Astronomy 101A - Autumn 2008 - Course Syllabus for Sections AA & AC

Instructor: Praveen Kundurthy

Section Meeting: Tuesday (in PAA 216) & Thursday (in PAA 210)

AA 8:30am – 9:20am

AC 9:30am - 10:20am

Contact Info:

email: pkundurthy@astro.washington.edu(<------ best way to contact me.)

Phone: 206-543-5185

Office: PAB B341

Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 10:30am-11:30am

Course Description: A complete course description is on the main course webpage. Your bi-weekly section meetings are designed for in-class discussions, quizzes, lab activities, reviews and tutorials on the course material.

Your regular text will be COURSE PACK ASTR 101A Vol 1, by Ana Larson. [BRING RELEVANT MATERIALS FROM THIS PACKET TO SECTIONS AND LECTURES]

Your reference text will be Discovering the Universe Eighth Edition, by Neil F. Comins & William J. Kaufmann III.

Course Policy:

Students must abide by the University of Washington Student Code of Conduct Handbook

http://www.washington.edu/students/handbook/conduct.html

Please be respectful to the instructor and other students. Turn off all electronic devices that can potentially be a distraction or a disturbance to the learning environment of the class. Students who want to take notes on laptops, please turn sounds off and try and seat yourselves near the back of the classroom. Please try and make it to class on time.

There will be serious consequences if students are caught plagiarizing or cheating on graded assignments or exams. You are encouraged to work together, but please do not turn in identical work. Write your answers in your own words.

Grading Policy:

Item Score Each Total

Exercises 6 x 30 = 180

Exams 2 x 60 + 1 x 120 = 240

Sections 50 (Quizzes & Participation) 50

470

The 50 Section points: 45 points will be divided among the best 9 out of 10 quizzes throughout the quarter. The remaining 5 points will be for good in-class participation. If the quizzes turn out to be too hard, I will curve the quiz grades so that the average score is 82% (Grade – 2.8). If the average stays above this mark – great job everyone! There will be absolutely no quiz retakes, only valid excuses will exempt you from loosing points. So try not to miss more than one quiz.

I usually announce quiz dates and topics a week before I give you a quiz.

Exercises: Will be begun in class, and can be completed at home. Typically exercises will be due approximately 1 week after the day they were begun. Please always keep track of the schedule handed out to you, (this is a rough guide on due dates etc). Changes will be announced in class and/or on the section webpage.

Late work is frowned upon. If you do turn in work late, I will take points off for being late. To be fair, the less late you are, the fewer points you loose.

General Tips to getting good grades.

  • Please write legibly and clearly

  • Please do not ignore words like 'Explain' or 'Show your work'

  • Do not behave badly

  • Ask questions – even if you think they are stupid

  • Always read the instructions for a problem or an exercise


Section Webpage: Check for announcements, solutions etc. link