Course Syllabus

Astronomy 103: Introduction to Astronomy

Fall 2016 

                                                                                                                                                         

Classroom and times: CF 115; MTWF 10:00-10:50AM

Prerequisites: MATH 107 or higher

Instructor: Dr. Michael Kraft  (Michael.Kraft@wwu.edu; phone: 360-650-3153)

Website: Course postings & Homework:   CANVAS CLASS SITE  http://www.wwu.edu/canvas 

Office Hours:  CF357     Mon. 11-12; Tues. 11-12 & 2-3  or by appointment        

All the information on this syllabus is subject to change.  Changes will be announced in class and/or on Canvas.  These changes will be updated on the online syllabus.  The student is responsible for keeping up to date on any changes.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVE

Astronomy 103 is a survey course that will cover many topics including but not limited to world astronomical history, Newtonian physics, distance measurements, star evolution, galaxies, and cosmology.  The goal of this class is to understand astronomy as a science and the measurement capabilities discovered over the course of human history.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

After this course, students will be able to:

• use figures, graphs and natural language to qualitatively describe measurements and properties of stars, the Milky Way, and the larger universe. 
• make computations to quantitatively confirm measurements and properties of stars, the Milky Way, and the larger universe. 
• demonstrate the ability to work individually and in groups to understand and analyze scientific measurements and principles, and use quantitative and scientific reasoning to frame and solve problems

COURSE MATERIALS:

Activity Workbook: Learning Astronomy by Doing Astronomy, Palen & Larson, 1^st ed. (workbook), Note: This workbook will be available in the WWU Bookstore the week of September 26.  We will not use the workbook in every class session, but you should bring it with you to each session and be prepared to complete activities from it.

Online textbook: We will primary be using the online textbook at TeachAstronomy.com and the workbook named above.  The online textbook is open access (free!) and has been selected, in part, to help curb the costs incurred by you, the student. Be sure to keep up with reading assignments at the website, http://www.teachastronomy.com/textbook

Canvas site: You will need to access the course Canvas site regularly throughout the course to get reading assignments, access and complete homework assignments, view course announcements and updates, find links to the online textbook, view grades, and access other materials required or relevant to the course; http://www.wwu.edu/canvas

ABCD card + Paper + Pen/Pencil + Calculator: Class sessions will often include ‘Think-Pair-Share’ questions to be answered with the ABCD response cards distributed in class, as well as short writing assignments and problem solving sessions.  You may wish to have a calculator for certain in-class activities.

Optional supplemental textbook: Pathways to Astronomy, Schneider & Arny, Any Edition  (3^rd edition reserved in library)

Printing charges: You may be asked to print materials and bring them with you to class.  The instructor will make every effort to keep this to a minimum.

 

GRADED COURSE ACTIVITIES

Homework (15% of course grade): Students will demonstrate their mastery of the course material by completing un-timed multiple choice “quizzes” on Canvas, including conceptual and short mathematical problems.  These quizzes may redirect students to online simulations, animations or questions. There will be about 12-15 homework assignments over the quarter, so students will be responsible for 1 or 2 homework "quizzes" in a typical week.  The lowest single homework grade will be dropped from the homework grade for the course.

DueDates:  These dates will be posted in CANVAS announcements and on the CANVAS quiz section.  Homework completed after the due date receives ZERO points.  There may be multiple homework “quizzes” in a given week.  There will be homework due Dead week.

Study Time:  Give yourself a good amount of time to do each homework assignment. Please create study groups.  Talking about a question/problem together is encouraged but having a person tell you the answer will not help you; discussion will.  I encourage you to take advantage of the free tutoring service in the Tutoring Center, located in Wilson Library 280 (see below).

Group Tutorials (15% of course grade):  Several times during the quarter, students will work collaboratively on in-class tutorial activities (Not all group activities will be scheduled). Students will work in groups of 3-6 students determined by the instructor, and likely will change groups at least once during the quarter.  Group work will be graded for effort and participation by the entire group.  Students that are not present for the group problem will not receive credit and credit cannot be made up.  There will be roughly 8-12 group activities this quarter.  The lowest single grade will be dropped.  Groups will work on pages from the astronomy workbook and/or handouts.

Midterms (15% of course grade each; 45% total) & Final Exam (25% of course grade): Student understanding of the course material will be evaluated regularly, via three midterms and a comprehensive final exam.  All exams will be multiple choice, closed-book exams; the instructor will provide an equation sheet along with each exam. Calculators will be allowed, but can not be shared between students. Students are required to take all exams, and all exams will count toward the course grade. Dates of all exams are given in the calendar below.  EXAMS MAY NOT BE MADE UP OR TAKEN EARLY.  IF YOU ARE NOT PRESENT AT THE TIMES STATED ABOVE YOU WILL RECEIVE A ZERO.  To ensure fairness for everyone, opportunities to make up exams will be offered only if circumstances preventing attendance constitute extreme, verifiable emergencies and if the instructor is notified before the exam occurs.

Complaints and Comments on Graded Work:  A student must wait 24 hours to discuss with me a complaint or grievance regarding a graded piece of work. Office hours or a rescheduled meeting time is the only time I will talk to a student about graded work. 

 

GRADES

Your grade will be based on three tests, all the homework assignments and group problems and the cumulative Final.  The percentages break down the following way:

 

Grade              Grade pt          %      

A                     4.0                   >93               C+                      2.3                   76 – 79.9

A-                    3.7                   90 – 92.9       C                       2.0                   73 – 75.9

B+                   3.3                   87 – 89.9       C-                      1.7                   70 – 72.9

B                     3.0                   83 – 86.9       D+                     1.3                   67 – 69.9

B-                    2.7                   80 – 82.9       D                       1.0                   63 – 66.9

                                                                      D-    60 – 62.9             F  0-59.9

P/NP, S/U grading: you must score at least 70% to receive P or S.  

 

RESOURCES AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Reasonable Accommodation:  Reasonable accommodation for persons with documented disabilities should be established within the first week of class and arranged through disAbility Resources for Students: Telephone
650-3083; email drs@wwu.edu; and on the web at disAbility Resources.

Tutoring: Western’s Tutoring Center provides drop-in tutoring for this course. The Tutoring Center is located in WL280, and is open M-R 9am-9pm, F 9am-5pm, and Sunday 5-9pm. Study skills assistance is also available. See www.wwu.edu/tutoring  for additional information.

Study Skills Booklet: This resource is available online or at the TC; students are welcome to review it independently or with the guidance of a peer advisor.

Inclusion:  Western Washington University serves the people of the State of Washington, the nation, and the world by bringing together individuals of diverse backgrounds and perspectives in an inclusive, student-centered university that develops the potential of learners and the well-being of communities. http://www.wwu.edu/eoo/docs/DiversityHandbook.pdf

Student Services: Western encourages students to seek assistance and support at the onset of an illness, difficulty, or crisis.

• In the case of a medical concern or question, please contact the Health Center: 650-3400 or visit Student Health
• In the case of an emotional or psychological concern or question, please contact the Counseling Center: 650-3400 or visit Counseling Services
• In the case of a health and safety concern, please contact the University Police: 650-3555 or visit University Police
• In the case of a family or personal crisis or emergency, please contact the Dean of Students: 650-3450 or visit Dean of Students
• To seek confidential support related to sexual violence, please contact CASAS (650-3700), the Student Health Center, and/or the Counseling Center. To report sexual violence, please contact University Police, Bellingham Police, and/or the Title IX Coordinator in Western’s Equal Opportunity Office (650-3307). Faculty are responsible employees who are required to report sex discrimination, including sexual violence that they learn about to the Title IX Coordinator

Student Integrity and Academic Honesty: Unless told otherwise, all exams will be closed book, and collaboration is not allowed. Any incident of academic dishonesty will be handled in accordance with the university’s Academic Honesty Policy and Procedures in the WWU catalog: the student will receive a failing grade, and notifications will be sent to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the registrar.  A student who has received an F due to academic dishonesty will not be allowed to withdraw from the course.  Western is committed to integrity in all aspects of academic and campus life. A full resource for guiding students is the Faculty Senate’s Integrity website.

Class Conduct & Norms: On the first of class we will discuss what is expected class conduct & listen to http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/370/ruining-it-for-the-rest-of-us

A final list of these norms will be posted on CANVAS in the welcome module.

 

 

COURSE SCHEDULE (subject to change)  Color-coded PDF of course schedule

Module	Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Th.	Friday
Science	1  Sept. 21-23			Introductionand class norms		Groups: Science and society
Observingand Describingthe Universe	2  Sept. 26-30	Astronomical Scale	Quantitative Science andScientific Units	Kepler’s Laws		Newton and Gravity
	3  Oct. 3-7	Forces	Behavior of light	Particles & Spectra		EXAM 1
Planetary Systems: The Solar System and Beyond	4  Oct. 10-14	The Solar System	Origin of the Sun & Planets	Blackbody radiation		Solar energy and Sun’s spectrum
	5  Oct. 17-21	Earth & Moon	Planetary exploration	Jovian planets		What’s up with Pluto?
	6  Oct. 24-28	Extrasolar planets	Astronomical distance: parallax	Stellar Magnitude & Luminosity		EXAM 2
Astronomical Actors: Stars,Black Holesand Galaxies	7  Oct. 31-Nov. 4	Stellar Class	HR Diagrams	Doppler Shift		Stellar Evolution
	8  Nov. 7-11	Main Sequence & Red Giants	Supernovae & Elements	Pulsars & White dwarfs		NO CLASS  Veterans’ Day
	9  Nov. 14-18	Black holes	The Milky Way & SMBH	Globular clustersand the local group		EXAM 3
Cosmology: Contemplating the Cosmos	10  Nov. 21-25	Dark matter	The Cosmic Ladder	NO CLASS:THANKSGIVING BREAK
	11  Nov. 28-Dec.2	The Expanding Universe	Gravitational Lensing	The Big Bang		REVIEW
	Finals Week		FINAL EXAM  Dec. 6  8AM-10AM