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AST 309L    1   2  


Class Web Site

In addition to providing access to one of the texts used in the course (Barnes and Benedict), it will also contain the PowerPoint presentations given in class and links to other web sites containing supporting material.

Link through my home page: http://clyde.as.utexas.edu/GFBDefault.html.

Class Participation

The only stupid question is the one you didn't ask. If you don't understand something I said, interrupt me.

Outside Reading

None assigned. You are encouraged to excercise your growing astronomical and ETL vocabulary by reading a newspaper or weekly news magazine. In particular every week most of the articles in Science News are germane to our explorations.

Homework

Four or five homework assignments, handed out in class. You are encouraged to work in teams on the problems, but you must write up the results of each problem set individually.

Grading
  1. Three 60 minute exams to count 60%.
    Exams will be prepared from the lecture material.
    There will be a review session prior to each exam.
    Your lowest grade is dropped.
       There will be no make-up exams.
  2. Homework to count 10%.
  3. One comprehensive final to count 30%.
Class Attendance

My lectures are meant to illuminate concepts dicussed in the texts or to introduce more recent ideas and facts not presented in the texts. The assigned reading is voluminous. You can gauge what I consider to have importance based on what I talk about in class. Guess what tends to show up more often on the exams? Finally, attendance is rewarded. How, other than the (generally) interesting lectures? The class web site is password protected. I announce a new password during each lecture.

Instructor Attendance

Astronomers travel. I am an astronomer. Therefore, I travel. During these rare absences I will either invite in a guest lecturer, give an exam, or show a relevant piece of animated eye candy.


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6 January 2003
Astronomy Program · The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, Texas 78712
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