ISP205
Syllabus (Section 2) - Spring SEMESTER 2001
Tuesday and
Thursday 12:40-2:00 pm
1.
Goal:
To explore the many ideas and concepts of astronomy that are relevant to the
understanding of our place in the Universe
2.
Assignments:
Homework assignments are important in the final grade. Students are expected to
solve problems and to answer qualitative questions in a weekly, individualized
assignment. The assignments are completed by entering answers through the campus
computer network or the world-wide-web. Instructions for using the
Computer-Assisted Personal Assignments (CAPA) system are on a separate sheet.
You are encouraged to work together on the homework, but each student's answers
will be different and must be entered individually. A calculator will be
necessary to answer a few of the problems.
3.
Basis
for the Grade:
Performance on answering questions from the homework, quizzes and exams will be
the basis for the final grade. There will be 3 midterm exams. You can be excused
from an exam for medical reasons or severe personal difficulties. A signed
letter will be necessary to be excused. A student cannot be excused from more
than one exam. If you have taken all 3 midterm exams and are happy with your
grade, you do not need to take the final exam. If you take the final, the lowest
exam score will be dropped. There will be a quiz or an exercise every lecture.
No makeup for in class work will be given.
·
During
the term extra credit work will be given and will be added to the homework
score. Approximately the equivalent
of 20 homework points will be available.
·
Grade
basis: Homework assignments 35%; Midterm exams and Final exam, 20% each (the
highest 3 scores are counted); in-class quizzes and exercises, 5%. The worst 7
quiz scores (out of 25 total) will be dropped. No quiz make-ups are possible.
·
Grade
scale: The following grade scale is guaranteed. The actual scale may be lowered
from these values but will not be raised.
0.0
- 0 to 47.5, 1.0 - 47.5 to 55.0, 1.5 - 55.0 to 62.0, 2.0 - 62.0 to 68.0, 2.5 -
68.0 to 76.0, 3.0 - 76.0 to 83.0, 3.5 - 83.0 to 90.0, 4.0 - above 90.0.
4.
Date,
Time and Place of Exams:
·
Midterm
Exam #1
Tuesday, February
6 at 12:40 p.m. in room PA118
·
Midterm
Exam #2
Tuesday, March
20 at 12:40 p.m. in room PA118
·
Midterm
Exam #3
Tuesday, April
24 at 12:40 p.m. in room PA118
·
Final
Exam
Thursday, May 3 8:00 p.m. location to be announced
5.
Lecturers:
·
Prof. H.
Schatz.
§
Office
hours: 3-4:00 Mondays, N-104 Cyclotron (or by appointment, 333-6397) and after
class each day (lecture room)
§
E-mail
address: schatz@nscl.msu.edu
6.
Course web site: http://www.nscl.msu.edu/~schatz/isp205_2.html
7.
Textbook: Voyages
Through the Universe, Second Edition by Fraknoi, Morrisson and Wolff
8.
Recommended Supplemental Material: The Redshift College Edition CD-ROM from
Maris Multimedia. This will help with the homework and in learning the course
material.