Instructor:
Prof. Frederick
M. Walter (ESS 459; 632-8232;
fwalter at astro.sunysb.edu)
Office Hours: most Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays 9:00-10:00;
Mondays 2:00 - 3:00; or by appointment.
Teaching Assistant: Josh Schlieder (jschlied at ic.sunysb.edu)
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2-3 PM, or by appointment. \\
Office: ESS 340
Undergraduate Teaching Assistant: Desiree McKinney (desireemc at optonline.net)
Astronomy 101
is an introduction to astronomy for non-science majors.
We will cover the major aspects of modern astronomy and astrophysics,
with an emphasis on how the astronomer deduces
the physical nature of the universe from observations.
Prerequisites: None. This course is designed for the student with
little or no training in science. We will use some mathematical reasoning,
using algebra and trigonometry,
and will introduce physical principles as they are needed.
Expectations: This is a rigorous science course at the college
level. Students are expected to do all assigned readings prior to lecture, and
to participate in class. Students should expect to spend 6-9 hours per week
outside of class reading the material and doing the homework.
Astronomy is a quantitative science;
students in this course will be expected to be able to solve problems and
answer quantitative questions. But astronomy lies astride both the
humanities and the sciences. We will delve into the
humanistic side of science when we answer the
big questions, such as "who are we" and "where did the universe come from".
Course Description :
This is a lecture course.
New material will be introduced on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Fridays will generally be used for class discussions, as well as
to answer questions, reenforce concepts, and work problems.
All tests and quizzes will be on Fridays.
Although we will use the text, we will not follow it rigorously.
Students are strongly urged to attend
the lectures. Astronomy is advancing far more rapidly than any printed text
can keep up with, and we will use the latest results from the Hubble and
Spitzer Space
Telescopes and other observatories in this class.
Students are responsible for all the material
presented in lecture and in the assigned readings.
Observing Sessions: We will have occasional
optional observing sessions using the 14" telescope
on the roof of the ESS building. Observing sessions will be announced in
class and here.
Other sources of information
Students are encouraged to use the world-wide-web to explore topics
covered in this course, but the web must be explored with caution. Read the
description
of the internet and the world-wide-web. I've compiled a list of some
reputable astronomical web sites here.
Textbook: The Cosmic Perspective: Stars, Galxies, and Cosmology, Fourth Edition,
by J. Bennett, M. Donahue, N. Schneider, and M. Voit, published by
Addison Wesley. This book is required.
You may also use The Cosmic Perspective, which has a few extra
chapters.
Earlier editions of the book can be used.
With your purchase of the text, you gain
access to its website, but this access
not required. Note: older editions of the text have different chapter
enumeration, and may have different questions numbers too. You are responsible
for the material as assigned in the current edition.
Grading :
Grades will be based on:
The test and quiz scores (55% of your grade) will be curved such that the
top grade is 100% and the median is the greater of 70% or the actual grade.
The 45% of your grade that comes from the observational activities, class
participation, and role of Astronomy in Culture essay is not curved.
The raw and curved grades will be available on the web.
Lecture Decorum: Students are encouraged to ask questions at any time during the lectures.
Lecture notes will not be available, although lecture synopses may be
posted to the course website. You are responsible for taking notes.
Attendance Policy : Students who know in advance that they will miss a class or a test because
of university-related activities (including athletics) or civic obligations
(e.g., jury duty) should contact the
instructor as soon as possible in advance of the date of absence.
Students so-engaged, who inform the
instructor in advance, will not be penalized, and will be allowed
to make up any work missed.
If you choose to miss a test for personal reasons you will not be allowed
to make it up.
Testing Policy : During an examination:
No electronic devices of any kind are allowed during examinations. Cell
phones and pagers must be turned off. Students who
who disrupt the examination because of an audible phone or pager,
or by answering a call,
will be asked to leave and will have their exam confiscated.
Students who may have a legitimate need to be on-call during an examination
should discuss this with the instructor in advance.
Students
who leave the exam for whatever reason will not be allowed to return.
Students are responsible for coming to the tests prepared. The instructor
does not supply pens, pencils or answers.
Tests should be completed in pen (any color except red).
Attendance policy for midterms and final: Students will not be
permitted to leave for the first 30 minutes (midterms) or the first hour
(final). No students will be admitted after anyone leaves. Makeup Policy :
Midterm and final examinations may be made up only with a valid medical excuse
and a
doctor's note attesting that the student could not take the exam
(a note merely showing a visit to the doctor's is not acceptable).
Students seeking a makeup must contact the instructor as soon as possible.
There will be no makeups on quizzes.
Make-up policy for quizzes: In general quizzes cannot be made up, because
the lowest two quizzes are dropped. Students who must miss more than two
quizzes because of documented university-related activities or
civic obligations will be allowed
to compensate by obtaining extra class participation credit (up to 2 points
per quiz missed after the first). The limit of 4 discussion position papers
will not apply in this case.
Requests for extra credit assignments will not be entertained.
Homework: Homework problems
will be assigned weekly, but will not graded.
Students will be responsible for the assigned homework on quizzes and tests.
Academic Dishonesty :
Students suspected of cheating in exams, of plagiarizing their writing
assignments, or of any other form of academic dishonesty,
will be assigned an F grade for the course and will be reported
to the academic
judiciary.
Students who suspect others of cheating are encouraged to report them.
Reports will be kept confidential.
Dishonest students make things that much harder for the majority of
students, who are honest.
Office Hours: Monday 11:45-1:45; Tuesday 9:50-11:10, or by appointment.\\
Office: ESS 340
Copies of the text should be on reserve in the Math-Physics-Astronomy
library (room C-130 in the Physics building).
Other textbooks are also on reserve
for those who might benefit from a slightly different perspective.
These include
Students attending lectures are asked to exhibit common courtesy.
Testing is an important way of assessing whether or not you are learning
anything from this class. There will be two in-class midterm examinations
and a final examination.
The exams are cumulative. All exams are closed-book.
However,
each student is allowed to bring one sheet of paper, no larger than 8 1/2 x 11
inches in size, containing whatever information the student deems useful, to
the exams.
Students should have a picture ID to present upon handing in their exams.
Americans with Disability Act: