Section 5

Location Biology Annex 102, 10:20am - 11:35pm
Instructor Dr. Anatoly Klypin 
Address Department of Astronomy, Office 202 (2nd floor) 
Telephone 646-1400
URL: http://astro.nmsu.edu/~aklypin/ast110/WebSite/index.htm

e-mail

aklypin@nmsu.edu

Lecture times

 Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10:20am-11:35pm
Laboratory Wednesdays:  6:30--8:30pm (5A)
Thursdays:     3:30--5:30pm (5B).
Thursdays:     6:30-8:30pm (5C)
Office hours Tuesday and Thursday 1:00pm--2:00pm 
Teaching Assistants 5A:  Glenn Kacprzak Office 121, phone: 646-2613, e-mail: glennk@nmsu.edu
5BC: Sarah Giandoni, Office 107, phone:646-4834 e-mail: giandoni@nmsu.edu  

 

Textbook

 Jeffrey Bennett et al., 
 (recommended) The Essential Cosmic Perspective

Lecture notes

 ASTR 110G Class Notes by    A.Klypin
  (available on the same website)

Laboratory assignments

will be distributed in class

Grades:

 Weekly quizzes

 30%

         

 Laboratory reports

 30%

         

 Midterm

 20%

         

 Final Exam

 20%

 


 





  

    






    		
  

  

    





Grade
Disputes and Errors in Grading: If you detect a
miscalculation in points received on an exam, quiz, or journal assignment, or
believe that an absence should be excused, please report this matter immediately
so that I may adjust your grade. If you disagree with your scores on an exam,
quiz, or journal assignment prior to the final exam, you must present your
reasons for the disagreement in writing within ONE WEEK of your receipt of this
graded material.  Your opportunity to appeal the grade on the assignment
expires after that week has passed.







    		
  

  

    





Attendance
of the lectures        is
not mandatory. You might miss few lectures and catch up with the class. I
strongly advise you to attend ALL lectures. Those who miss not more than 3 lectures will be rewarded
by extra 2 percent of the whole class. 
You will understand the material
better and faster if you sit on every lecture.  You do not need to give
reasons/excuses for missing a lecture or two. But if you miss too many lectures
and labs, you will not be able to perform adequately in the class. We will be regularly checking the
attendance.





    		
  





  



  	If you miss 5 (five) or more lectures, 

  





  

    

      


you will be automatically

      

    

    

      


dropped from the class.
     


      

    

  




 




 



  

    


     ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND 
REQUIREMENTS          

 

  

      

    

  

  
 


  
     


 


  
     



  

    

      
        

          

          
 


These meet once a week. Sign
up for either Wednesday or Thursday sessions.  
 
Participation and attendance of labs is
mandatory.
  
 You cannot pass this class if you do not pass the lab requirements.
 
  
 Arrangements
for make-up labs will be made if you had a  valid excuse  for missing
the lab, for example for medical reasons. Contact
  one
of us as soon as possible if you had to miss a lab. Late lab reports will only
be acceptable if you made prior arrangements, and had a valid excuse for not
being able to turn in the report on time. Each lab report is required to start
with a description of the problem that the lab addresses and the techniques used
to solve it. This part is the writing requirement for this course, and it is
very important that you carefully formulate your answer. The report needs to be
turned in at the beginning of the next lab in the week after the lab is
completed. You may  collaborate with a partner of your choice in the lab.
You are, however, required to hand in your own lab report.  
     

          

        

      		
    

  






     
     




  
     



  

  

    

  
 
    

  
Weekly
  quizzes will be given at the beginning of each lab class. They are based on
  lecture material discussed in class the previous week. The first quiz will be
  given on September 07/09. About 10 questions will be given in each quiz. The
  lowest score on your quiz performance will be dropped at the end of the
  semester, before calculating your grade. Arrangements for make-up quizzes will
  be made if you have a  valid excuse  for missing a quiz, but it has
  to be done within two weeks after the original quiz date. All make-up quizzes
  will be oral. Please, contact me to make an appointment.
  

  

  






     
     
On October 5, we will
have a discussion
session.
 
 



The topics for the discussion are: 
 


 science and society, astronomy and religion,
astronomy and astrology - differences and similarities. 
 


 In order to make the
discussion more dramatic we will make a small performance: ``The Crime of
Galileo''. We will need two volunteers to play roles of Galileo and his
prosecutor. The rest of the audience will play the role of jurors. Two more
volunteers are needed to present their ideas about connections between astronomy
and religion and about astrology/astronomy. Because it will take some time for
the volunteers to get prepared for the trial, they will be rewarded by getting
100% for one of the quizzes or 2% of the whole class. A volunteer will give a 10
minute talk/presentation on the chosen subject. On September 26 all
speakers must talk to me after class about their progress in preparing the
presentations. They should present at least one article or a book which they use
for preparation. The reward will be decreased if I find that the speaker is
unprepared.
 



  






  






 
There will be one
midterm exam, which will be based on
the course material taught up to that point. The final

exam will be based on the 2nd part of
the course. These exams and the quizzes will be in the form of multiple choice
questions and questions that require a short written answer.

  













    An incomplete 
 in
this class is given only when  student is passing the course and cannot
finish the class due to circumstances beyond her/his control. These
circumstances must have developed after the last day to withdraw from the class.
Appropriate circumstances include documented illness, documented death or crisis
in the student's immediate family, and similar circumstances. Job-related
problems are NOT appropriate grounds for an I. 
 My accent is NOT a legitimate
excuse.





If you are taking this class
 S/U,
you must achieve at least C- grade
at the end of the course (including the Final exam) to receive an S. If you
have, or think you may have, a disability that interferes with your performance
as a student in this class, you are encouraged for academic reasons to discuss
this on a confidential basis
with your instructor, the Disabled Student Programs Coordinator at 646-1921, 
and/or the Americans with Disabilities
Act Coordinator at 646-7795. If you have a condition which may affect your
ability to exit from the premises in case of emergency, you are urged, for safety
reasons, to notify any of the above persons.

  







 

    

      


        

      

    


TIPS TO HELP YOU IN THIS COURSE  







  

    

      
    

      

    
Attend
    the lectures.  
     The textbook is too
    long and has too much information.
    There is no way we can discuss all topics mentioned in the book. You will
    be able to obtain the lecture notes, but they are brief -- just an outline
    of what we learn in the class. So, it is very important to attend every
    lecture. Use your lecture notes to write comments on what was
    discussed in the class. 
      

    

      		
    

    

      
  

    

  
 Ask
  questions during
  lectures and labs. Do not be afraid of your instructor or TA - they are your
  friends. They also love to answer your questions. Look at this from other
  
point of view: if you do not understand something in class, chances are that
other students do not understand it too. So, by asking questions, you help other
students. 
    

  

      		
    

    

      
  

    

  

 Do
not get behind in your work.  The
weekly quizzes are intended to help you keep up  with the material. Once
you get behind it is very difficult to catch up again, because there is a lot of
new material that you will learn in this course.