Astronomy 021 Section 003 2007-2008

Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Western Ontario

Course Information Sheet

The information here is specific to this section. All registered students are expected to have read this course sheet carefully.

  1. General Information

    Instructor
    Professor Shantanu Basu
    213C Physics and Astronomy Building
    Tel. 519-661-2111 ext. 86706
    Email: basu "at" astro "dot" uwo "dot" ca
    Lectures
    MWF 3:30 pm - 4:20 pm, 215 Physics and Astronomy Building
    Prerequisites
    None
    Required Materials
    Textbook: The Cosmic Perspective, 4th edition, by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit. ISBN 0-8053-9283-1.
    The textbook is available in the UWO bookstore. The textbook comes with planetarium software that you may need in order to do one of the projects. Please note that clickers are NOT required in this section.
    Website
    www.astro.uwo.ca/~basu/teach/ast021/

  2. Overview

    This course is designed to provide an introduction to astronomy in a conceptual and non-mathematically-intensive manner. We will explore the exciting and rapidly-changing world of modern astronomy, as well as the ways in which astronomers have developed an understanding of the Universe. We will try to understand how science works. I do not expect you to memorize a vast number of so-called "facts".

    You need no mathematical background beyond the ability to do simple arithmetic. The exams and quizzes will require no arithmetic at all, and a few of the projects will require some arithmetic and graph construction. You will have extensive time to do the projects.

  3. Lecture Slides

    A pdf version of the class slides will be available on the course website, typically a few days in advance of the lectures. Some slides will be visually intensive, so I do not recommend that you print out these slides on a regular basis. The slides contain highlights of the chapter we are covering each week. Please read the chapter of the week in advance. The slides may act as a useful summary sheet. However, keep in mind that I may often make points in class that are not on the slides. It is very important that you attend the lectures.

  4. Class participation

    I encourage you to ask questions during the lectures. If you have a question, chances are that others do too and will benefit from hearing the answer to your question. Also, there is nothing more discouraging to an instructor than a non-responsive audience! I will try to move beyond lecturing and foster some discussion and class activities, particularly on Fridays. A class participation mark will be given on most Fridays. This may take the form of group activities, a short quiz consisting of a few multiple choice, true/false, or fill in the blank questions, or even a short take-home assignment. Please note that questions which I pose in class as well as online quizzes (available through www.masteringastronomy.com) offer an excellent preview of the midterm and final exams.

  5. Projects

    All the projects and detailed instructions will be made freely available. Some of the projects will give you experience in actually observing the sky.

  6. Marking

  7. Schedule

    A week by week schedule for the entire year is available at the course website. We usually cover one chapter per week. Please read each week's chapter in advance of the lectures. The weekend is a good time to sit down and spend an hour reading the book. Make sure to spend the three hours during the week attending lectures. After class on Wednesday, it is a good idea to review class notes, re-read the chapter, try to answer the Review Questions at the end of the chapter. All of this will prepare you for any Friday activity or quizzes and, especially, for the upcoming exam. In certain weeks, you will also need to set aside a little time to do the currently assigned project.

  8. Contact Information

    My Office hours: Thursdays 10:30 am - 11:30 am, Fridays 9 am - 10 am.

    Please try to talk to me during office hours or immediately after class. I keep a very busy schedule and I am unlikely to be helpful if you visit me at random times. If you need to set up a special meeting, please send me an email to set it up. Sending email from your UWO account guarantees that it will not be deleted as spam. You are welcome to email me with short queries about the class, but I will not be able to use email to answer detailed questions about the course material. Questions requiring detailed explanations are best asked in person.

  9. Resources

    Your textbook and the associated online content are your most relevant resource. At the internet site, www.masteringastronomy.com, you can take practice quizzes and find tutorials and other activities. Please keep reading the relevant parts of the text each week, as listed in the Schedule. Part of the fun of astronomy is keeping up with current astronomy news and utilizing the many excellent online resources. Several are listed at the course website.

  10. Other Course Policies