1. From the class web page at http://www.etsu.edu/physics/bsmith/fall02/astro1_fall2002.html click on the "homework" link. You will be at the CAPA web page. Alternatively, you can also access the CAPA web page directly at http://pip.etsu.edu.

2. Click on the `Login to CAPA' link.

3. Set the "Class" option to "as1fall02".

4. Enter your CAPA number. This number is a randomly-generated 8-digit number, preceded by an "A". This will be emailed to you.

5. Enter your CAPA ID for the current homework set. This ID is different for each homework set. At the beginning of the semester, you will be emailed all six CAPA IDs for the entire semester, one for each homework assignment. Later on in the semester, when a CAPA assignment is posted, another email will be sent out, reminding you of the CAPA ID for the current assignment. If you do not get your CAPA ID by 4 PM on the day the homework is assigned, please contact me as soon as possible at beverly@panda.etsu.edu. See the class syllabus for a listing of the dates that the homework assignments will be posted (this is also posted on the web on the course web page).

6. Click the next "here" button.

7. Hit the "Try current set" button.

8. The problems will then appear. Each student in the class will have a different set of problems. It is generally a good idea to print out the homework set immediately after entering CAPA, so that you can work on the problems at your leisure.

9. After printing the homework set, read through the problems a first time, and make a first-try attempt to answer the questions. Answer the questions by typing in the boxes. Include the units if required. The computer only allows certain abbreviations for units; if what you use does not work try another abbreviation (for example, the computer wants "m" for meters, "s" for seconds, and "min" for minutes). You have a total of TEN tries to get a particular homework problem correct.

If you do not get a problem the first time, read over your notes and the relevant section in the textbook, and log back into CAPA and try again. If you exit CAPA and re-enter, it will save your previous results and remember them.

Note that some of the problems may be ahead of the lecture on the day they are posted. You are encouraged to read ahead in the textbook and try to answer the problems in advance. The material in the homework will all be covered before the due date of the homework.

The homework is due at 6 PM of the day listed on the course syllabus. NO LATE HOMEWORK WILL BE ACCEPTED, FOR ANY REASON (including computer and network problems), so DO YOUR HOMEWORK EARLY, well in advance of the deadline if at all possible. The homework will be posted by 4 PM on the days listed on the schedule.

10. After successfully completing the problem set, hit "term summary". This will summarize your homework grades for the semester.

11. There will be six homework assignments during the semester. For full credit for the homework portion of this course, only five assignments are required. The sixth assignment will count as extra credit.

12. Do not try to start a new CAPA session if you are already logged onto CAPA. This will cause your homework grade to not be recorded correctly. Make sure you have completely exited from CAPA before you start a new session.

13. Note that the Astronomy Lab room (Brown Hall 264) will be open for CAPA use from 3:35-4:30 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays (immediately after class) on the days that homework problems are assigned and on the days that the homework problems are due.

14. The answers to the CAPA problems will be posted on-line at 8 AM the morning after they are due. To reach them, simply log into your account and enter the CAPA ID for that assignment.

15. If you have any problems using the CAPA program, or have difficulty with a particular problem in the homework set, please contact me at beverly@panda.etsu.edu. Note that the ETSU campus network is not completely reliable; if you cannot make contact with CAPA immediately, try again in 5 or 10 minutes. It may just be a momentary network glitch.