Most of the people who take this astronomy class have very little background in astronomy (or any of the other sciences). When you come into a new subject like this, you can't learn the material just by reading about it. The only way anyone really learns this stuff is through going through the assignments and trying to work out the ideas yourself.

For that reason, there are several different parts to this course, and most of them involve you doing some work. By doing all of this, you will not just learn the basic information. You will also learn how to apply you understanding of astronomical processes to new situations: in effect, to make predictions based on the data and your understanding of the processes. This is the essence of doing science.

I also understand that some of the ideas in the course go outside our day-to-day experience, so it's okay to ask me questions if you are having trouble with any of these. The best ways to do this are to send me an email or to ask a question on the Discussion Board on Blackboard.

Schedule Page on Blackboard
This is on Blackboard. The Schedule page is the place to go for all of the assignments, notes, etc for the course. You will have a complete listing of what is due when, with links taking you directly to most of them. In short, the Schedule page is the center of the whole course. For this reason, it is very important that you get logged into Blackboard as soon as possible (you should have access to the course by the weekend before classes start).

Lecture Notes and Textbook
There is no grade for reading the notes and the book, but these are essential nonetheless. The lecture notes act as a guide to the textbook, helping you see what ideas I consider most important (and hence most likely to be on the test). The lecture notes are found on the Schedule page on Blackboard.

When you are reading the textbook, remember to look over the figures and captions, and make sure you understand them as you go along.

You will find sample math problems in both the text and the notes. Don't just read these through, try them yourself. This is the only way you can make sure that you understand how to do the problems.

Discussion Board
Except for the APOD presentations (see below) there is no specific grade for participating in the discussion board. However, there are several open forums for you to ask questions and talk about different aspects of the course and the material covered in it. I have included my own summary of the key points in each week's material. There are also places you can introduce yourself, discuss astronomy in the news, and ask questions about any aspect of the course.

Quizzes, 12 total - 6% course grade
To make sure you're reading the textbook, I've put together a set of open book quizzes which are due at the beginning of most weeks. Most of the questions on the quizzes are easy; once you've read the book! The questions for each week will be listed on the Schedule page on Blackboard. You will be submitting the quizzes on the Blackboard site. Each quiz becomes available roughly a week before it comes due, so you can submit your answers any time in that week. As soon as you've done the quiz, the grades will become available.

MasteringAstronomy Assignments, 7 total - 7% course grade
These are done on the textbook's Mastering Astronomy web site. You will need to have the access code that comes with the textbook (on a separate card on the inside front of the book). If you bought your book used and it doesn't have an access code, then you will need to purchase access directly from the site. There are more detailed instructures on using Mastering Astronomy linked from the Schedule page. As soon as you get your textbook, you should log onto Mastering Astronomy. These assignments give you a chance to work through some of the key ideas you need to learn in the class, and test yourself to make sure you're understanding them.

Homework - 6 total - 15% course grade
These assignments are usually divided into two parts. The first is a series of review questions that ask you to describe some of the main ideas in the course. It is always tempting to copy the answers from the text or the notes, but there are two good reasons not to do this: 1. It is cheating. 2. You don't learn anything from it, and when I ask you the same question on the test, you won't be able to answer it. Instead, you should write down your own understanding of the answer, not just what someone else has written.

The second part is called "critical thinking/calculation problems." This is where you get to try and apply your understanding of astronomy. The questions include calculations, "what if" questions, and other questions for which the answer is usually not actually given in the book. In these questions, it is as important that you should how you get your answer as it is that you get the answer right.

The homework questions are also your most important preparation for the exams. Many of the exam questions I write are either taken directly from the homeworks, or they are very similar to homework questions. For this reason, I post solutions to the homework assignments shortly after the due date.

Group Discussion Questions - 12% course grade
Working in small groups I will give you questions to discuss and turn in each week. These will mostly be short questions that let you practice the sorts of problems you will see on the homework and exams. You can use chat, email, discussion boards, or any other means that is convenient to work with your other group members.

APOD Presentation -  5% course grade
Each week a few people will present a picture from the astronomy picture of the day on the class discussion boards, and other students will ask questions about that picture. You will be graded both on your initial write-up and on how you handle the discussion following it. Also, students receive questions for asking questions and participating in other people's APOD discussions.

Know Your World/Mystery Solar System Tour Exercise - 5% course grade
Towards the end of the semester I will ask you to choose between one of two exercises that will let you see how planetary processes play out. In one case you will look at a world in our own solar system, while the other you have to try to imagine what a planet in a different solar system might be like.

Exams, 3 total - 50% course grade
Here is where you show me what you've learned. This is the largest part of the grade, and most of the other work is designed to help you prepare for the exams. There will be two midterms and 1 final. The final is cummulative. The questions I ask are generally a mixture of multiple choice and short answer (calculation, analysis, and/or short paragraph description) questions.