AST 1022L - ASTRONOMY LABORATORY
Course Syllabus – Summer 2006
Instructor: Cynthia Gómez Martín
E-mail: gomez@astro.ufl.edu
Website: www.astro.ufl.edu/~gomez/AstroLab.htm
Phone: 392 - 2052 ext. 256
Campus Teaching Observatory: 392 - 1016
Office: Bryant Space Science Center (BRT), 311
Office Hours: It is to your advantage to come see me during office hours should you have any questions concerning the lab.
Monday 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday 1:00 p.m.– 2:00 p.m.
Teaching Times:
Weekly Labs: I will be teaching all 4 sections of the Astronomy laboratory during Summer B.
Period Time
Monday & Wednesday 5 – 6 2:00 – 4:45
Tuesday & Thursday 4 – 5 12:30 – 3:15
Night Labs: We will have mandatory night labs throughout the semester. These night labs will occur on
Monday nights, exact dates will be announced one week in advance. Night labs will begin at 8:30 p.m. Be sure to arrive on time, otherwise you will be marked absent and receive a grade of zero. All night labs will be performed at the Campus Teaching Observatory (CTO).
Directions to CTO: it is located behind the New Physics Building at the end of Observatory Dr. To get to CTO, from the intersection of Museum Rd. and North-South Dr., go east on Museum Rd. (towards the Reitz Union.) Observatory Dr. is the first road on the right. For night labs you will want to come prepared with the following items: flashlight, your laboratory manual, calculator, pencil, eraser,, and insect repellent. The observatory is very close to the water reclamation facility, so do not forget your insect repellent, or you will regret it!
Monday & Tuesday sections @ 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday & Thursday sections @ 9:30 p.m.
Class Attendance:
1. Class attendance is MANDATORY. This includes both weekly and night labs! You will not be permitted to turn in a lab report if you were not present when the experiment was conducted.
2. Tardiness will not be accepted. Students must arrive within 10 minutes of the beginning of the period. 15 minutes into the class, the attendance sheet will be distributed; those students that are not present will receive a zero for that experiment.
3. There will be NO MAKE - UP labs, except in the case of an emergency. Emergencies that I will consider include but are not limited to: car accident and death of a relative. In case of an emergency you should contact me within 24 hrs. (via email) and you must provide me with an official document.
4. Any student who anticipates missing class due to a religious holiday must present a note with the dates of the holidays by the third week of class in order not to be penalized.
5. For further information on class attendance please refer to the "Undergraduate Catalog" pages 1-23 to1-25.
Description & Objectives: The goal of this course is to introduce the student to the science of Astronomy using basic lab and observational resources. Students will also learn to obtain and analyze data and will perform basic mathematical calculations. This course satisfies Liberal Arts and Science requirements for a lab science.
Required Text: Hands on Astronomy: Lab Manual. You will need to have this lab manual with you when you come to class. The lab manual is available at Target Copy Center on 13th St. and University Avenue for $ 9.82.
Preparation: I will expect you to come prepared to class. I ask that the students bring a prelab, which consists of a page with the purpose of the experiment as well as a summary of the theory involved in the experiment that will be performed that day. I will gather the prelab during the first 5 - 10 minutes of class.
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LIST OF EXPERIMENT
Experiment # Title
Week 1 # 9 Impact Craters
Week 2 # 3 & 4 Telescope I & II
Week 3 # 5 & 13 The Electronic Camera & Photometry of a Star Cluster
Week 4 # 6 Spectroscopy
Week 5 # 8 You Can Weigh Jupiter
Week 6 ----------------- NO CLASS ------------------------
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Grading: Your grade will consist of 9 experiments.
· Day labs - There will be 6-day labs each worth 10 points.
· Night labs - There will be 3 night labs each worth 5 points. We will start night labs on week 2 of the semester.
· The grading scale will be as follows:
A > 90% B+ = 87 - 89% B = 80 - 86% C+ = 77 - 79%
C = 70 -76% D+ = 67 – 69% D = 60 - 66% E = Below 60%
Lab Report Format: The maximum score any given report will receive is 10. Below I detail the sections that you MUST turn in to me as part of your report. Note that I have assigned points to each section.
· I must initial your data sheet before you leave the lab; otherwise the report will not be graded.
· The report should be written in pen except for the sample calculations and the data sheet. However, if your handwriting is not legible you should type it.
· Although you are encouraged to work in groups, each student MUST complete and turn in his/her individual work.
· Label every section for easy reference as instructed below.
· Please do not remove pages from your manual in order to include them in your report.
** NOTE: All reports are due at the beginning of class the week after you performed the experiment.
0. Presentation (0.5 points) I expect professional reports. Your report should be legible & neat in presentation. Avoid scratches, instead you may want to use white out or simply cross a line through the word(s).
1. Cover Page (0.5 points)
· Names: Your name, your partner's name.
· Title: Name and/or number of the experiment.
· AST 1022L and Section # .
· Date when the experiment was performed.
2. Purpose (0.5 points) This is part of your PRELAB. In a sentence or two describe the purpose of the experiment.
3. Theory (0.5 points) This is the second part of the PRELAB. No less than a paragraph. In this section you should explain the theory entailed in the experiment.
4. Sample Calculations (1.5 points) You MUST show at least one example of each calculation you perform in the experiment. If enough space is provided you may do the calculations on your data sheet, otherwise you should use a separate piece of paper.
5. Data, Graphs & Questions (3.5 points) This includes anything you recorded during the lab (include originals.) I must initial your data sheet before you leave the room! If your data sheet is not initialed you shall receive a grade of ZERO for that particular report.
Graphs Some experiments will require graphs. A proper graph should have the following items: a) a title that relates to the graph, b) labeled axes, c) units along the axes, d) best fit of your data points, and e) scale used.
Table You are required to create a table that includes all of the recorded data. Remember to include units!
7. Conclusion (3 points) The conclusion should have two sections.
1. Summary (1 point) - briefly describe the science entailed in the experiment. What did you learn in performing the experiment? Do not summarize the procedure of the experiment.
2. Error Analysis (2 points) - discuss your results as well as your errors, i.e. list and explain the possible sources of errors that contributed to your measurements. This is a very important section of your lab report. You should always include these 3 items in your error analysis: 1) identify all the sources of error present in the experiment. 2) Explain what those errors are and discuss how they affected your data and results. Whenever possible explain how you may have prevented those errors from occurring in the first place.3) Discuss your data and results. Make sure you dedicate sufficient time to this section, it is worth 3 out of 10 points!
** NOTE: Before you turn in your report, remember to check your work for proper units. You will be deducted 0.5 points for every unit missed or wrong unit.
Late reports must be turned in at the main office. The reports will be stamped with the date and put in a folder with the name of the instructor. Late reports without a stamp will NOT be graded. 10% will be deducted for every day a report is late. This is effective 10 minutes after class begins. To turn in a late report, you should go to the Main Office, room 211 of the BRT, before 4:30 p.m.
Extra credit assignments will be given if the instructor deems necessary.
Miscellaneous:
· There are some things that you will need to bring to lab with you. These items that are necessary or helpful are a calculator, a pen, a pencil, and eraser and a ruler (metric). You should also bring a clipboard, flashlight (put a red filter on it to avoid light pollution) and insect repellent (you'll be better off wearing long pants) for night labs.
· If your math skills are rusty you should read appendix A (p. 113 - 122). If you are still having problems come talk to me.
· No cell phones, food or drinks of any kind are allowed in the lab or in the observatory.
· Please do not walk alone to or from the student observatory. If you do not have a companion, call 392-SNAP.
· Cheating: Cheating of any form will not be tolerated. It will be considered cheating if you turn in to me a lab report where you either were not present when the lab was performed, or the lab report has been copied from some source and is not your own (this includes old labs as well as lab partners turning in the same report.