws.
http://www.udel.edu/stuguide/06-07/code.html#honesty