| PROFESSOR: | Dr. Bob Robbins |
| Office: | RLM 13.136 |
| Phone: | 471-7312 |
| E-mail: | rrr@astro.as.utexas.edu |
| Office Hours: | Just before and after class in RLM 13.136 and by appointment |
| TA: | TBA |
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I. REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS AND MATERIALS:
Text: Discovering Astronomy, 4th Edition by Robbins, Jefferys, & Shawl (1999)
II. ORGANIZATION AND GRADING OF THIS COURSE:
60% of the course grade will come from half-hour quizzes given approximately every three weeks during the semester. Five quizzes will be given and the lowest score will be dropped. This means each of the four remaining quizzes counts 15 points, totaling 60 on a scale of 100. There will be no final exam.
Dropping a quiz should be sufficient to allow for normal (occasional) sickness, bad days, and other problems and obviate the need for make-up quizzes. Unusual circumstances such as severe medical problems will be considered on an individual basis. Bring such matters to my attention as soon as you notice them developing. By the end of the semester, it is generally too late to do anything about it.
III. THE OBSERVATIONAL ACTIVITIES:
The other 40% of your grade will be earned by the completion of a set of observational activities in astronomy, discussed in more detail below. The observational activities are the "homework" work of this course. There will be no mathematical problem sets.
Some of the activities will be done in our lab room RLM 13.132, but many will be outdoor observations and measurements taken on the roof of RLM. Materials to carry out the activities will be given out at appropriate times.
These activities will allow you a chance to practice the art of the ancient astronomers. They will introduce you to the process of carrying out measurements on celestial objects and drawing conclusions from your measurements. Thus, our goal is active participation in "learning-by-doing." There is all the difference in the world between knowing about and knowing how to do. Do not discount these activities; they will give us valuable insight into the growth of astronomical knowledge.
We will be with you on the roof to help until you are thoroughly familiar with what you are doing, so don't imagine yourself as being lonely and abandoned on the roof. Since you can consult with us continually on the progress of your observational activities, there should be no obstacle to getting a good grade on them. They tend to be pass-fail activities; if you put in the effort, you end up with a good result. Note: if you cannot stay late on a couple of occasions, you should probably change your enrollment to a 301 class.
The required activities will involve making observations of celestial phenomena and drawing conclusions from the measurements you take and having an opportunity to discover many things for yourself. This will give us insight into the growth of astronomical knowledge.
For a couple of nights early in the semester, you will have to stay an hour or so after class to observe certain things that come up later. Because we will be going up on the roof frequently, always dress warmly. (seriously) If the weather is bad, we will be in the classroom. If it is good, we will be on the roof. The 14th level roof of RLM is a secure observing location, but unfortunately, it is located in the middle of the city and campus lights, so it is not ideal, but it does have a good clear horizon. You don't want too many stars at the beginning anyway. Very cold weather is good for us, since the various stadiums are darkened then.
Depending upon what is being observed, the specific hours of observation will of course have to vary somewhat. For example, some projects deal with night-time observations of the stars and planets, while Moon observations can be both night and day. Solar observations are clearly daytime observations. The activities are going to be more concentrated at the beginning of the semester, to get observations started as soon as possible, so that long-term changes have more of a chance to show up. There will be fewer reading assignments at this time.
Deadlines and Drops: Monday, Feb. 14, is the last day to drop freely. After this date, University regulations state that you must be working at a C rate in the class to receive a grade of Q (dropped, passing). To drop after Monday March 27 is even more difficult, since you must also convince the dean of students of your college that you have some "urgent and substantiated nonacademic reason" justifying the drop at such a late date. If you are doing poorly in the class, do take effective action by these deadline days. You invite all sorts of trouble from the administration when you procrastinate past one of them. (Note that up until March 27, you may change between letter-grade and pass-fail status. However pass-fail registration will not satisfy your science requirement - it will count as an elective.)
IV. TENTATIVE QUIZ DATES and the reading they cover:
Quiz (1) Feb 8 - Ch 1, 3, 4, 5
Quiz (2) Mar 2 - Ch 6, 7, 8 (skip pp 144-151), 9, 10 (skip pp 218-222)
Quiz (3) Mar 23 - Ch 11, 12, 13, 14 (skip from last paragraph of p 258 to 270)
Quiz (4) Apr 13 - Ch 15 (skip Inquires 15-3 and 15-4 and the two paragraphs above them), & 16, 17 (skip CNO cycle, p 344 and pp 359-360), 18, 19
Quiz (5) May 4- Ch 20 (skip pp 375-378), 21, 22, 23
Fri, May 5, is the end of classes.