CONTENTS OF THIS COURSE: This is the first half of a 2-semester sequence in modern astronomy for non-science majors. In Astronomy 1, general astronomical concepts, historical astronomy, and the solar system are covered. In Astronomy 2, stars, galaxies, and the Universe will be studied.

REQUIRED TEXT:  Astronomy Today by Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillian   

In the fall semester (Astronomy I), we will be covering Chapters 1 - 15 in this book (basic astronomical concepts and the solar system). The rest of the book will be covered next semester in Astronomy II.

COURSE WEB SITE: http://faculty.etsu.edu/SMITHBJ/f2019/astro1_fall19.html
This web page will contain general information about the course, quiz answers, reminder notices, useful links, and other information.

LABORATORY: This course has a required laboratory. This laboratory meets either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, OR Thursday from 7:30 - 9:30 PM, depending on the section. The location of the laboratory will depend upon the week; it meets either in Brown room 264, the ETSU Observatory, or the ETSU Planetarium (see the lab schedule). Reminders about the lab location will be posted weekly on the course web page. Note that the street address for the ETSU Observatory is 1101 Narrow Lane.

Each student is required to buy the ASTR-1010 Astronomy I Laboratory Manual from the bookstore for this course, as well as the Star and Planet Finder. BE SURE TO GET THE FALL 2019 VERSION OF THE LAB MANUAL. If you do not already own one, it is also a good idea to buy an inexpensive calculator for lab. It does not need to be programmable, but it should be able to do scientific notation as well as logarithms. You will also need to bring a warm coat, gloves, and a hat to the Observatory. On all clear nights, we will be outside, and sometimes it gets very cold at the Observatory.

There will be 12 scheduled evening labs during the semester. Only ten are required for full credit; the 11th and 12th are general make-ups for everyone, or can be used as extra credit. These will be the ONLY lab make-ups; there will be NO individual make-ups for the labs! Students are NOT allowed to attend lab sections other than their own to make up labs they have missed. If a student attends the wrong lab section, they will get no credit for the lab. Please arrive on time for labs; don't be late. The lab is required for this course. YOU MUST DO AT LEAST EIGHT LABS TO PASS THIS COURSE. No matter how well you do in the rest of the course, you will fail if you do not complete eight labs. Note that the lab reports are due at the end of lab period. See the lab manual for more details about the organization of the lab.

QUIZZES AND THE FINAL:  There will be six short quizzes during the semester, given during the last 20 minutes of class on the days listed on the syllabus. In addition, there will be a final exam. The final will be Thursday December 12 in the usual classroom, from 1:20 PM - 3:20 PM.

GRADING:  Your course grade will be based on your grades on the quizzes (75%), the laboratory grade (25%), and class participation (3%). If your grade on the final is higher than your two lowest quiz grades, it will be used to replace those two quiz grades.

There will be NO make-ups for the quizzes or the final. Instead, the lowest of either your two lowest quiz grades OR your grade on the final will be dropped at the end of the semester. (Note that the final is worth two quiz grades). In other words, you can miss either two quizzes OR the final (that is, the final is a general make-up for the entire class, and counts as two quizzes). You should take all of the quizzes unless there is an extreme emergency. Do not skip quizzes for frivolous reasons! Other unforeseen difficulties may arise later on in the semester, making you unable to attend a later quiz or the final. Even if you have taken all the quizzes, I recommend that you take the final, unless you have an A average before the final. There is always the possibility that you may do better on the final than your lowest two quiz grades, and so improve your total score. Taking the final will not hurt your grade: it can only improve it.

CLASS PARTICIPATION: You might have noticed that the total percentage points for the final grade given above add up to more than 100%. The extra three percent is a bonus given for class participation. During class, there will be numerous demonstrations, as well as opportunities for questions and answers, etc. Participation in these activities will count towards your final grade, and may boost your grade from a B- to a B, for example.

Your final letter grade will be determined from the following percentage scale:

Percent	92 or more	90 to 92	87 to 90	83 to 87	80 to 83	77 to 80
Grade	A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+

Percent	72 to 77	70 to 72	67 to 70	60 to 67	less than 60
Grade	C	C-	D+	D	F

MATHEMATICAL BACKGROUND EXPECTED: This course requires mathematical skills at the level of high school algebra. If your mathematical skills are weak or it has been a while since you took an algebra course, you might consider brushing up by taking an algebra course (Math 1710). To give you an idea of the level of math required in this class, I have posted a math skills test on the course web page. If you get a 5 or less on this quiz, you should consider taking Math 1710 as a review.

OTHER INFORMATION:  No calculators, laptops, cell phones, or other electronic devices will be allowed during lectures or quizzes. Students generally find it helpful to take notes during lectures, rather than trying to absorb the material simply by listening. It is also helpful to keep up with the reading assignments in the class, doing the assigned reading within a day or two of the relevant lecture. During each lecture, a reading assignment will be posted on the blackboard and then on the web page. Be sure to save your graded lab reports for your records.

ANY QUESTIONS? Send email to: