The topics and dates of the exams (tentative-any changes will be announced heavily in class and at the class website) are
listed below. There will be no comprehensive final. The exams will probably consist entirely of multiple choice questions,
depending on class size. I will prepare you for the nature of the exam questions by occasionally giving sample questions during lectures,
by pointing out the types of information that I expect you to understand or remember, and giving examples on review sheets. There is a
good multiple choice interactive self-testing part of the text web site
(http://www.prenhall.com/chaisson) [this may need revision] that I urge you to use,
since the exam questions will be of that form, and some will be taken from this source. (Click on Astronomy Today 6/e, then use the
Multiple Choice and True and False questions for each chapter.) I will suggest which questions to try as we finish each chapter.
In case of medical or other non-academic emergencies or situations, contact me as early as possible--it may be possible for you to
take an exam a day or so early or late in these cases (but not for academic reasons).
We will try to return exam grades through the UT e-Gradebook system (at
https://utdirect.utexas.edu/diia/egb/) within one or two days of the time of
the exam. You will turn in your exams, but can compare your answers with an exam marked with correct answers, located at the
back of the classroom. For this reason, you should record your answers (e.g. 15a, 16d, ...) on a separate piece of paper.
Homework:
There is homework in this class, but it won't be turned in. Instead the homework consists of a subset of the questions at the
end of each chapter and especially on the interactive multiple choice self-testing part of the text web site. The purposes of
the homework are to give you a way of testing your understanding of the material, to provide a guide to the most important
concepts, and to force you to keep up with the material. Although the homework will not be turned in or graded, you will find
that your exam grades suffer significantly if you do not attempt to work through these assignments, especially since I will
include some of them on each exam.
Final grades:
Final grades are assigned on the basis of A=87-100, B=78-86.9, C=67-77.9, D=55-66.9, F<55. Final percentages will not
be "rounded up." For example, if you end up with a 77.8, you will receive a C. There is no possibility of "extra credit" in any
case because of the class size--I would have to offer the same opportunity to all students.
Departmental policies: Please download and read the "Memo to Undergraduate Astronomy Students regarding Astronomy Courses"
at Courses if you did not receive it in class.
Just under the cutoff?
If at the end of the semester you are just under the cutoff for a grade (by, say, one, or two, or 0.3, percentage points), whether
you are just under a D, say, or an A, do not call Prof. Scalo asking him to lower the cutoff--this is unfair to all concerned. Cutoffs
will not be lowered to accommodate your individual score. Scores at the end of the semester are not rounded up, so, for example,
a 77.7 will get you a C.
Special Requests
If you have any special request of any sort (excluding those not allowed, like lowering the grade cutoff), please put the request
in writing, preferably by email, or call me on the phone. Please state clearly and explicitly your request and why it is reasonable.
Include a phone number so that I can contact you about your request. Obviously (I hope) this procedure does not apply to
minor requests such as "Could you stop twitching so much during your lectures?," etc. Any suggestions for improvement of the
class as we proceed will be greatly appreciated--an email is usually the easiest way.
