Transcript Document

Meeting #1
PHYS 105/105H
Ideas in
Astronomy
Dr. Jane Turner
Aside, Aside, Aside, Aside…
Personal Introduction
Tracey Jane Turner
BSc in Math with Astronomy, Univ. Leicester (UK)
PhD in X-ray Astronomy, Univ. Leicester (UK)
Also work at
LHEA at NASA/GSFC
Joined UMBC in 1998
Main Research Field:
Observations & Interpretation of the X-ray emission
from Active Galactic Nuclei
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Course Info (PHYS 105/105H)
Ideas in Astronomy 105/105H
(3 Credits)
Lectures: Monday, Wednesday, Friday @ 2:00-2:50 pm
BIOL 120
105H meets 1-1:50pm PHYS 107
Course WWW Pages
www.jca.umbc.edu/~turner/course105_2007.html
plus www.masteringastronomy.com
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Contact Information
Office Hours
IMPORTANT
-by appointment only
Monday, Wednesday, Friday appointments are
possible (Tues and Thursday I am at NASA/GSFC)
Room 412 (top floor of the Physics Bldg)
no “drop-ins” please…
Email me for an appointment, and let me know what area/question
you are stuck on (if everyone gets stuck on one area we can go
over it again in class)
[email protected]
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
IMPORTANT
Some class rules
Be Respectful
No cell-phones, No reading of non-course
material,
No shouting out, No disruptive behavior No
emailing/IM/texting friends during my class
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
IMPORTANT
Academic Conduct
Cheating will not be tolerated
http://www.jca.umbc.edu/~turner/105/expect.shtml
It is YOUR responsibility
to be familiar with the rules, procedures
& expectations associated with this course
It is YOUR responsibility
to be familiar with the various UMBC policies on
Academic/Student Conduct
If you are uncertain : Ask FIRST !!
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Announcements
IMPORTANT
Will be (whenever possible)
Made in class
Only urgent/emergency messages will be
communicated via e-mail.
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
105 web site

Course information

http://www.jca.umbc.edu/~turner/course105_2007.html
http://www.jca.umbc.edu/~turner/105/expect.shtml

T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Syllabus
The course will include:
Our Place in the Universe
Key Historical Figures in Astronomy
Matter and Energy
The Laws of Motion
Light
Telescopes
The Solar System and its formation
The Sun
Stars
The Stellar Graveyard
Our Galaxy
Other Galaxies and their Evolution
Dark Matter and the Fate of the Universe
The Beginning of Time
T.Jane Turner
Syllabus online with
grading breakdown at
http://www.jca.umbc.edu/~turner
/course105_2007.html
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Telescope Nights
IMPORTANT
There will be two classes up at the telescope, of
which you will need to go to one…more details later
this week
For that, you’ll show up on Physics Building floor 4
room 401 at ~7pm (time to be confirmed).
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Grading
Final Exams 25%
Two mid-term exams 15% each
IMPORTANT
- These will be closed-book (no programmable calcs etc)
(necessary numerical values & complex eqns will be provided)
Homework (30%)
Attendance 15%
- Telescope Night Rain or Clear!!
will replace two lectures early March
Mandatory- Attendance will be taken
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Grading - More Details
IMPORTANT
RECAP:
Exams (total 55%
To be written in black or blue pen only
Homework (30%)
-As instructed following online tutorials
and problems
Attendance 15% -random checks plus
telescope night
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Grade Appeals
Exams, you have one week from receiving a grade to
appeal- appeals to [email protected]
IMPORTANT
First-if theres a real problem, see me
[email protected]
Homework: problems??? First see the grader
-and he will advise you how to proceed
Homeworks are graded online and there are no appeals. If
there is a technical problem contact the online technical
support but again, ask Sumit first
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Past Grades
Sample from previous runs of this course
FOR REFERENCE ONLY
Aside, Aside, Aside, Aside…
10%
6%
7%
25%
30%
20% of students
Dropped
Best results
only possible if
you do the
homework on
time
F
D
C
B
A
I DO NOT “BELL-CURVE” THE GRADES
There are no fixed fractions of As, Bs, Cs etc
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
The Book
Online Ordering Information
Students
Your subscription is pre-paid with the purchase of a new copy of The
Essential Cosmic Perspective, 4e Edition, by Bennett. You will
find instructions for accessing the site packaged with the
textbook.
If your textbook does not have a valid access code, you can purchase
a 12-month subscription online for $26.67 using Visa,
MasterCard or American Express.
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Course Text: REQUIRED
Essential Cosmic Perspective (4e Edition)
IMPORTANT
by Bennett,Donohue,Voit
If you have a used copy then you also need to buy access to
the web site (inexpensive) where we will work through some
homework tutorials
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Course Info (PHYS 105)
We will do homework
online
Class name/ID
MATURNER0001
Get online and join this class for
the homework to be credited
Automated grading within
homework deadline timeframe H/w credit ramps down to
mean no late homework counts zero 48 hrs after
deadline and cannot be
changed
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
HELP for online portion
Grader dedicated to online support
[email protected]
 Sumit will help with getting sorted
out online

T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Do the Homework!!
IMPORTANT
Homework will be set & is part of the course (30%) !!
Homework also consists of
Reading ahead (before the lecture) ~ 2 hours week
Re-reading & Transcribing your notes (after the lecture)
Doing the tutorials assigned (asap after the lecture)
~ 2 hours/week
This is your responsibility
The homework problems give you practice for the
exams
You will almost certainly FAIL if you do not do the Homework
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Homework Help
IMPORTANT
Group Study for the Homework is fine
You may work together on homework online tutorials
and online problem sets.
However, you each need to register online for this class
to be able to get into the system and get credit for the
homeworks done. Each person must work through the
homework on their personal account for the grade to be
logged and thus the marks credited to each student.
You will almost certainly FAIL if you do not do the Homework
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
Homework
IMPORTANT
Statistically only about 20% of students like
MasteringAstronomy in the first weeks of the course.
This is not surprising; students dislike astronomy homework in
general, they have to do more work because
MasteringAstronomy is tutoring them, and the combination of
unfamiliar, difficult material and a new way of working can
initially make you unsure of yourselves.
However….
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
IMPORTANT
Homework
However…according to studies of classes using MyCyberTutor,
the tutoring engine on which MasteringAstronomy is based:
•The figure rises to over 90% student approval by the last weeks
•
Student grades rise by about 27%
•In actual courses, student grades rise by a full grade
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
IMPORTANT
Homework
Initially, most students spend more time on MasteringAstronomy
assignments than on older paper-based homework, because they
are getting more feedback, having more chances to get the right
answer, and learning more
In the end, this means you are likely to get a better grade than
‘usual’ in this class
To facilitate learning, I allow unlimited wrong answers in the first
two (ONLY) online assignments to encourage you to experiment
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
IMPORTANT
Homework
MasteringAstronomy is an online problem solving "tutoring"
system. The system guides you through the solution of multi-step
problems, removing roadblocks with wrong-answer-based
feedback and on-demand hints. It includes multi-step problems
that incorporate a wide variety of answer types, including
symbolic math, fill-in-the-blank, numerical, and multiple-choice.
The system encourages students to work through problems,
moving incrementally toward a procedural understanding of
problem types.
The system allows me to track your progress and prevent you
from falling too far behind. Color coding reveals students in
trouble or problem areas for the class as a whole and we will
contact you if you fall behind on homework.
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)
TUTORIAL CENTER
IMPORTANT
Appointment tutoring for 100-level courses
Academic IV B-wing room 345
Mon-Thurs 10am-5pm
Fri 10am-2pm
410-455-2444 for information
T.Jane Turner
PHYS 105 (2007 Spring)