Syllabus
Printable syllabus [pdf]
Undergraduate Studies UGS 303 Spring 2013
Extraterrestrial Life
INSTRUCTORS:
Dr. Neal Evans, RLM 15.312A, (512) 471-4396
Office Hours: TBA
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Adam McKay |
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REQUIRED BOOKS:
Extraterrestrial Life, 6th Edition, by Evans; Contact by Carl Sagan; Pocket Style Manual by Hacker
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 (50%), a five-page paper (30%), oral presentation (5%), participation in discussion sections (5%), a short report on a University “Gem” (5%), and attendance at a University Lecture and a short report (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 100 points, giving a total of 300 points for a perfect score on the exams. There will be one five-page paper worth 180 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, and a short report on a University Gem adds 30 points, for a total of 600 possible points.
The scores needed to obtain a given grade are listed here:
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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.
TOPICS:
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. An extensive document describing plagiarism will be made available. If you need special arrangements for religious holidays, or because of disabilities, notify the professor well in advance. Use of cell phones during class is not allowed. Use of computers to follow and annotate the pdf files of the lecture presentations is the only acceptable use of computers or similar devices during class time.
Professor
RLM 15.218 · (512) 471-4396 · email
Office Hours
TBA
TA
Daniel Kagan
TA
Kevin Gullikson
TA
Brian Mulligan