Astronomy 201, Winter 2014

STARS AND GALAXIES

Course Description and Prerequisites

Dr. Michael Reid Classes: Tu. & Th., 2-3 pm, Con. Hall ast201@astro.utoronto.ca

AST 201 is one of two general-interest courses in astronomy taught at the University of Toronto. This course deals with the universe beyond our solar system, including the lives and deaths of stars, black holes, galaxies, the Big Bang, dark matter, and dark energy. The complementary course, AST 101, deals with our solar system, newly-discovered planets in other solar systems, and the search for life in the cosmos. The course is largely non-mathematical, but there will be some math shown in the lectures. If you're uncomfortable with math, you should read the Study Guide (posted on Portal) to get a clear idea of what will be expected of you. This course is intended for students with no science or engineering background. AST 201 cannot be taken for credit by those who are taking or have previously taken AST 221H, Civil 101H, or any 100level or higher-series Chemistry or Physics courses (with the exception of PHY 100H and CHM 200Y). If you are unsure whether you can take AST 201 for credit, consult Lillian Lanca (lanca@astro.utoronto.ca) in the main astronomy office.

Course Learning Goals

My hope is that you will see AST 201 as an opportunity to indulge your curiosity about the universe you live in. You should enjoy taking this course. We will cover some essential topics, but we will make every effort to leave time for questions, which are strongly encouraged! Our overall goals in this course are:

to discover our place in the universe discover what the universe is like and why it is like that to develop our capacity to ask and answer important questions about science to learn how to think critically about concepts in astronomy, physics, and space science

E-mail
Please post all science questions, general inquiries, and any other material for which privacy is not a concern to the discussion boards on Portal. For efficiency, these types of questions will not be answered by e-mail. For matters where privacy is a concern, please e-mail:

ast201@astro.utoronto.ca
Please do not e-mail Dr. Reid or your TAs at their individual accounts!

Course Materials
All of the following may be obtained through the university Bookstore.

Required Text: The Cosmic Perspective, 7th ed., by Bennett et al. (6th edition is also acceptable) an iClicker an access code for Mastering Astronomy. It comes with new copies of the book or, if you bought a used book, you can buy the code separately from cashiers in the UofT Bookstore in Koffler Centre. Accounts purchased in previous semesters WILL NOT WORK. You must buy a new code at the special one-semester price available only to this class.

Tutorials and Planetarium Shows

This course has mandatory weekly tutorials. Consult the Term Schedule and Reading List on Portal to ensure that you go to the correct room each week.

Grading Scheme
Clicker quizzes in lectures Clicker quizzes in tutorials Mastering Astronomy assignments (approx. 11 of these) Term Project Midterm test Final exam 6% 6% 5% 8% 25% or 35% 50% or 40%

If your midterm grade is higher than your grade on the final exam, your midterm will count for 35% of your final grade and the exam for 40%. Otherwise, the midterm will count for 25% and the final for 50%. We will automatically drop the following:

Your lowest TWO assignment marks Your lowest TWO tutorial marks (i.e. all tutorials will be weighted equally and the two with the lowest percentage grades will be dropped) Your lowest FOUR class clicker marks (i.e. all classes will be weighted equally and the four with the lowest percentage grades will be dropped)

Portal/Blackboard
All students are responsible for daily monitoring of the course Portal page at:

portal.utoronto.ca
All important announcements will be posted on Portal. It is your responsibility to check for them. Lecture notes and grades will also be posted on Portal. If you can't access the Portal page for this course, please refer to these troubleshooting instructions: http://www.portalinfo.utoronto.ca/content/informationstudents

Clicker Quizzes
Clicker quizzes will be administered several times each lecture. They give you the opportunity to test your understanding of material as you learn it, so that you can quickly identify concepts about which you are unsure and seek help. Clicker quizzes also help improve your retention of the material studied. Clicker quizzes are not meant to be intimidating or even very difficult. You may always discuss them with the students sitting near you. For each quiz, you will receive one mark if you register ANY answer, and one additional mark if you register the CORRECT answeryou get 50% of the marks just for trying. You must register your clicker on the course Portal site, even if you have registered it elsewhere before. To register your clicker, click Register Your Clicker in the menu on the left side of the Portal page. You can accumulate marks without registering your clicker, but unless you register it correctly, we will not know whose marks they are! We strongly recommend that you purchase an iClicker. If you wish to opt out of clicker use, you may do so with no penalty to your course mark by e-mailing your request to the course e-mail address before midnight on January 21, 2014. Any request to opt out of clicker use after that date will not be considered. Requests to opt back into the clicker quizzes after opting out will be denied after that date. If you opt out of clicker use, the portion of your grade which would normally come from clicker quizzes will be split equally between the midterm and the final exam.

CLICKING IN ON ANY CLICKER BUT YOUR OWN, EVEN ONCE, OR ASKING SOMEONE TO CLICK IN ON YOUR CLICKER, EVEN ONCE, CONSTITUTES A SERIOUS ACADEMIC OFFENSE. THE PENALTY FOR THIS OFFENSE MAY INCLUDE THE LOSS OF ALL CLICKER MARKS IN BOTH LECTURE AND TUTORIAL FOR THE ENTIRE TERM.

Illnesses, Absences, and Medical Notes

We try to be understanding with regard to absences. The Grading Scheme section lists the marks we will drop for every student. You do not need to submit documentation for absences up to this default allowed limit. For longer absences, please submit appropriate documentation to one of the professors after class or during office hours. Any documentation you submit will be counted against the default allowed absences first. For example, if you submit documentation covering three missed tutorials, we will drop your two default missed tutorials plus ONE additional extra, for a total of three dropped tutorials (not five). If you are absent from a midterm, you MUST notify ast201@astro.utoronto.ca as soon as possible, preferably by e-mail on the day of your absence. If you do so promptly, you may be allowed to write a make-up test. Otherwise, we will re-distribute the marks from your missed midterm between the other midterm and the final exam. If you feel ill prior to a test and you think your illness will impair your test performance, DO NOT WRITE THE TEST. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES will students be allowed to re-write tests. Absences for religious observances are permitted, but three weeks advance notice is usually required.

Assignments
In this course, assignments will be completed online using the Mastering Astronomy web site. Full instructions on how to purchase an access code and register for the system can be found on the Portal site for this course, on the 'Assignments' page. For this course only, we use a special version of Mastering Astronomy available to you only through the UofT Bookstore at a discounted price. New assignments will be posted on Wednesdays and will be due the following Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. It is your responsibility to monitor the Mastering Astronomy web site and ensure that you complete all of the assignments by their posted due dates. DO NOT leave your assignments until the last minute! The deadline for assignments is measured according to the clock on the Mastering Astronomy servers, which is very accurate. If you submit an answer even ONE SECOND late, it will not count under any circumstances. Although you are free to discuss the assignments with each other in general terms, any evidence of copying or other forms of academic dishonesty will be treated very seriously. If we find that you have cheated on even one assignment, the penalty might include losing all of the assignment marks for the entire semester. We strongly recommend that you obtain a Mastering Astronomy access code and complete the assignments. Mastering Astronomy provides an excellent means to prepare for the midterms and exam which form the main means of evaluation in this course. However, you may opt out of the assignments without penalty by notifying us at the course e-mail address before midnight on January 21, 2014. Any request to opt out of assignments after that date will not be considered. Requests to opt back into the assignments after opting out will be denied. If you opt out of the assignments, the portion of your grade which would normally come from assignments will be split equally between the midterm and the final exam.

Examinable Material
The examinable materials for this course will consist of the materials covered in lectures and tutorials, assignments, and the assigned readings. Portions of the text not covered in class are not examinable.

Grade Checks and Disputes

You are encouraged to review your graded materials to ensure that they have been graded accurately and the marks added correctly. Near the end of the term, we will have Mark Dispute Session during which you will have the opportunity to meet with the grading TAs and discuss your marks. Midterms and final exams can only be remarked if they were originally written in non-erasable pen.

Observing Nights
Over the course of the term, we will hold several optional observing sessions which will afford students the opportunity to view highlights of the night sky through a telescope. These will necessarily be scheduled as the weather permits. Announcements about these sessions will be made in class, on Portal, and by e-mail. No marks are awarded for participating in these activitiesthey're just for fun. You may attend more than one session, space permitting, and may bring one or two friends to each one.

Because these sessions will usually take place after dark on the downtown campus, all students are strongly encouraged to take appropriate safety precautions when traveling to and from the sessions. Dress warmlyit can be cold and windy 15 floors up! Observing sessions will sometimes be canceled due to inclement weather or cloud coverbeing at the mercy of the weather is part of being an astronomer! If an observing night has to be canceled, a note announcing the cancellation will be posted on Portal by 3 PM on the day of the observing night.

Academic Integrity
From Appendix D of the Academic Integrity Handbook Academic integrity is one of the cornerstones of the University of Toronto. It is critically important both to maintain our community which honours the values of honesty, trust, respect, fairness, and responsibility and to protect you, the students within this community, and the value of the degree towards which you are all working so diligently. According to Section B of the University of Toronto's Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters (http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/osai/students) which all students are expected to read and by which they are expected to abide, it is an offence for students to:

Use someone else's ideas or words in their own work without acknowledging explicitly with a citation that those ideas/words are not their own with a citation and quotation marks, i.e. to commit plagiarism. In particular, to copy answers to short answer assignment problems from any website, the textbook, another student, or any other source, even if re-worded. Click in on any clicker other than their own Ask another student to click in on a clicker other than his or her own Include false, misleading, or concocted citations in their work. Obtain unauthorized assistance on any assignment Provide unauthorized assistance to another students. This includes showing another student your own work or clicking in on their iClicker. Submit their own work for credit in more than one course without the permission of the instructor.

There are other offences covered under the Code, but these are the most common. You are instructed to respect these rules and the values which they protect.

VERY IMPORTANT TO-DO ITEMS

1. Bring your iClicker with you to every class starting on the second lecture. 2. Log into the course on Portal. If you can't access the course and you have registered recently, please wait up to 48 hours for your registration to take effect. Your professors cannot speed this process along. 3. Register your clicker ON PORTAL. Everyone must complete this step, even if you've registered your clicker before. 4. Sign up for a tutorial section on ROSI if you have not already done so. 5. Make sure your e-mail address on ROSI is a @utoronto.ca address or you may miss crucial emails. 6. Sign up for Mastering Astronomy following the instructions on the 'Assignment' page of the course Portal site. 7. Complete the assignments Introduction to Mastering Astronomy (not for marks) and Assignment 1 (for marks) on Mastering Astronomy. 8. Read the university's policies on academic honesty and integrity: http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/osai/students as well as the university's Code of Student Conduct http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/policies/studentc.htm