Physics 10293 Lab - Archaeoastronomy - Spring 2018 Syllabus

Supervisor: Dr. Doug R. Ingram
Office: SWR 315
Hours: TR 1030-1150 & by appointment
Phone: (817) 257-7313 (less reliable)
Email: d.ingram@tcu.edu (more reliable)
WWW: http://personal.tcu.edu/dingram/phys10293

Please see the Spring 2017 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 2 hours. Each lab is more or less self-paced. There will often 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 usually 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.

Policies and procedures regarding your rights as well as responsibilities are published in the TCU Student Handbook, available on line at http://www.studentaffairs.tcu.edu/handbook/handbook.htm. Specifically, review Section 3.4 regarding Academic misconduct, i.e. cheating, plagiarism etc.

Students with Disabilities

Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities. Eligible students seeking accommodations should contact the Coordinator of Student Disabilities Services in the Center for Academic Services located in Sadler Hall, 1010. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations. Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at (817) 257-6567.

Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the academic term for which they are seeking accommodations. Each eligible student is responsible for presenting relevant, verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment reports to the Coordinator. Guidelines for documentation may be found at http://www.acs.tcu.edu/disability_documentation.asp.

Students with emergency medical information or needing special arrangements in case a building must be evacuated should discuss this information with their instructor/professor as soon as possible.

Lab Reports (two parts)

All labs should be worked on exclusively in the classroom, not as homework before or after the lab section. There will be plenty of time during a typical lab session for you to finish everything you need to finish. Lab reports MUST be turned in at the end of the lab section before you leave the classroom, even if you are attending a section other than your usual section. You cannot "finish them later" and leave them in a TA's box.

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

#1 Week of Mon Jan 29 - The Sun and the Constellations
#2 Week of Mon Feb 5 - Starry Night Introduction
#3 Week of Mon Feb 12 - Observations of the Sun and Moon
#4 Week of Mon Feb 19 - Starry Night Exercises I
#5 Week of Mon Feb 26 - Starry Night Exercises II
#6 Week of Mon Mar 5 - Mercury
#7 Week of Mon Mar 19 - Venus
#8 Week of Mon Mar 26 - The Outer Planets
#9 Week of Mon Apr 2 - The Copernican Revolution
#10 Week of Mon Apr 9 - Stellar Parallax
#11 Week of Mon Apr 16 - The Origin of the Constellations

Lab Meeting Times

160: Mon 100-250: -- Irma Rodriguez
161: Mon 300-450: -- Dr. Kat Barger
162: Mon 500-650: -- Luca Ceresa

170: Tue 1200-150: -- Dr. Doug Ingram
171: Tue 200-350: -- Lubna Pinky

180: Wed 100-250: -- Irma Rodriguez
181: Wed 300-450: -- Luca Ceresa

190: Thu 1200-150 -- Dr. Doug Ingram
191: Thu 200-350 -- Lubna Pinky