Dr. Jane Turner

1. Meeting #1 PHYS 105/105H Ideas in Astronomy Dr. Jane Turner

2. Personal Introduction Tracey Jane Turner BSc in Math with Astronomy, Univ. Leicester (UK) PhD in X-ray Astronomy, Univ. Leicester (UK) Also work at LHEA at NASA/GSFC Joined UMBC in 1998 Main Research Field: Observations & Interpretation of the X-ray emission from Active Galactic Nuclei Aside, Aside, Aside, Aside…

3. Course Info (PHYS 105/105H) Ideas in Astronomy 105/105H (3 Credits) Lectures: Monday, Wednesday, Friday @ 2:00-2:50 pm BIOL 120 105H meets 1-1:50pm PHYS 107 Course WWW Pages www.jca.umbc.edu/~turner/course105_2007.html plus www.masteringastronomy.com

4. Contact Information Office Hours -by appointment only Monday, Wednesday, Friday appointments are possible (Tues and Thursday I am at NASA/GSFC) Room 412 (top floor of the Physics Bldg) no “drop-ins” please… Email me for an appointment, and let me know what area/question you are stuck on (if everyone gets stuck on one area we can go over it again in class) tjturner@umbc.edu IMPORTANT

5. Some class rules Be Respectful No cell-phones, No reading of non-course material, No shouting out, No disruptive behavior No emailing/IM/texting friends during my class IMPORTANT

6. Academic Conduct • Cheating will not be tolerated • http://www.jca.umbc.edu/~turner/105/expect.shtml • It is YOUR responsibility • to be familiar with the rules, procedures • & expectations associated with this course • It is YOUR responsibility • to be familiar with the various UMBC policies on • Academic/Student Conduct • If you are uncertain : Ask FIRST !! IMPORTANT

7. Announcements Will be (whenever possible) Made in class Only urgent/emergency messages will be communicated via e-mail. IMPORTANT

8. 105 web site • Course information • http://www.jca.umbc.edu/~turner/course105_2007.html • http://www.jca.umbc.edu/~turner/105/expect.shtml

9. Syllabus The course will include: Our Place in the Universe Key Historical Figures in Astronomy Matter and Energy The Laws of Motion Light Telescopes The Solar System and its formation The Sun Stars The Stellar Graveyard Our Galaxy Other Galaxies and their Evolution Dark Matter and the Fate of the Universe The Beginning of Time Syllabus online with grading breakdown at http://www.jca.umbc.edu/~turner/course105_2007.html

10. Telescope Nights There will be two classes up at the telescope, of which you will need to go to one…more details later this week For that, you’ll show up on Physics Building floor 4 room 401 at ~7pm (time to be confirmed). IMPORTANT

11. Grading Final Exams 25% Two mid-term exams 15% each - These will be closed-book (no programmable calcs etc) (necessary numerical values & complex eqns will be provided) Homework (30%) Attendance 15% - Telescope Night Rain or Clear!! will replace two lectures early March Mandatory- Attendance will be taken IMPORTANT

12. Grading - More Details • RECAP: • Exams (total 55% • To be written in black or blue pen only • Homework (30%) • As instructed following online tutorials • and problems • Attendance 15% -random checks plus telescope night IMPORTANT

13. Grade Appeals Exams, you have one week from receiving a grade to appeal- appeals to sumit1@umbc.edu First-if theres a real problem, see me Homework: problems??? First see the grader -and he will advise you how to proceed tjturner@umbc.edu IMPORTANT Homeworks are graded online and there are no appeals. If there is a technical problem contact the online technical support but again, ask Sumit first

14. Past Grades Sample from previous runs of this course FOR REFERENCE ONLY 10% 6% 7% 25% 30% 20% of students Best results only possible if you do the homework on time Aside, Aside, Aside, Aside… F D C B A Dropped I DO NOT “BELL-CURVE” THE GRADES There are no fixed fractions of As, Bs, Cs etc

15. The Book Online Ordering Information Students Your subscription is pre-paid with the purchase of a new copy of The Essential Cosmic Perspective, 4e Edition, by Bennett. You will find instructions for accessing the site packaged with the textbook. If your textbook does not have a valid access code, you can purchase a 12-month subscription online for $26.67 using Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

16. Course Text: REQUIRED Essential Cosmic Perspective (4e Edition) by Bennett,Donohue,Voit If you have a used copy then you also need to buy access to the web site (inexpensive) where we will work through some homework tutorials IMPORTANT

17. Course Info (PHYS 105) We will do homework online Class name/ID MATURNER0001 Get online and join this class for the homework to be credited Automated grading within homework deadline timeframe mean no late homework counts H/w credit ramps down to zero 48 hrs after deadline and cannot be changed

18. HELP for online portion • Grader dedicated to online support sumit1@umbc.edu • Sumit will help with getting sorted out online

19. Do the Homework!! Homework will be set & is part of the course (30%) !! Homework also consists of Reading ahead(before the lecture) ~ 2 hours week Re-reading & Transcribing your notes (after the lecture) Doing the tutorials assigned (asap after the lecture) ~ 2 hours/week This is your responsibility The homework problems give you practice for the exams You will almost certainly FAIL if you do not do the Homework IMPORTANT

20. Homework Help Group Study for the Homework is fine You may work together on homework online tutorials and online problem sets. However, you each need to register online for this class to be able to get into the system and get credit for the homeworks done. Each person must work through the homework on their personal account for the grade to be logged and thus the marks credited to each student. You will almost certainly FAIL if you do not do the Homework IMPORTANT

21. Homework Statistically only about 20% of students like MasteringAstronomy in the first weeks of the course. This is not surprising; students dislike astronomy homework in general, they have to do more work because MasteringAstronomy is tutoring them, and the combination of unfamiliar, difficult material and a new way of working can initially make you unsure of yourselves. However…. IMPORTANT

22. Homework However…according to studies of classes using MyCyberTutor, the tutoring engine on which MasteringAstronomy is based: •The figure rises to over 90% student approval by the last weeks • Student grades rise by about 27% •In actual courses, student grades rise by a full grade IMPORTANT

23. Homework Initially, most students spend more time on MasteringAstronomy assignments than on older paper-based homework, because they are getting more feedback, having more chances to get the right answer, and learning more In the end, this means you are likely to get a better grade than ‘usual’ in this class To facilitate learning, I allow unlimited wrong answers in the first two (ONLY) online assignments to encourage you to experiment IMPORTANT

24. Homework MasteringAstronomy is an online problem solving "tutoring" system. The system guides you through the solution of multi-step problems, removing roadblocks with wrong-answer-based feedback and on-demand hints. It includes multi-step problems that incorporate a wide variety of answer types, including symbolic math, fill-in-the-blank, numerical, and multiple-choice. The system encourages students to work through problems, moving incrementally toward a procedural understanding of problem types. The system allows me to track your progress and prevent you from falling too far behind. Color coding reveals students in trouble or problem areas for the class as a whole and we will contact you if you fall behind on homework. IMPORTANT

25. TUTORIAL CENTER Appointment tutoring for 100-level courses Academic IV B-wing room 345 Mon-Thurs 10am-5pm Fri 10am-2pm 410-455-2444 for information IMPORTANT