Astronomy 109 Syllabus

 

 

Santa Ana College - Spring 2018 ASTR109 Introduction to Solar System

Physical Science Department

Professor:        Dr. Vladimir Tumakov     

Email:              Tumakov_Vladimir@sac.edu

Instructor's bio:

I was working in neutrino physics for 17 years, then for 10 years at UCI on the projects in muon physics. Since 1999 was teaching physics and astronomy in 4 colleges and 2 universities, including 10 years at SAC.

welcome VIDEO

 

8th  edition            or

9th  edition

“Astronomy Today. Solar System.” Volume 1

 by Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillan,   8th  ( or 9th)   edition

 

PRE-REQUISITE: None

Course Description

ASTR 109  INTRODUCTION TO SOLAR SYSTEM.    3 Units.        

Astronomy 109: The objective of this Astronomy 109 course is to provide students with an Introduction to the solar system that will give the basis for following astronomical discoveries. This course is an introduction to the ideas and concepts, and theories of astronomy. Topics include the night sky, history of astronomy, matter, light and their interactions, the solar system – planets, moons  and our Sun.  In addition, this course is intended to help the student appreciate enormous physical scale of universe and introduce students briefly to new discovered objects and phenomena. 

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

 

1. Apply scientific reasoning to astronomical discoveries to understand their validity as well as to everyday situations.
2. Demonstrate an understanding that science is based upon observations of the universe and how that is used to understand some basic phenomenon of our world.
3. Discuss how science is explained formation, interaction, and evolution of the solar system.
4. Have an experience to present results of your own research.

 

Teaching Philosophy

Math and memorization of facts are not our goals, but you should examine the textbook and the reading level required.  No mathematical calculations are required on the exams; however, it is important to understand mathematical representation of some fundamental numbers. Memorizing precise numbers is not required, but knowing approximate sizes, distances, etc. will help you keep track of scale of things in the universe.

Even more important than the astronomical concepts you will learn during the course, you should gain an appreciation for the way scientists approach a problem and for the excitement that comes from presenting results after applying the scientific method on your own.

Astronomy course has 15 Modules.

Each Module covers one chapter in the textbook. Each Module contains different assignments. Instructions are given at the beginning of each Module.

Some Modules contain

• graded discussion boards
• development Astronomy class WIKI
• create Quiz activity
• virtual Lab assignments
• reading assignment

Before switching to next Module homework and quiz should be completed.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

• In the Schedule, the units listed on the right-hand side are the required reading assignment for the Module. 

Discussion Boards, Astronomy class WIKI, create Quiz activity

•  Discussion Boards
  • Student will post initial statement on provided by instructor topic and  it is expected later at least two responses to other students posts. Discussion boards  are graded, so please expose your knowledge on the given topic. All posts should follow the rules of Netiquette, see below.
• Astronomy class WIKI
  • Student modify class WIKI page bringing new ideas, proposals, clarifications, corrections
•  create Quiz activity
  • student post a quiz question, grade other students responses and submit report to instructor

Homework and Quizzes

You are required to read the entire assigned chapters before approaching the homework and end of Module quiz. Late homework  and end of Module quiz will not be accepted.

Take notes while you read textbook.. You may ask questions later through private journal line with instructor or on the open graded discussions boards. It is possible to setup office hours to chat with instructor or speak by phone.

Usually  homework will not have a time limit and will allow multiple attempts. Quizzes are supposed to be closed book, please spend more time to prepare before taking quiz, when you start quiz, you will have no time to look into the book, because time is limited.

 

Written Term Paper

The written term paper is to be turned in by the end of semester (You may turn it in earlier if you wish.). Recommended list of topics is given below (should be different from the topic of group presentation!).

The paper must meet the following specifications:

• The topic you choose must from the list below, but different from the topic of your presentation.
• The review must be typed, double spaced
• The paper MUST be a minimum of three (3) typed pages. (You may add pictures, graphs etc. at the end.)
• You must use at least three (3) reference sources for the paper. (your textbook cannot be one of the reference sources.)
• You must indicate the sources that you used at the end of the paper. In case of referring to online resources, reference should point to actual document, not a general website.
• You must include your personal thoughts or reaction, not simply taking text from your reference.
• If you really like a sentence from your reference, it should be given within quotation marks.

You will be graded on the following:

• Ability to follow specifications for the term paper.
• Quality of coverage (reporting the key ideas and facts).
• Your opinions and/or reactions on the article.

 

PowerPoint Presentation Project group project:

Presentation should be prepared in ppt format within the group of students assigned by instructor. Group selects the topic of presentation from the given list (should be different from topics that students choose for their term paper project).

• Your presentation should focus on 1-2 main points related to your part of group presentation, and should have no more than 5 “content” slides (not including a title slide) for each student. Slides should summarize your main points and as prompts to talk about your topic. Most slides should include a visual (image, graph, etc.) and only a limited amount of text – use a large, easily readable font!  
• You should submit your ppt file through file upload. Be sure to practice your presentation to make sure you fit into group time limit (15 minutes for whole group presentation) .
• If you don’t have PowerPoint on your home computer, you can use cloud version at https://www.office.com (Links to an external site.)

Virtual Lab reports    

If Module includes Virtual Lab assignment, student   run a virtual lab applet with few different conditions. In the report

• student should clearly explain what theory or hypothesis the applet is exploring
• what king of the experiment the applet is simulation
• what kind of data were used as input parameters
• what data student observed as a result of virtual experiment
• What conclusion student has after running the virtual experiment
• did he observed that virtual experiment is supporting initial hypothesis or theory or contradicts to initial assumptions

Final Exam

A comprehensive two hours final exam is given at the end of semester. No make-ups are given.  Final exam is open book exam. You will see all given questions together and at given time you may try to find answers for some questions in the book.  

Communications with Instructor

During semester instructor distributes different assignments and assessments as links under the Module section,  grades them in timely manner, participates in the discussion board on selected topics , answers the questions through comments, course chat,  E-mail within 24 hours. Students  will submit their work through on-line assignments text entry or file upload.  For private communication use Email.                 

Grading       

 All activities in the course are graded and could give the percentage to final grade shown in the table below.

As one can see the total is 120%, that means some of activities  on student's choice could be considered as extra points.

During the semester there will be multiple number of assignments in each category like homework, quiz, lab report or discussion board.  Total number of assignments are not set and could be changed  on the fly later  depending on student's progress. Actual points received by students will be weighted in such way that total maximum points possible in each category will correspond to final grade percentage given in the table below. 

Homework	20%
Quizzes	40%
Lab reports (extra credit)	10%
Discussion Board, class WIKI, create Quiz activity	10%
Presentation Project   (extra credit)	10%
Term Paper	10%
Final Exam	20%
Total	120%

 

A normal distribution (curve) will be used, which usually results in approximately the following  grade distribution:

A =90-100% B =80-89% C = 70-79% D = 60-69% F = 0-59%

Student  may get “A” without extra credit if show excellent results on tests and exams.

 

ASTR109  Astronomy Schedule

Wk	Dates	Topics	Chapter
1 2 3 4	Feb 05 Feb 12 Feb 19 Feb 26	Foundations of Astronomy Copernican Revolution  Information from the cosmos Spectroscopy	1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9	Mar 05 Mar 12 Mar 16 Mar 26 Apr 02	Telescopes                               Solar System                                               Earth                                                                                   Moon and Mercury                                             Spring break	5 6 7 8
10 11 12 13 14	Apr 09 Apr 16 Apr 23 Apr 30 May 07	Venus   Mars                         Jupiter                  Saturn Uranus, Neptune	9 10 11 12 13
15 16	May 14 May 21	Meteorites, Asteroids, Comets  Formation of Planetary Systems	14  15
17	May 28	Final

Note: Since this is still a tentative schedule, it is still subject to change.

 Attendance Policy:

In accordance with the college drop policy, students who do not access the class web site or submit the “first assignments” by the due date may be dropped as a no show. Students who fail to turn in the weekly assignments and or participate in the discussion boards will be considered “absent” and may be dropped from the class for “excessive absence.” Students are responsible to officially drop the class or they will receive a letter grade based on their performance.

 No Show Drop: In this course, you must complete all of the following activities by Friday of the first week of classes or you will be dropped as a “No Show”:

Excessive Absence Drop: If two consecutive weeks of non-participation is observed by the instructor the student will be dropped. 

Add/Drop and Other Important Dates 

Academic Honesty Policy:

You should be familiar with the Academic Honesty Policy at Santa Ana College. There is absolutely NO tolerance for cheating in this class. Academic dishonesty or cheating is defined as an intentional act of fraud in which a student seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization. This includes assisting other students in acts of dishonesty or coercing students into acts of dishonesty, whether it is in coursework or on exams. Any student caught cheating or assisting another student in the act of cheating, will receive a zero score for the assignment or quiz. Students will be reported to the Dean of Student Development upon a second breach of the Academic Honesty policy. If you have any questions regarding this policy or application of this policy, please let me know.  

Student Code of Conduct

 

Netiquette

Complete description you can find on following link: Netiquette, simply defined, means etiquette on the Internet. In an online course, you will be speaking through writing both to fellow students and instructors. It is imperative to communicate well and professionally. The golden rule of netiquette in an online class or environment is, do not do or say online what you would not do or say offline.

Accommodations for Disabilities: Disabled Student Programs & Services Statement Your success in this course is important to me. Santa Ana College and I are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all individuals with disabilities. If you have a disability that may have some impact on your ability to do well in this course, I encourage you to speak with me as soon as possible. Also, please contact Disabled Student Programs & Services so that we can all collaborate on your classroom accommodations in a timely manner. DSP&S is located in U-103, and their phone number is 714-564-6264. The DSP&S office requires documentation of your disability in order to receive reasonable accommodations. If you do not have documentation, they will work with you to acquire it. I look forward to supporting you to meet your learning goals.

List of  topics for students presentation and term paper

• History of Mars exploration.
• Mars exploration vehicles.
• History of Venus exploration.
• Astronauts and space travel. Problems, effects on human body.
• Comets, asteroids
• Recent Pluto data.
• Weather and Communication satellites. How GPS works?
• Voyagers
• Hubble Space Telescope
• Xray and gamma – ray telescopes
• NASA shuttle program
• Supernova
• Black holes
• Extrasolar planets
• Cosmology
• Evolution of Universe
• Ancient Greek astronomers: Ptolemy, Thales, Aristarchus, and Hipparchus
• When Newton's laws do not work?
• What are the similarity and differences between atmospheric phenomena on Earth and Jupiter.
• Using diffraction gratings in astronomy
• Radio astronomy discoveries
• What the goals and tasks of comparative planetology
• Tectonic plates motion
• International Space Station program
• NASA future missions: CAL, DSAC, GRACE-FO, InSight, Jason-3, Mars 2020, MIRI, NISAR, ICO-3, SWOT
• Man on the Moon. Past and future.
• Metallic hydrogen in universe. Properties. Difficulties in attempts to create it in the lab.
• Cassini mission.
• Similarity and differences between two inner and two outer Jovian planets.
• Kuiper Belt. Oort cloud.
• Computer simulations in astronomy.
• Star energy source. PP, CNO cycle
• The 9^th planet
• Kilonova

Course Syllabus: pdf

Meet Your Instructor:  Instructor Profile  

Course Description:  Course Description

Textbook Information:  Textbook

Additional Course Information: ISBN
Student Learning Objectives:   Course Learning Objectives