Grades will be based on the four tests. Your lowest score on Tests 1-3 will be dropped, and your two other midterm scores and your Final Exam score will be averaged, with equal weight. No make-ups will be given for Tests 1-3 except in extraordinary circumstances.
Short quizzes, which may or may not be announced in advance, will be given several times during the quarter. These will be intended primarily for practice but will also provide some extra credit (we will keep track of your number of correct quiz answers and will convert it into a number of extra points to be added to your Final Exam score, according to a formula to be announced).
An early Final Exam will be given to graduating seniors during the last week of classes.
Course Outline | ||||
| Week of | Chapters | Main Topics | Tests | Handouts |
| Apr. 1 - 5 | 1, 2 | The sky; seasons; time; early history | course syllabus | |
| Apr. 8 - 12 | 3 | Phases of Moon, eclipses; from ancient Greece to Copernicus (d. 1543 AD) | Sample questions, set 1 |
|
| Apr. 15 - 19 | 4 | Early modern astronomy: Brahe, Kepler; Galileo after Test 1 | Test 1 - Wed. Apr. 17 thru Kepler, p. 77 |
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| Apr. 22 - 26 | 4, 5 | Newton's laws; gravity; orbital motion; light | ||
| Apr. 29 - May 3 | 5, 6 | Atoms; spectral lines; telescopes, instruments | Test 2 - Fri. May 3 ch. 4-6 + review |
Sample questions, set 2 |
| May 6 - 10 | 7, 8, 9 | The Sun & solar system; Earth and Moon | ||
| May 13 - 17 | 10, 11 | Spaceflight; Mercury; Venus | Sample questions, set 3 |
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| May 20 - 24 | 12, 13 | Mars and the search for life; Jupiter | Test 3 - Wed. May 22 ch. 7-12 + review |
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| May 28* - 31 | 14, 15, 16 | Jupiter's moons; Saturn and its rings; the outer planets | Sample questions, set 4 |
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| June 3 - 7 | 17 | Comets and asteroids; life outside the Earth | ||
| *No class Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day) | ||||
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FINAL EXAMS (comprehensive; both
in
1008 Evans Lab) : 11:30 am section: Weds. June 12, 11:30 am - 1:18 pm 1:00 pm section: Mon. June 10, 11:30 am - 1:18 pm |
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