Astronomy 162: Introduction to Astronomy

Dr. Yost's Web-Based Course, Spring 2003

Instructor: Dr. Yost Office: 217A Nielsen Physics Building Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday,           11 AM to Noon or by appointment

Phone: 974-7852 E-Mail: syost@utk.edu Course Web Site: http://homework.phys.utk.edu/astr162 Textbook: Online Journey Through Astronomy

LABORATORIES

Virtual laboratories will be done on your own by following the instructions in a set of web pages, and printing a form which you can bring to the next real laboratory. The virtual laboratories are presently under development. Check this page before the first virtual laboratory assignment for links to these web pages. Real laboratories are held in room 507, one floor up from the lecture hall. At each real laboratory, you will turn in the previous virtual lab worksheet and take a short quiz on the virtual lab. Quizzes on the real labs may also be given, at the option of the individual laboratory instructors. You should go to each laboratory session prepared to do the lab. Read the instructions in advance. On weeks when you don't have a real laboratory, you may have a proctored online quiz at the same time and place. These are held during each lab period during the weeks shown. The exact time for the 20 minute quiz is open during the lab session, but you should be sure to leave enough time to finish before class ends. Also, there are not enough terminals for everyone to take the quiz together, so there is no need to arrive at the same time. There are also unproctored quizzes, which are not shown here. See the information on Online Quizzes for more details.

Laboratory Schedule

The laboratory comprises 25% of the final course grade. A passing grade in the laboratory is required to pass the course. Attendance at every real laboratory is required. At most one absence is permitted, which must be made up during the "Makeup Lab" session on the last week. Any unexcused absences which are not made up will result in failure of the course. An excused absence which is not made up will result in an incomplete. Excused absences will be granted only in the case of a documented emergency or illness. All other policies concerning grading and the operation of the laboratories is determined by the individual lab instructors. A passing grade in the lab requires at least 65% of the lab credit, with at most lab absence, which has been made up via the "Makeup Lab". The laboratory manual is "A Laboratory Textbook For Introductory Astronomy", 5th Edition, by Kermit E. Duckett. The manual contains three sections: Experiments (Exercises), TheSky, and Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy (CLEA). TheSky labs make use of sky simulation software on the laboratory computers. The UT web site shown in the book for the CLEA labs no longer exists. Links to PDF files containing the student manuals can be found in the schedule. It is recommended to read these in addition to the material in the printed lab manual. More information can be found on the CLEA Home Page at Gettysburg College, for those interested.

Real Laboratory Sessions