ASTRONOMY 201                           ON-LINE                                 SPRING  2012

Ted Coskey

RS 172

OFFICE HOURS: 9:15-9:45 daily and by appointment after noon. 

Office phone:   206-934-6447

email:  ted.coskey@seattlecolleges.edu

FAX:  206-934-5807

FOR TECH SUPPORT WITH THE ANGEL WEB SITE, CALL 1-866-425-8412.

 

 The Origin of the Universe and the Origin of Life

 

THIS COURSE IS PART OF THE “INTEGRATED STUDIES” CURRICULUM.

THE AREA OF KNOWLEDGE:  THE “NATURAL WORLD”

 

In Astronomy 201 we will look at the Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe.  We will discuss the formation of the universe, galaxies, stars, planets, and life on earth.  We will spend a few days pondering "Is there life elsewhere in the universe?"

 

The textbook for this course is The Search for Life in the Universe, 3rd edition by Goldsmith and Owen.  We will go through the book as follows:  Chapters 1-10, 16-22.  (If there is time we will go back to the book and cover chapters 11-15.)

 

Methods:

On-line courses are obviously different from in-class courses. I would like to give you some of the feel of an in-class course by encouraging student interaction. As you progress through the course, be sure to ask me questions in the public forum. That way everyone can learn from both your question and my answer as would happen during an in-class course. Some of your homework assignments will be posted for all to read and possibly comment on.

So that I don’t short-change students in my on-campus courses or myself, I will allocate the same amount of contact time to this on-line course as I would to my on-campus courses, which is one hour per day. I will answer as many questions as I can in that time. I’ll answer questions in the order received. In this way I should get to everybody, sooner or later. (I’m just talking about contact time here, not prep time or time spent grading, or that portion of my daily office hour spent talking with students from this and my other courses.) tw

For you to do well in an on-line course, you must be highly motivated and highly disciplined. These courses often take more time, not less time, than an in-class course. More is expected of you because there is no lecture. Also, I expect more of you, because this course requires you to research throughout the quarter. I hope that you will be curious, but regardless I expect you to do some research beyond the text, which can just mean going to Google or the equivalent and hunting a bit. Our text is very good, but can't be up to the minute. You need to find out what is happening now. The text also does not cover all the topics I wish you to learn about. I will post some web sites, but again feel free to do some surfing.

Read the chapter. Mark in your book if that helps you. Note information I put on the web site. Do some web surfing.

 

I do not like to give make‑up quizzes.  I do not like late homework.  Make up quizzes will be given if you have a very good reason for having needed one. To be fair to those who turn their work in on time, I will have to deduct points for late material that I accept, except for emergency situations.  I will deduct 5 points per school day up to fifty (50) points for late material that I accept. (It is up to you to keep track of this and if you reach 50 points, let me know.)   If you are going to miss a quiz or an assignment, you should check with me before missing it as to whether, I will allow it late.  (I check the web site for the course almost every day and I do have voice mail, which I check frequently.)

 

I will count spelling and grammar on homework and the first quiz.  (I don’t count spelling or grammar on timed tests.)  I will allow six errors in spelling and grammar up until midterm.  After midterm I will allow three errors.  I will deduct one point per error beyond the allowed number up to ten points. 

 

You must always state your references on your homework!

You must PARAPHRASE YOUR WORK. YOUR WORK MUST BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS!

 

 

Your grade in this course will be based on the following:

                      

ITEM

 

TOTAL POINTS

Homework

Point value varies depending on assigment

300

Tests

100 points each

300

Term paper

Topic (10), Outline (10), 1st draft (20), Final draft (260)

400

TOTAL POSSIBLE

 

1000 (This can vary)

 

To compute your percentage at the end of the quarter, add up your total points and divide by the number of points possible.  Multiply by 100. 

 

Decimal grades will be assigned as follows:

 

4.0

98.0-100

 

2.3

78.0-78.9

3.9

96.4-97.9

 

2.2

77.0-77.9

3.8

94.8-96.3

 

2.1

76.0-76.9

3.7

93.2-94.7

 

2.0

75.0-75.9

3.6

91.6-93.1

 

1.9

74.0-74.9

3.5

90.0-91.5

 

1.8

73.0-73.9

3.4

89.0-89.9

 

1.7

72.0-72.9

3.3

88.0-88.9

 

1.6

71.0-71.9

3.2

87.0-87.9

 

1.5

70.0-70.9

3.1

86.0-86.9

 

1.4

69.0-69.9

3.0

85.0-85.9

 

1.3

68.0-68.9

2.9

84.0-84.9

 

1.2

67.0-67.9

2.8

83.0-83.9

 

1.1

66.0-66.9

2.7

82.0-82.9

 

1.0

65.0-65.9

2.6

81.0-81.9

 

0.9

63.0-64.9

2.5

80.0-80.9

 

0.8

61.4-62.9

2.4

79.0-79.9

 

0.7

60.0-61.3

 

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, please contact me as soon as possible.

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.   A good quarter to you!

 

 

 

 

 

TERM PAPER

 

Please write a term paper on life in the universe or the people/events that led up to the Big Bang Theory of the Origin of the Universe.  It should be typewritten and at least 2500 words long.  You should use at least five good references-"Science" magazine articles of reasonable length, books other than our text or other introductory astronomy texts, as well as good references from the internet.  I would like at least two references to be non-internet articles such as a magazine article, which you can access from the internet if you wish.   The paper should be heavily referenced with footnotes, endnotes or citations.  It should have a bibliography page.

 

You will be graded as follows:

 

                    280 points        on content

                     50 points         on grammar and spelling (Six errors are allowed.  After that                                                                          you will lose one point per error.)

                     30 points         on format (citations, bibliography and references used)

 

To help you do a good paper, I would like the following turned in when noted:

 

                    Material Due                                           Week, DAY                  Points

 

                    Topic and References                               5 -MON                     10

                    Outline                                                          6 -MON                      10

                    First Draft                                                    7 -MON                      20

                    Final Draft                                                  9 -TUES                   360

                    Total points                                                                                     400

 

The paper should be written in your own words.  However, it should be grammatically correct and the spelling should be correct.  If you need to quote someone occasionally, that is fine; but be sure to reference it with a footnote (or citation).  Your paper should be heavily footnoted (or cited) as you will be using the ideas of other people.

 

The First Draft should NOT be a rough draft.  It should be fairly complete and documented.  It should be an attempt at perfection.  If it is not an “A” paper, I will comment and you will have an opportunity to correct it.  I will grade you on making a good, first attempt.

 

The points for the Final Draft will be divided up as follows:

280 points on content

50 points on grammar and spelling (six errors are allowed. After that you will lose one point per error.)

30 points on format (footnotes, bibliography and references used)

 

 

The Writing Center is a good place to go for help and the librarians are very helpful.  Talk with them as you work on this paper.  Keep in mind that I am also available.

 

Please, write your paper in your own words.  Remember that PLAGIARISM is illegal.

Plagiarism is using someone else’s work and not giving them credit. If you use someone else’s work, you must give them credit by citing the work.  This is true when you quote them, but it is also necessary when you rephrase their work.  You must use citations, endnotes or footnotes Heavily throughout your paper.  Remember that I can pretty easily Google phrases to be sure you are not ‘cutting and pasting’ from online sources or even from books or magazines as many of them are now online.

 

 

 

 

 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES ADDRESSED

 

1.         Communication

                        * Read to learn and communicate.

                        * Write effectively for academic purposes.                       

 

3.         Human Relations

                        * Use social interactive skills to work in groups effectively.

 

6.         Personal Responsibility

                        * Be motivated and able to continue learning and adapt to change.

 

7.         Information Literacy

* Access and evaluate information from a variety of sources and  contexts, including technology.

 

Astronomy Internet Sites

 

There are so many that I am just listing a few of interest.

 

Picture of the day

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

 

University of Washington observatory

Call 685.7856 for information as to when the on-campus observatory is open to the public or check on the web at http://www.astro.washington.edu/pages/outreachtools.html

 

NASA, JPL

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/

 

Solar system simulator

http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/

 

Powers of ten

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/index.html

 

Sky chart

http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Yoursky

 

Mars rovers

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html

 

 

Note the Writing Center has a site that is helpful.

 http://sites.google.com/a/southseattle.edu/writing-center/

 

The Seattle Astronomical Society

http://www.seattleastro.org

 

 

FOR TECH SUPPORT WITH THE ANGEL WEB SITE, CALL 1-866-425-8412.

AST 201, SPRING 2012

DAY/WK

MON

TU

WED

TH

FRI

1

CLASS BEGINS

APRIL 2

 

INTRODUCTION

 

READ

CHAPTER 1

 

HW 1 (AUTOBIO)  out

HISTORY

 

 

 

 

 

HW 2 out (astronomer)

CH 2

DISTANCE

 

 

 

 

HW 1 due (autobiography)

DISTANCE

CH 3,

THE BIRTHPLACE OF STARS

 

2

CH4,

ENERGY LIBERATION IN STARS

 

HW 2 due (astronomer)

 

HW 3 out-read and summarize 2 astronomer papers

CH 5,

HOW STARS END THEIR LIVES

 

 

CH 5

HOW STARS END THEIR LIVES

 

 

 

 

 

Ch 6

GALAXIES and THE UNIVERSE

 

 

Ch 6 GALAXIES and THE UNIVERSE

3

THE ATOM

 

Notes and websites for the next three weeks

 

HW 3 due (sum ast)

FORCES,

 

STEADY STATE THEORY

THE BBT,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIG BANG THEORY (BBT), FREEZINGS

 

HW 4 out (atom)

 

 

FREEZINGS,

 

Changes of state of the universe

4

FREEZINGS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FREEZINGS

 

DISCCOVERIES

 

 

THE 4 PUZZLES, FATES

 

POSSIBLE FATES OF THE UNIVERSE, TYPES OF MATTER,

DARK MATTER

 

HW 4 in (atom)

 

HW 5 out-sum atom

5

COSMO-LOGICAL CONSTANT

 

STRINGS AND THINGS

 

TOPIC AND REFERENCES DUE

TEST #1 OUT over chs 1-6+,

 

You have a week for this one.  The other two will be one-hour exams.

 

 CH7,

LIFE

CH7,

LIFE

 

 

HW 5 in (sum of atom)

 

CH7,

LIFE

 

6

CH8,

THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

 

 

 

TERM PAPER OUTLINE DUE

CH 9,

ORIGIN/EVOLUTION

 

TEST #1 DUE

 

HW 6 out on LIFE

CH 9,

EVOLUTION,

 

CH 9,

EVOLUTION,

 

DISCUSSION-IS LIFE INEVITABLE, ETC?

 

7

 

 

TERM PAPER FIRST DRAFT DUE

 CH 10,

HOW STRANGE CAN LIFE BE

 

 

 

CH 10,

HOW STRANGE CAN LIFE BE

 

 

 

CH 10,

HOW STRANGE LIFE CAN BE?

 

HW 6 in (life)

 

HW 7 out summary of life

 

CH 16,

IS EARTH UNIQUE

8

 

CH 17,

THE DISCOVERY OF EXTRASOLAR PLANETS

TEST #2 OVER CHAPTERS 7-16

 

 

 

 

 

CH 17,

THE DISCOVERY OF EXTRASOLAR PLANETS

 

 

 

HW 8  out PLANET-

GROUP PROJECT

 

CH 18

ET CIVILIZATIONS

 

 

 CH 18

ET CIVILIZATIONS

 

HW 7 in life summary

9

 

HOLIDAY

 

 

CH 19,

INTER-STELLAR SPACEFLIGHT

 

FINAL DRAFT OF TERM PAPER DUE BY MIDNIGHT

 

CH 20,

INTERSTELLAR RADIO AND TV MESSAGES

 CH 20,

INTERSTELLAR RADIO AND TV MESSAGES

 

CH 21,

UFO’s

10

CH 21,

UFO’s

 

 

HW 9 out-review 2 Term papers

 

CH 21,

UFO’s

 

 

A class evaluation should be emailed to you soon.

 

CH 21,

UFO’s

 

HW 8  IN PLANET-

GROUP PROJECT

 

 

CH 22,

WHERE ARE THEY?

 

 

REVIEW

 

HW 9 in, term paper summaries

11

TEST #3 OVER CHAPTERS

17-22

 

JUNE 11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

 

 

 

*THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE