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| Textbook: | Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe by Chaisson & McMillan |
| Workbook: | Lecture-Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy by Prather, Slater, Adams & Brissenden |
| Website: | http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/dfox/A001/ |
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| Quick Links | |
| Course lectures: | http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/dfox/A001/lectures.html |
| Textbook website: | http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_chaisson_BG_5 |
| TA Schedule: | http://www.astro.psu.edu/headta/officehours.html |
| Spectroscopy project: | http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/dfox/A001/spectroscopy.html |
| Telescopes project: | http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/dfox/A001/telescopes.html |
| Telescopes status: | http://www.astro.psu.edu/telescopes/status.html |
| Integrity policy: | http://www.astro.psu.edu/deptinfo/integrity.html |
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A nominal grading scale is provided here - a more generous scale (curve) will be used if necessary. Contact Prof. Fox if you have any questions.
Homework: There will be weekly online homeworks, except for the weeks of the three exams and the last week of class (see the schedule on the course lectures page), corresponding to a total of 11 homeworks. The one with the lowest score will be dropped. Homework assignments will become available on Thursday and are due at 9:00 AM on Tuesday at the ANGEL web site, https://cms.psu.edu. You are encouraged to work in groups and discuss the questions with classmates. Make sure to turn in your homework on time, as ANGEL grades your homeworks automatically. You can resubmit answers as many times as you like prior to the deadline; you will be graded on the last set of answers submitted. No extensions or make-ups will be given.
Spectroscopy Project: To be completed during the week of Feb 4 to Feb 12. Please see the spectroscopy webpage for details.
Telescope Observing Project: Can be completed by anyone during the Jan 22 to Feb 14 period, and later in the term according to your last name. Please see the telescopes webpage for details.
Exams: There will be three in-class exams during the semester: February 14, March 25, and April 24. The exam with the lowest score will be dropped. There will be no make-up exams except for serious medical or family emergencies, or legitimate (unavoidable) conflicts related to University business.
Final Exam: The final exam is mandatory. The Final Exam is currently scheduled for May 5, from 6:50pm to 8:40pm, in 112 Kern. Note that this is not the location of the course lectures. There will be no make-ups for the final exam.
Attend class. The online slides consist mostly of illustrations and pictures, with a limited amount of text to explain their meaning. The lectures provide much more content, so that the slides alone are not a substitute for attending class. Also, note that exams are based on lecture content - not on the textbook, which should be used as a reference and review tool. Finally, prior to each exam we will spend some time during class reviewing the content that will be covered on the exam.
Ask questions - either during class, during office hours, or via email. In addition to Prof. Fox and Sara Gettel, you can ask any Astro 1 TA in Davey 445 - see the Astro 1 TA schedule for details.
Prepare for your exams by practicing questions on your own and with classmates, reviewing questions and material from our course workbook and textbook, and getting a good night's sleep the night before.