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ATCA

Neal Evans

RLM 15.214 · (512) 471-3302 · email

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REQUIRED BOOKS:

Extraterrestrial Life, 5th Edition, by Evans
Contact by Carl Sagan

GRADES:

There will be 4 exams, one paper, and one oral presentation. There will be no final. Grades will be based on highest 3 exam scores (60%), paper (20%), oral presentation (5%), participation in discussion sections (5%), and attendance at a University Lecture (5%).

Exams consist primarily of essay questions. Blue books must be used for all exams. The lowest of the four exam scores will be dropped. There will be absolutely no make-up exams, no matter how good your reason is for missing the exam. Dropping the lowest score will cover the situation where an exam is missed for a legitimate reason. Each exam will be worth 120 points, giving a total of 360 points for a perfect score on the exams. There will be one five-page paper worth 120 points and an oral presentation worth 30 points. Participation in discussion sections is worth another 30 points. Attendance at a University Lecture accompanied by a report on the lecture will add 30 points, for a total of 600 possible points.

The scores needed to obtain a given grade are listed here:

A		525-600
B		425-524
C		325-424
D		225-324

There will also be occasional pop quizzes for extra credit, and we will give extra credit to those who actively participate in class discussion during lectures.

Cheating on exams will be dealt with very harshly; don't do it!

TOPICS:

The course covers a wide range of topics, drawing on astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, anthropology, and history. The table of contents of the text gives a good idea of the subjects covered in the class.

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