ASTR 1030
Astronomy and Lab
4 credit hours

May be taken with PHYS 1030 to form a two semester sequence in physical science.

Course Information

Course Description:
As an introduction to astronomy, this course explores what we know about the solar system and how we know what we know.  Topics covered include the history of astronomy, methods of astronomy, formation of the solar system, and the physical characteristics of the sun, planets, moons, and minor members of the solar system (asteroids, meteoroids, and comets).  Through the use of text, laboratory, astronomy web sites and actual observation, the student can expect to learn to identify, locate and specify location of the visible planets, some constellations and any other "visitors" that happen to show themselves in our solar system during the course.

Course Objectives:
By the end of the semester the student should be able to

  • Explain what is meant by the "scientific method" and how the theories and laws of science are developed. Beginning with our solar system, name the types of major structures in the universe and list them in their order of relative size and distance from Earth.

  • Describe the celestial sphere and related terminology.  Describe the history of astronomy including the discoveries of the early Greek astronomers and discoveries of later astronomers Copernicus and Galileo.

  • Explain orbital motion using Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion, Newton's Laws of Motion, and Newton's Universal Law of Gravity. Describe events leading to the discovery of Uranus and Neptune.

  • Explain phenomena resulting from the motions of the Earth and Moon (eclipses, solstices, equinoxes, seasons, and precession) including terminology used to define celestial motions and positions. Describe the orbital motion of the Moon and how it produces the observed phases, ocean tides, and eclipses.

  • Name and describe the structure, features and characteristics of the collective groupings of planets and their moons and other smaller objects in the solar system. Describe the scale of the solar system including the relative sizes of objects and their orbits.

  • Describe the processes important to the formation and evolution of the internal structure, surface, and atmosphere of the Moon and Mercury. Describe the orbital and rotational characteristics of the Moon and Mercury.

  • Describe the processes important to the formation and evolution of the internal structure, surface, and atmosphere of the Venus and Mars. Describe the orbital and rotational characteristics of the Venus and Mars.

  • Describe and compare the composition, internal structure, and atmospheres of the Jovian planets and explain why they are different.

  • Describe and compare the ring systems of the Jovian planets, how they were discovered, and explore why they are different. Describe and compare the orbital characteristics of the moon systems of the Jovian planets and explore why they are different. Describe the characteristics of Pluto and its moon.

  • Describe the structure, features and characteristics of the minor members (comets, asteroids, meteoroids, etc.) of the solar system.

  • Describe the basic structure, features, and characteristics of the Sun. Describe the Sun's magnetic cycle and the structure of its atmosphere.

Prerequisites and Corequisites:
There are no other college-level courses that must be taken before this one, but the student should have entry-level college reading and math skills.  Some concepts of astronomy, and some laboratory exercises require the ability to understand and perform some basic algebraic manipulations. The Physics 1030 may be taken before or after this course for those students needing a two-semester science elective.  The most logical sequence would be Physics and then Astronomy because some of the laws studied in Physics apply to Astronomy.
Course Topics:
Course topics should be covered in the order presented: Brief tour of the Universe, the birth of Astronomy, Earth, Moon and Sky, Introduction to the Solar System, Earth as a Planet, Cratered Worlds, Earth-Like Planets, The Gas Giants, Rings, Moons and Pluto, Comets and Asteroids, and the Sun, A garden-Variety Star.
Specific Course Requirements:
The student should have a comfortable working relationship with computers and the internet.  This course will require the student to access many different web sites and use programs provided on those sites with the instructions given by the site host.  The student should be familiar with the use of Microsoft Office.  
Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain current textbook information for this course:

 http://rodp.bkstr.com
Supplementary Materials:
To complete certain laboratory exercises the student should have a magnetic compass, a protractor, a 12-inch flexible rule, a meterstick or other rigid measuring stick, and a simple calculator that will handle scientific notation and basic trig functions.  (Note: instructions for use of the calculator and the trig function needed will be given as part of the laboratory.  No prior knowledge of trigonometry is required.)
Hardware Requirements:
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific hardware requirements for this course include a CDROM drive and as fast and reliable an internet connection as the student can provide.  A printer for printing out sky charts is also needed.
Software Requirements:
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific hardware requirements for this course include Microsoft Office and some media player such as Real Player.  The use of some web sites may require the downloading of other software which can be done at no cost to the student from the individual site.
Instructor Information
Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.
Assessment and Grading
Testing Procedures:
Each unit will conclude with an online, timed quiz.  This quiz must be taken during the window of availability specified in the course calendar.  The student will need an approved proctor to administer the midterm and final examinations also during the time periods specified in the course calendar.  Arranging for a proctor is the responsibility of the student.  The proctor information must be submitted to and approved by the instructor early in the course, usually within the first two weeks.  Information for obtaining a proctor is available by clicking on Obtaining a Proctor.
Grading Procedure:
Grades will be determined from the weighted average of the items listed in the chart below.  Make-up quizzes are not given but the lowest of the 12 quizzes will be dropped and in cases where a student has shown significant improvement through the course and does well on the final exam, the weight of the final exam may be increased to reflect the then present level of mastery.
 

Graded Component

Weight (%)

Class Participation

10

Laboratories

25

Quizzes

25

Mid-Term Examination

15

Final Examination

25
Grading Scale:
Letter Grades will be assigned in accordance with the college-wide grading scale published in the student handbook.  This scale is also given in the table below.  

Range

Letter Grade

90-100

A

80-89

B

70-79

C

65-69

D

0-64

F
Assignments and Participation
Assignments and Projects:

The student is expected to do and self-grade but not submit homework assignments for each unit after the first.  Those assignments that must be submitted for grading are the laboratories as assigned in the course calendar.  Class participation will be outlined below.  The quizzes must be taken in the time period specified in the calendar.  Quiz grades will be available one day after the due date for the quiz.  The mid-term and final examinations are done under the auspices of the student's proctor.  Any work not submitted during the required time period will not be accepted.

Please note: performing laboratory experiments requires a lab partner's assistance.  This person may be any willing individual.  It is a good way to involve your friends and family.
Class Participation:
As an online learner there can be a sense of loneliness if one does not communicate with his or her peers.  To prevent that all students are required to participate in the class discussion.  Weekly, the instructor will post discussion questions on the class bulletin board. Each student has two responsibilities: to post comments about the discussion question and to respond to the posted comments of at least one other student.  Another way in which class participation points can be earned is through asking for help from other students and responding to the calls for help of others via the discussion forum..
Punctuality:
One suggestion: don't get behind!  Look over the calendar and print a hard copy of it and post it where you can see it.  Mark due dates.  Recognize the difference in time zones.  Are you familiar with universal time?  Look it up.  Realize that there may be times when you have computer problems or ISP problems.  Do not put off doing your work until the last available date, because that is when your computer will break down.
Course Ground Rules

Academic Honesty: Every bit of work you submit must be your own.  Students found to be cheating on any quiz, exam or research paper will receive a non-revocable "0" grade for that item.  In what ways can you collaborate without violating the honesty policy?  You are encouraged to study together for quizzes and exams where possible, but once a person has taken a quiz or exam he/she must not communicate any further with his/her study mates.  You may perform the laboratory experiments together and submit the same data as your lab partner, but you must do your own calculations and answer the lab questions yourself.  On the research paper you may share ideas and websites but each individual must write his/her own paper.

You are encouraged to seek help from the instructor and from each other via email using the internal WebCT email tool and the class discussion forum.  Your instructor expects questions concerning course material, the answering of conceptual questions, and the performance of experiments.  If you knew it all already, you wouldn't be in the class and we would be out of a job.  Please note: course due times in WebCT are based on central time.  Use proper netiquette in your communications.  Remember, there is a record of every word you put in an email and you don't want to have to eat any of them.  Introduce yourself to other students as early as practical.  Get started, right away.  Set regular times for your home "class" and guard this time zealously. 

If technical problems arise seek help from WebCT immediately.  You have a course calendar that includes due dates and times for all assignments.  You know when things are due.  Plan ahead and do not expect extensions except under extreme circumstances.  To help with circumstances that may be  beyond your control we drop one lab grade and one unit test grade.  

Check for news and announcements regularly.  Above all, do not procrastinate
Guidelines for Communications
Email:
  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members
Discussion Groups:
  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other's ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
Chat:
  • Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
  • Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
  • Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
  • Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
  • Be constructive in your comments and suggestion
Web Resources:

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.  Please note: all students, with and without disabilities, will need someone to help them perform laboratory experiments.  This is a good opportunity to involve friends and family in your studies.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the left to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

Telephone Support:
If you are having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the AskRODP Help Desk by calling

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to the AskRODP website at:

http://help.rodp.org