AST 3018
General Astronomy I
Section 5858, Fall 1998
T 2-3 R 3 WEIM 1076
Text: Zeilik and Gregory, Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics, Fourth Ed.
This course is the first in a two-semester sequence for science majors. Prerequisites for the course are calculus (simple differentiation and integration) and 1 year of general physics or consent of the instructor.
The course will not follow the organization of the text; a reading list with the order of topics and the corresponding sections in the text is provided. In the fall term we cover the following topics: the celestial sphere and coordinates, the Moon's phases and eclipses, history of astronomy (Greeks, briefly), gravity and orbits, time, electromagnetic radiation, and the solar system (planets, satellites, asteroids, comets, meteorites, etc.). Material in the text will be supplemented on occasion.
Hour tests are scheduled for Sept. 17, Oct. 15, and Nov. 12. These will have questions of the short-answer and discussion types and usually include some computation and/or derivation. They will be non-cumulative. The final examination is, as of now, scheduled for Monday, Dec. 14, in the A period (7:30-9:30 a.m.). This time may well be changed as we approach the end of the term. The final is comprehensive ( i.e., covering the entire course), but there will be an emphasis on the material covered after the third hour test: it will comprise roughly 60% of the exam, with the remainder being material from the three hour tests. The format will be basically the same as the hour tests.
From time to time problem sets will be assigned, due at the beginning of class on an announced date. Severe penalties will be assessed on those turned in late. Unless instructed otherwise each student is to do his/her own work on all problems. The grades from the problem sets, hour tests, and final examination will be combined to give the course grade according to the formula
C = 0.1P + 0.54H + 0.36F
where C is the course numerical grade, P is the numerical average of the grades on the problem sets, H is the numerical average of the grades on the hour tests, and F is the numerical grade on the final examination. C will then be converted to a letter grade according to the scale
A = 90-100
B+= 85-89
B = 80-84
C+= 75-79
C = 70-74
D+= 65-69
D = 60-64
E = 0-59