Class Meetings
Each class will be divided into two "periods":
1. 7:00-8:15pm 2. 8:25-9:40pm

Hour exams will always be given during period 2.

Most class meetings will be in room 1164 of the Temple Building. However meetings may occur at

Science Museum of Virginia2500 W. Broad Street

Tentative Schedule

The following schedule will be updated to match what we are actually doing!

Last correction: 2-August-2007
Week/
Place		DateModulesTopics
1/VCUAug 281,2Sky Motions, Moon Phases
2/VCUSep 043,4,5Science, Ancient Astronomy, Galileo
3/VCU Sep 116,7,8,9Kepler, Newton, Waves
4/VCU Sep 1810,11,12,13Light, Atomic Spectra, Telescopes
5/VCU Sep 2514Solar System Overview, Exam 1
6/VCU Oct 02 15,16,17,18 Earth Impacts, Formation of the Solar System; Moon and Tides;
7/VCU Oct 0919,20,21,22The Earth-Moon System
8/VCU Oct 1640,41,42,43The Sun, Stars
9/VCU Oct 2344, 45 Spectral Types, Magnitudes, Exam 2
10/VCU Oct 3046, 47, 48, 49the HR Diagram, Star Deaths, Project Due,
Last class before drop date!
11/SMV!! Nov 06 Icy Worlds Movie, Live SkyPlanetarium Show, Sky Motions, Solar System
12/VCU Nov 1350, 51, 52Neutron Stars, Black Holes, The Milky Way
13/VCU Nov 2053, 54 Milky Way, Exam 3
14/VCU Nov 2755, 56, 57Galaxies, Cosmology, Project Revisions due, Teaching Evaluation.
15/VCU Dec 04 Review
FinalDec 11 All Topics Covered

Projects

Ten percent of your course grade will be based on an observation project report. The project is due on October 30, 2007. Overdue projects will be penalized by 10% per week. You may, if you wish, submit a revised version of the project for regrading before November 27. If you submit a revision, your project grade will become the average of your original grade and your revision grade. No late projects or revisions will be accepted after November 27, 2007.

You are encouraged to work with others on your project. However you must each do your own written report. Duplicate reports will be regarded as honor code violations.

For project ideas, consult the list of

Exams
Reviewed August 28, 2007

DateLecture WeeksModules
Sep 251-41-13
Oct 235-814-22,40-42
Nov 209-1243-52

Exams will be given during the second period of the meeting time,from 8:25-9:40pm.

A Final Exam covering all of the material in the course will be given on

Tuesday, December 11, 2007
in the regular VCU classroom at the regular time (7pm).

You must take the Final Exam!
Question 1

Makeups

If you have a schedule conflict and cannot come to one of the hour exams, you may arrange to take the exam early. Makeup exams will not ordinarily be given after the scheduled exam date. Instead, the final exam score will be used to replace your lowest hour exam score.

Makeup final exams will be given only in conjunction with requests for grades of incomplete.
Question 2

Quizzes

The questions on the course web site will be used to give quizzes during most lectures. After a major point is covered or reviewed, a question about that point will be displayed and you will be asked to use your CPS keypad to respond. Remember:

  1. Buy a CPS keypad from the VCU Bookstore. Buy a CPS enrollment code either at the VCU Bookstore or on-line (cheaper) when you activate your keypad.
  2. Activate your keypad through our website. Click:
    1. The "Tools" button.
    2. "CPS Connection"
    3. "Register Class"
      • Enter your serial number in the space provided. You can find your serial number on your LCD screen when you turn on your pad.
    4. "Create Your Account"
      • If you already have a CPS username and password, enter it in the space provided.
      • If you have never used CPS before, create a CPSOnline Username and Password and fill in your contact information.
      • Click "Submit" to create your account or login.
  3. Bring your keypad to every class! Remember to turn it on and join the class before the first question is asked.

You are allowed to discuss the quiz questions with your classmates. Thus, these quizzes are not intended to test your knowledge. Instead, they encourage you to think about and talk about the course material as it is presented.

In order to review these quizzes, you need to know which questions were asked. The topics are organized into modules, which may be used to identify particular questions. Thus, question 055.34C concerns topic number 3 in module 055. Click on the link below to review your quizzes.

Listing of quiz questions asked so far

The Forum

You are required to participate in this class by responding to the material as it is presented and helping one another when that is appropriate. The simplest way to satisfy this requirement is to attend all of the classes and take the in-class quizzes (and don't forget to bring your CPS pad!).

Another way to participate is to ask or answer questions on our class discussion forum. You may earn 7 points for each qualifying contribution. These points are added to your total quiz grade (each daily quiz counts 100 points). Use the button to get to the forums.

Qualifying Contributions: Forum postings must be original and relevant to the course material. Responses to questions must address those questions in specific terms. Contributions will be deleted (and thus not counted for credit) if they are
  • plagiarized (e.g. unattributed exact copies of material from the internet or from our class notes)
  • exact duplicates of other contributions
  • on the Frequently Asked Questions List
  • all-purpose responses such as "I don't know," or "cool!" or "The answer is in the web-notes."
Restrictions on Forum Credit: You may contribute as often as you wish but course credit will be given only for:
  • your first ten contributions to a forum on any calendar day.
  • contributions made before Dec 4, 2007.

You may use forum contributions to get your overall quiz average up to 100%, however you cannot go over 100%.

Grades

Your grade will be determined from your three hour exam grade, your overall quiz average, your project grade and your final exam grade. Each of these grades has a maximum value of 100. Compute your score as follows:

Exams at 15% each45%
Overall Quiz Average15%
Observing Project10%
Final Exam30%

In more detail, the calculation would go like this:

Of your four exam scores (3 hour exams and a final), add up the highest three.
Multiply that number by 0.15
Add 0.15 times your quiz average.
Add 0.1 times your project score.
Add 0.3 times your final exam score.

The first step is where your lowest hour exam score can get replaced. The last step is where the final exam score counts on its own whether a replacement is done or not.

Question 3

Your score determines your letter grade:
A=90.0-100.0, B=80.0-89.9, C=69.5-79.9, D=59.5-69.4

Accommodations for the Disabled

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 require Virginia Commonwealth University to provide an 'academic adjustment' and/or a 'reasonable accommodation' to any individual who advises us of a physical or mental disability. If you have a physical or mental limitation that requires an academic adjustment or an accommodation, please arrange a meeting with me at your earliest convenience. Additionally, if your course work requires you to work in a lab environment, you should advise the instructor or department chairperson of any concerns you may have regarding safety issues related to your limitation(s).

Note: Please contact the appropriate Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities to obtain an official memo detailing the academic adjustments or Accommodations which you need.

VCU Honor System

Please read the VCU Honor System statement.

Clear and convincing evidence of honor system violations in this class will result in the submission of formal written charges to the Office of Judicial Affairs & Academic Integrity. Under these circumstances I do not give warnings or ask students for explanations.

All exams, projects and quizzes in this course are 'pledged' material. When you submit solutions, you are asserting that they are your own work. Exams, of course, should be your own work alone. You are encouraged to give and receive help on projects and quizzes but the project reports and quiz answers should be your own. Duplicate project reports and responding with another student's CPS keypad will be regarded as honor code violations.

What to Know and Do To Be Prepared for Emergencies at VCU

  1. Sign up to receive VCU text messaging alerts (http://www.vcu.edu/alert/notify). Keep your information up-to-date.
  2. Know the safe evacuation route from each of your classrooms. Emergency evacuation routes are posted in on-campus classrooms.
  3. Listen for and follow instructions from VCU or other designated authorities.
  4. Know where to go for additional emergency information (http://www.vcu.edu/alert).
  5. Know the emergency phone number for the VCU Police (828-1234). Report suspicious activities and objects.

Student Conduct

Students should familiarize themselves with the guidelines for appropriate student conduct as outlined in the VCU 2006-2007 Resource Guide. During class it is expected that inappropriate electronic devices (cell phones, pagers, etc.) are turned off.