Astronomy Laboratory- AST 1022L

Section 0439 – Wednesday 12:50-2:45pm

Spring 2005

Instructor: Paola Rodriguez Lab director: Francisco Reyes

Office: 315 Bryant Space Science Center (BSSC) Office: 12 BSSC (basement)

Phone: 392-2052 x257 Phone: 392-2052 x229

E-mail: paola@astro.ufl.edu E-mail: reyes@astro.ufl.edu

Office hours: Mondays 6 & 7 (12:50 - 2:30) and Wednesdays 9 & 10 (4:05 - 6) (or by appointment) Web page: www.astro.ufl.edu/~paola/

Catalog Course Description: (1 credit) An elementary introduction to experimental work in astronomy and the scientific method, including both scheduled laboratory exercises during the day in the teaching lab and evening observational astronomy at the on-campus teaching observatory. There are no prerequisites or co-requisites.

Course Purpose: This laboratory intends to be a first contact with how astronomers work and what science laboratory procedures are. Day labs will help you to understand how astronomy is a physics-based discipline and night labs will give you a taste of nocturnal sky observation. Every concept you need will be taught in class, but I expect you to show a college level proficiency.

Required Materials for the Lab:

Textbook: “Hands on Astronomy Laboratory Manual” (available at Target

Copy Center on 13^th St., just north of University Avenue). This text was written by professors of the UF Astronomy Department especially for this class. Every student needs one.

Other supplies: please bring (1) some paper, (2) a pen/pencil, (3) a scientific calculator (it does not need to be an expensive one; you will need one with which you can do the functions: log, raise to the power and

scientific notation - EE or EXP), (4) a millimeter ruler and (5) a red filter flashlight (this is optional, but recommended for the Night Labs).

Course Goal: I expect you to understand what the scientific method is and how astronomers use it in their work. I will teach you how to make profesional lab reports and to give you an idea of what astronomy is and why it is important. Since there are no math or physics prerequisites, I will explain any concepts that you will need in this class. I will require you to think about them, not memorize them.

Before Class: I expect you to read the lab manual's introduction and laboratory procedure for each lab beforehand. Sometimes I will hand out pre-labs one week in advance that you have to complete while you read the manual. Other times, we will have quizzes at the beginning of the lab to show that you have read that particular lab.

Class Attendance and Demeanor: There are 13 Day Labs and 3 Night Labs. The grading will be based on lab reports for each of the labs. You can NOT write a lab report unless you have actually performed the experiment/attended the observatory. Therefore, obviously, you MUST attend both Day and Night Labs, or otherwise you will get a ZERO in that lab. Sometimes you will work in groups during lab sessions; then you may have the same data. You may also discuss the labs with your classmates. However Lab Reports must be your OWN original work. See the cheating/copying section if you have any questions.

Day Lab Sessions are held at room 7 in Bryant Space Science Center. Before you leave the lab, I must see your data and results. Normally I will not dismiss the class until the end of the period, so if you have finished the lab procedure, you will have time to work on your report.

Night Lab Sessions are held at the Campus Teaching Observatory. They will be scheduled during the semester. Since we need clear skies to do the observations, bad weather could delay the Night Lab sessions. If we schedule a session and the weather is questionable, I will send an e-mail 2 hours before its start ONLY if the session is cancelled. You may also phone the observatory at 392-1016. Do NOT call the office asking whether there is a lab that night. If the weather turns bad after that, we will have a nice get together at the Campus Teaching Observatory... Again, before you leave the observatory you must show me your data and results. Normally Night Lab sessions will not take more than 1 hour.

Some important issues you will need to remember are :

Arrive on time. I consider unpunctuality very rude, to me and to the rest of your classmates. I will close the door 10 minutes after the beginning of the class (i.e., at 1pm). Remember: if you are not in class, you have a zero in that lab.
There are NO make-ups for labs. If you have a documented reason for skipping a lab, please let me know at least 1 WEEK in advance so you can attend the other section I teach (Thursdays - 12:50-2:45). If you have any other personal issue, contact me as soon as you can.
Food and drinks are not allowed in the astronomy lab. This is a University Policy and, especially in labs, where some equipment is very delicate.
Cell phones must be turned off prior to lab sessions and kept out of sight. Please, do not make me repeat this in class!

Tutoring: I will schedule sessions during office hours with every student. In these sessions we will discuss the labs and you may improve your lab reports. Also, you are more than welcome to come to talk to me during office hours if you have any problems and you want to improve your performance or if you have not got any problems and just want to discuss other things!

Grades: You can get a total of 100 points. Every lab report will be graded from 0 to 5 (lab-report: total of 80 points), pre-labs from 0 to 2 and quizzes from 0 to 1 (pre-lab and quizzes: total of 20 points). Grades will be assigned as follows:

A > 90 C 70-74

B+ 85-89 D+ 65-69

B 80-84 D 60-64

C+ 75-79 E < 59

If your final grade of the course lies between 2 grades (for example, if you get 89.4), I will assign the grade based on your participation and improvement during the semester.

Lab reports must be turned in one week after you perform the experiment, at the beginning of the lab session. I will take 0.5 points off for each day late. See your homework schedule.

If you get a bad grade on a report (especially at the beginning, since you may have not done scientific reports before), I might let you improve your grade by working more on some particular aspects. This is not mandatory, neither for you nor for me; i.e., you might not want to do it, I might not want to offer it. You are allowed to improve lab reports only if you discuss the report with me during office hours.

This is not an “easy A” class... I consider that you will not have any problem getting a C+; if you work it is easy to get a B, but grades above these two will only be granted if you work hard and show me you have acquired/improved an understanding of scientific procedures and a capability for critical thinking (and that requires work). I encourage you to come see me if you feel unsatisfied with your grades. The earlier you come in the semester, the better.

If at one point you feel happy with your grade, you can skip the rest of the Day Labs. For example, if after 15 labs you have 80 points and consider that a B is good enough, you do not need to come to the last lab.

Probably, you may find Night Lab reports easier to do than Day Lab reports, but I will grade them equally to reward your attendance! Please, don't skip them.

Incomplete grades: No I (incomplete) grades will be assigned in this class. If you have problems attending the lab sessions, please get in touch with me as soon as possible. You may consider dropping the class.

Copying/Cheating: The University of Florida takes academin honesty and the Honor Code very seriously.

See http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/procedures/academicguide.html for a detailed explanation. If I find that you have copied or cheated I will contact you personally and it may result in failing the class.

Students with dissabilities: Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.

Lab schedule