Section 04:

Section 11:

My Contact Information:

• TA's name: Junfeng Wang
• Office: 443 Davey Lab
• Phone: (814)863-7260
• Email: jwang@astro.psu.edu
• Website: www.astro.psu.edu/users/jwang/ta.html
• Office hours: Wednesday 3-5pm; Thursday 3-4pm; or by appointment

Gear You Need

• Astro 11 Lab manual-Fall 2002 (Available at bookstore. Save the cover, you'll need it later.)
• Planisphere: "Edmund Star and Planet Locator" (Also vailable at bookstore.)
• Scientific calculator
• Penn State CAC access account
• A small, cheap flashlight with the end covered with RED cellophane (or cut-up RED balloon), painted with RED nail-polish, or otherwise made RED in color to help you see when you write on the dark roof.
• Pencil and blank paper
• Warm clothes necessary when it gets cold and we go observing on the roof.

Grading Policy

• The following is a tentative grading scale. The final grade will depend on the class distribution at the end of the semester.

• Semester Observing Project (a.k.a. Lab 1): 120 points (30% of your grade)
• 15 labs with 20 pts each, the lowest lab grade will be dropped, 14X20=280, so plus the project total of  400 pts.
• Tips for earning grades easily:
• When questions ask for numerical answer, show me your equations and calculations - don't forget appropriate units
• Write legibly - If I can't read it, I can't grade it, so no points will be given.
• Always use Pencil - do all writing in pencil, so you can always correct it easily.
• Well Presented - just general "neatness", don't be overly verbose.
• Stapled in the upper left corner - to make sure I get all pages of your lab report.
• Name and section number - I am not an expert of handwriting analysis.
• Don't hesitate to see me if you have questions or need help - you can come, call or email!
• Lab reports are due by the beginning of class the following week. Until noon that Friday you can still turn them in without losing points. Labs may still be turned in by the start of next class with a deduction of 5 points. Later labs will not be accepted without an entertaining excuse. You can turn the late labs in to my office in 443 Davey Lab.
• Group discussion is encouraged, but your lab report must be your own work in your own words. Cheating or copying will cause penalty of losing all the points. Refer to PSU's university policy http://www.science.psu.edu/academic/Integrity/Syllabi.htm

Attendance

• Regular attendance is required. There are only excusable absences like being sick (with a doctor's note), religious obligations or a funeral. If you know you have to miss class, please contact me before-hand by phone or email so I can arrange for you to make up the lab. If you miss class without giving me proper warning, you'll need a super-convincing excuse. Frequent absences may result a degrade in your final grade.

Lab Schedule