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• Course Description
• Course Objectives
• Textbook information
• Course Prerequisites
• Communicating with the Instructor
• Course Instructions
• Grading Scale
• Homework: How to register for MasteringAstronomy
• Homework: My Instructions for MasteringAstronomy
• Quizzes on MasteringAstronomy
• Discussions
• Exams
• Course Calendar
  

This course is designed to familiarize you with the universe in which we live and with the principles of scientific inquiry that have enabled us to explore and understand that universe.

The textbook is built around 5 themes:

1. We are part of the universe and thus can learn about our origins by studying the universe.
2. The universe is comprehensible through scientific principles that anyone can understand.
3. Science is not a body of facts but rather a process through which we seek to understand the world around us.
4. A course in Astronomy is the beginning of a life-long learning experience.
5. Astronomy affects each of us personally with the new perspectives it offers.

The first part of the course will concentrate on the history and fundamentals of astronomy, including the night sky as seen from the Earth, the apparent motions of celestial objects, lunar and solar eclipses, phases of the moon, the historical development of astronomy, and the nature of light and matter and how they interact. The remainder of the course will discuss the origin and characteristics of our Solar System. We will learn how the planets and sun formed and about the properties of the individual planets and their moons.

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• the scientific method and how we apply it to investigate the universe

• the size and scale of the solar system, galaxies, and the universe

• how the motions of the Earth affect our view of the sky over days, months, and years; including lunar and solar eclipses

• the cause of the seasons

• the basic physical laws that govern the motion of objects, including the planets

• what light is, how it works, and how we use it to study distant objects

• how light and matter interact

• how the solar system was formed and evolved over time

• the properties of the two major classes of planet in our solar system and how and why they are different

• the physical characteristics of the individual planets, including their compositions, atmospheres, and the physical processes that dictate these properties

• when and how life arose on Earth, and the possibilities for finding life elsewhere

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There are no prerequisites for this course.

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• E-mail: Contact me via Moodle email or at simpsonc @ fiu.edu
• Discussion Forum: It will be used for class discussions and other postings of general interest that are directly related to the course. Everyone can read Discussion Forum postings, do not post private information.
• Chat: You may schedule a Chat session with me at any time. Just set up a time and date via email.

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There is one unit assigned each week. Each week's unit will be available starting Monday morning through the following Sunday evening. All the work for the unit is due on Sunday night by 11:55 pm.

• For each unit (week), you are responsible for doing
  • the assigned reading,
  • a homework assignment using the online MasteringAstronomy.com website (instructions are below), including the weekly Quiz assignment
  • and participating in the week's discussion foeum. More information about each of these is given below.
    

All work for each week's unit must be completed no later than 11:55pm on the following Sunday. The only exception is for the first week's unit; you have until the end of the 2nd week of the semester to complete this one.

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The homework will be done using the online tutorial/homework MasteringAstronomy website at http://www.masteringastronomy.com . You must register for this course on the website (instructions are below). Once you have registered, you must read my MasteringAstronomy instructions page.

To register on the website:

• Obtain an access code by one of the following:
  • Purchase a new text package at the bookstore
    OR
  • Purchase a student access kit only at the bookstore - you can then buy the ebook online
    OR
  • Purchase an access code online: go to www.masteringastronomy.com and click on “New Students" under the "Register" box on the left. Follow the instructions for purchasing an access code online. Click on the second book from the left (Cosmic Perspective 5e; the cover is black and red) and then hit "continue" at the bottom. The access for just MasteringAstronomy costs $30; access PLUS the ebook costs $80. You will need a valid credit card.
    
    
• Once you have an access code:
  • If you are accessing the site for the first time: click on “New Students" under the "Register" box on the upper left and follow the instructions. You will need to either enter the access code that came with your text or purchase an access code online. If you purchased the text or the access code kit, your code is a six-"word" printed code supplied beneath the pull-tab inside your MasteringAstronomy Student Access Kit. It is valid for registering one student, and is good for 18 months.
    
    
  • If the tab in this kit has been pulled back, the code may no longer be valid. If you buy a secondhand textbook, any code supplied with it is probably not valid. In either case, you can purchase a Student Access Code online using a credit card.
    
  • You will need to create a Pearson Education account if you have not used one of their products before. You may use any login name you like and can remember, but where it says to enter your personal information, enter your first name and last name as they appear in Panthersoft. This allows us to correlate your work in masteringastronomy with your work in Moodle. You may choose anything you like as your login id.

• When you register, make sure you enter your email address correctly. If you forget your password, this is the email address that your password information will be sent to.

• Your Student ID is your Panther ID.

• Once you are registered, your code is valid for 18 months. You won't need to buy another student access code. If you already have a valid registration for MasteringAstronomy (if, for example, you've taken a course using it before), then you do not need to re-register. You do, however, have to add this semester's course using the Course ID, below.

• Accessing this semester's course: You must add this course to have full access to the assignments. To do this:

  • The Course ID for this course is F09AST2003RVC. You cannot edit this field after you record it, so please pay very careful attention to the code as shown here.

  • If you register but don't enter the course ID, you will not have access to the entire MasteringAstronomy website, including our specific assignments.

Online help for the MasteringAstronomy website: Online help is available under the Help tab on the website, and FAQs are available at www.masteringhelp.com . It includes the information about how to register.

Due dates: All work for each week's unit must be completed no later than 11:55 pm on the following Sunday. The only exception is for the first unit: you have until the end of the 2nd week of the semester to complete this one.

Late work: You will lose 5% each day an assignment is late. On MasteringAstronomy, this means that after 20 days, you will get zero credit.

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After you have done the assigned reading and MasteringAstronomy homework assignment, you also need to complete the quiz assignment for the unit on the MasteringAstronomy website. There are usually (but not always) three parts: a Reading quiz, a Concept Quiz, and a Visual Quiz. They are multiple choice, and conducted in a tutorial fashion: you are prompted to try another answer if you get one wrong. There is a small deduction for each wrong answer. Hints are available; there is a bonus for each unopened hint however. More information is available on my MasteringAstronomy instructions page, including important information about how to better your quiz scores.

As with homework assignments, you will lose 5% each day after the due date; so after 20 days, you will get zero credit for the quiz.

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The weekly discussions are an important part of the course. The purpose is to promote a dialog between you and your classmates. There will be a topic provided each week related to the week's course material. You (the student) are expected to participate fully in the discussions by posting as many times as you like, but you must make a minimum of two posts each week. Your Discussion grade each week is based partly on your posts, and partly on how many posts you read. To get full credit each week, make sure you read the other student's posts!

• In order to receive full credit, you must:

  1. Read the comments left by your peers.
  2. Make a post of your own between Monday and Wednesday.
  3. Make a second post between Thursday and Sunday.

  Grading of discussion posts: When we grade your participation, we start by giving you 100% and penalize you for any of the following infractions:

This grading scheme may be modified if any additional requirements are given in the first post.

Posts to the weekly discussion will be locked at the end of the week. No posts after that time will be allowed. The discussions are "conversations" and after the week, the conversation is over.

Please use, as best you can, complete sentences, and proper grammar. If you use material from another source (anything that didn't come from your own brain!), please include a reference to the source. You are encouraged to use your own words and thoughts, however.

These discussions should be conducted in a respectful, considerate manner.

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There will be four multiple choice online exams available here in Moodle . Each exam will be available from 7am to 11:55pm on the day assigned. Once you begin an exam, you have a set amount of time to complete it. You may take each exam only once.

The exams are closed book; no notes.

If you have a conflict and cannot take an exam on the scheduled day, let us know ahead of time and we can arrange an alternative test date.

At the instructor's discretion, you are allowed to make up one missed exam.

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