AST 248: The Search for Life in the Universe

Fall 2009

TuTh 12:50-2:10, Harriman 137

  • Instructor: James Lattimer lattimer@astro.sunysb.edu
      • Office: ESS 455, 632-8227
      • Hours: Tu, W, Th 2:30-3:30 PM
      • Additional hours will be scheduled in response to requests.
      • Additional help sessions will be arranged prior to major exams.
  • TA: Rashad Simon
      • Office: ESS 437 during office hours only
      • Hours: M 4:00-5:00 PM, W 12:00-2:00 PM

    • Course URL is http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/lattimer/AST248/

    ANNOUNCEMENTS

    Homeworks are posted on this web page one week before they are due.

    Lecture notes are posted here.

    Grades are posted on Blackboard

    Here is a REVIEW FOR THE SECOND EXAM.

    • Required texts:"Life in the Universe" by Bennett, Shostak and Jakosky.
    • Supplementary (non-required) texts: "Here Be Dragons" by Koerner and LeVay, and "The Science of Aliens" by Pickover. "Here Be Dragons" is out of print, but used copies should be available at the bookstore. All books are available at Stony Books across 25A from the railroad station.

      Considerable additional material will be presented in the lectures. Some, but not all this additional material, will be posted on this website. You are responsible for all material presented in class, whether or not it is posted.

    • Exams: There are three major exams, each counting 20%. Two are administered in class, 6 October and 10 November. The third is administered during the scheduled final exam period on 17 December at 5:15 PM in Harriman 137.

      80 minutes will be allowed to complete each exam, including the third one. The exams will be effectively non-cumulative and they will be curved. An ID is required to take an exam. The test questions will be multiple choice or true/false and will be machine graded; scantron sheets will be provided but you should bring #2 pencils and erasers. The exams are closed-book and no notes are permitted. Although some elementary math may be used, calculators, PDA's or computers will not be permitted. When the exam is announed "over", exams must be turned in immediately or loss of credit is possible. If you arrive late for the exam, you will not be given extra time to complete the exam. If you arrive more than 30 minutes late, without a valid excuse, you may not be permitted to take the exam.

      Grade Correspondence for the Major Exams
      EXAM A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D F
      # 1 67 - 90 65 - 66 63 - 64 59 - 62 57 - 58 55 - 56 47 - 54 45 - 46 43 - 44 35 - 42 0 - 34
      # 2 74 - 90 72 - 73 70 - 71 66 - 69 64 - 65 62 - 63 54 - 61 52 - 53 50 - 51 42 - 49 0 - 41
      # 3


      To make up an exam will require a valid, documented excuse (doctor's/infirmary note, obituary notice, police accident report, etc.). Make-up exams will be administered during Lattimer's office hours on dates to be arranged.

    • Homeworks: There will be 11 homework assignments, one for every week, except the first, that there is no exam. Homeworks will be posted one week before they are due. Homeworks also serve as study aids. Your homework responses must be typed or word-processed, except for algebra calculations, as it is often difficult to decipher handwriting. Any math work for the homeworks may be handwritten if it is legible. The homeworks will be collected at the beginning of class on the due date; later submissions, such as after 10 minutes from the beginning of a class or at the end of class, will be downgraded (exceptions to this rule for justifiable reasons will be considered individually by the instructor. This policy is not inflexible, and lengthy absences for athletic, health or other documentable reasons will be permitted.). Obviously, it is to your advantage to complete the homework before it is due. Some of the homework questions will appear on the exams.

      The total of your 9 highest homeworks will count for 20% of your final grade. The 2 lowest or missing homework grades will be dropped.

    • Term Report: A term report will count 20% of the total grade. The due date for the report is October 15. Papers submitted after October 15 will be assessed the equivalent of a 1/3 letter grade penalty for each week they are late. It is preferable for papers to be handed in directly to me. You should check Blackboard for the status of your paper; bring discrepancies to my attention.

      The length should be at least 8 double-spaced typed pages. Typing or word-processing is required. The subject of your paper will be determined by the last number in your student ID (see the table below). You should find at least three, and preferably more, recent (i.e., within the last 3 years) sources on which to base your report. Books and magazine or newspaper articles are acceptable, as are internet web pages if you identify your sources and conclude they are providing reliable information. TV documentaries are not acceptable sources of information. Your report should not use the lecture notes or the required text as primary references, neither should it basically copy such material. Footnotes and detailed referencing are not required, but your paper must include a bibliography containing the sources from which material was taken. If you use a figure or table, you must cite the source in the figure or table. Your paper will be graded on its relevance to the assigned topic, on its originality (i.e., your own opinions and interpretations) and on the quality of the research you performed in its writing.

      Assigned Topics for the Term Paper:

      Last ID digit Topic
      0The Fermi Paradox
      1Extrasolar Planets
      2Mass Extinctions: Causes and Consequences
      3Extremophiles
      4Is Interstellar Space Travel Feasible?
      5Global Warming: Fact or Myth?
      6Martian Meteorites: Evidence for Life?
      7Europa
      8Titan
      9Evolution: Fact or Theory?


    • Extra Credit: A second term report may be written for extra credit. The topic can be any of the 9 topics you haven't already written about. The amount of extra credit will be determined at the end of the course and the maximum will be equivalent to a two-letter grade increase of any one of your exam grades, final homework grade, or term paper grade (whichever makes the maximum increase in your course grade). The due date for the extra-credit report is November 19; late submissions will be downgraded an equivalent of 1/3 letter grade per week.

      Plagiarism - Copying from currently or previously submitted papers or homeworks, copying directly from the WWW without attribution, or copying part of an article or book without reference will result in an "F" for the report or homework and a complaint will be filed with the student judiciary.

    • Hints on how to succeed: 1, 2.

    • Overall Grade: Each exam and paper will count 20%, and the homework grade counts 20%. The only opportunity for extra credit is the extra-credit term report.

      Scores from previous semesters are here:

      Exam, Homework and Paper Grades for Fall 2008. Exam, Homework and Paper Grades for Fall 2007. Exam, Homework and Paper Grades for Fall 2006. Exam, Homework and Paper Grades for Spring 2006.

      Exam, Homework and Paper Grades for Spring 2005.

      Exam, Homework and Paper Grades for Fall 2004. Exam, Homework and Paper Grades for Spring 2004.

      Exam, Homework and Paper Grades for Spring 2003.

      If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact your ability to carry out assigned course work, contact the staff in the Disabled Student Services office (DSS), 128 Educational Communications Center, 632-6748/9. DSS will review your concerns and determine with you what accommodations are necessary and DSS will advise me. All information and documentation of disability is confidential.

      Stony Brook University expects students to maintain standards of personal integrity that are in harmony with the educational goals of the institution; to observe national, state, and local laws and University regulations; and to respect the rights, privileges, and property of other people. Faculty are required to report to the Office of Judicial Affairs any disruptive behavior that interrupts their ability to teach, compromises the safety of the learning environment, and/or inhibits students' ability to learn.

      Each student must pursue his or her academic goals honestly and be personally accountable for all submitted work. Representing another person's work as your own is always wrong. Any suspected instance of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Academic Judiciary. For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including categories of academic dishonesty, please refer to the academic judiciary website.

      HOMEWORKS