Fifteen percent of your total grade will come from participation in class.

• I will try to engage you in discussion as part of this course. Astronomy touches some controversial issues. I have identified seven such issues, and we will discuss them on 7 Fridays. The topics are
  1. Does astrology work? (Feb 2)
  2. Is there a conflict between science and religion? (Feb 9)
  3. Is global warming real, is it a threat, and who's to blame? (Mar 2)
  4. Is there a future for life on Earth? (Mar 9)
  5. Is there a role for Man in space? (Mar 30)
  6. Are UFOs evidence for visitations by extraterrestrials? (Apr 13)
  7. Was the universe made, or did it just happen? (Apr 27)
  I hope to engender some lively discussion of these points. That requires that you be willing to offer opinions. Everyone is expected to participate in these discussions.
  For up to 4 points, you must:
  • Take a stand. Write a 1 page position paper explaining your position, and email it to me before noon on the Thursday before the discussion. Guidelines for the position papers are described here.
  • Be prepared to support your position in class.
  You may do this four times, for a maximum of 15 points (there is one exception to this limit - see here). I may limit participation to the first 40 papers arriving, just to keep things workable.
  Your grade will not depend on your position, but on how well you can support your position.

• If you attend an Astronomy open night, you can earn up to 2 points by writing a report on what you learned. The report should be less than one page in length, and can be e-mailed to me.
  You can do this for each of the open nights, for up to 8 points.

• You can earn up to 2 points by attending an observing session and writing a report on what you observed. Take notes, and describe what you saw. You must report on at least two objects. Please e-mail the report to me.
  You may do this twice, for 4 points maximum. If you do it twice, please report on something different the second time.

• You may suggest questions for the midterms and final. You must provide an answer along with your question (and the answer must be correct). You may suggest one question for each test. You will receive up to 1 point per correctly-answered question, up to a maximum of 3 points total. Please e-mail me the questions at least 2 days prior to the midterms, and before May 4 for the Final.

• Enter the Great Mnemonic Contest. Each unique entry is worth one point; two points maximum per person.

Note that if you do everything, you could in principle tally 33 points. Only the first 15 will be counted. Do not beg for extra credit - it will not be awarded.