Physics 20073 Lab - Introductory Astronomy - Summer 2008 Syllabus

Supervisor: Dr. Doug R. Ingram
Office: SWR 368
Hours: MTWR 930-1000 & by appointment
Phone: 257-7313 (less reliable)
Email: d.ingram@tcu.edu (more reliable)
WWW: http://www.phys.tcu.edu/~dingram/phys20073

Please see the Summer 2008 Lab Announcement for information about:

This syllabus is meant to describe what you'll be doing in an individual lab section. Overall course policies are in the lab announcement handout. If you do not have a copy of this handout, please be sure to get one off the World Wide Web (see URL above) or from your TA. It contains important information not found in this syllabus.

Structure of the Lab

The laboratory sections last 120 minutes, and you should finish early most of the time. Each lab is more or less self-paced. There will usually be a brief 5-minute introduction to the material at the beginning of each section. The student notes in the lab manual provide detailed instructions on exactly what is expected from each lab, so read and follow them carefully!

There are two parts to each lab (the essay is described in detail below). The first part consists of the experiment or exercise. Here you will be required to answer the questions in the student notes. Follow along in the student notes and ask your Lab TA for help, if necessary.

Teamwork

Although 2 or 3 students may work together during the lab session, it is required that each student contribute to the work. Each student must write his or her own lab report and his or her own essay. Those students who are unwilling to do a fair share of the work of their group will not receive credit for the lab exercise and will need to schedule a make-up lab. It is up to the Lab TA to determine whether or not students are not doing their fair share of the work. "Cheating" is defined as verbatim (or mostly verbatim, in the judgement of the Lab TA) copying of any part of another student's lab exercise or essay.

Any student who cheats will not receive credit for the lab exercise and is subject to disciplinary action by the university. Copying data or lab reports from students in other labs is also considered cheating. In all instances of cheating, a letter detailing the incident will be automatically sent to the Dean of Campus Life and placed in the student's permanent file.

Lab Reports (two parts)

Lab reports must be turned in at the end of the lab section before you leave the classroom. The following elements should appear in all lab reports:

The essay is to be written in clear, concise English, using complete sentences. This portion will be graded for both content and style. Points will be deducted for errors in grammar, spelling or sentence construction up to a maximum of 50. Your essay should be concise and readable. In other words, you shouldn't repeat yourself or discuss material that is irrelevant to the exercise. You'll lose points if you do.

Occasionally, this will require a lot of creativity on your part. That's a large part of the purpose of this course: to ensure you have the skills to communicate scientific information and the results of your own research to others. In virtually any career you eventually choose, writing reports that analyze and summarize your own work, however trivial or complex, is certain to be crucial. Lab TA's have been instructed to grade essays with this in mind, so don't be surprised if a half-hearted effort results in a low grade.

Lab Schedule (tentative)

Wed Jul 9 - Accuracy, Error and Significant Figures

Fri Jul 11 - The Sun and the Constellations

Mon Jul 14 - Celestial Sphere (Computer)

Wed Jul 16 - The Precautionary Principle

Fri Jul 18 - Alternative Sources of Energy

Mon Jul 21 - The Orbit of the Moon (Computer)

Wed Jul 23 - Kepler's 3rd Law

Fri Jul 25 - Searching for Extrasolar Planets

Mon Jul 28 - Outer Planets and Their Moons (Computer)

Wed Jul 30 - Saturn and Its Rings