ASTR-1035: LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • Where is the ETSU Observatory? Here are directions and a map.

  • Where is the ETSU Planetarium? Room 207 (top floor) of Hutcheson Hall. Here is a map.

  • How can I get extra credit for this course? There are two ways to get extra credit. There are two optional take-home laboratories in the lab manual (Labs 11 and 12), that can be done for extra credit. In addition, you can earn up to 3 percent extra credit by class participation, which includes helping with class demonstrations, speaking up in class, or good attendance.

  • What are the pictures on the Astro 1035 home page? Click on the images below and see!

                 

    • How can I find the web pages of various observatories? Here are some useful links, which will connect you to the web pages for various observatories and other relevant places.

    • What is the format of the quizzes? How many questions will they have? The quizzes will consist of 20 multiple choice questions. Some of these questions will be similar to those on the homework, so make sure you understand the answers to the homework.

    • I was sick and missed a quiz. Can I take a makeup? Do not worry about missing a single quiz. The lowest two quiz grades OR your grade on the final will be dropped. There will be NO individual makeups for the quizzes or homeworks. Instead, the final is, in a sense, a general `makeup' for everyone in the class. If you are sick and missed a quiz or homework, take it easy and get healthy, and don't worry about it. Missing one quiz will not hurt your grade. I urge you, however, to take every quiz unless there is an extreme emergency, in case other unforeseen problems arise later on in the semester.


    • Do you have any suggestions that may help me study for the quizzes? Review the study guides and the practice quiz problems. Try making up your own practice quiz problems and exchanging them with friends in the class as additional practice. Please get in touch with me if you do not understand something we have covered in class.


    • When is the final for this course? The final will be given Monday May 1 at 1:20 PM. MARK THIS DATE AND TIME ON YOUR CALENDAR.


    • Can I take the final earlier than the scheduled time? (or later?) The final must be taken at the regularly scheduled time. There will be NO make-ups or early exams. Remember, the lowest of either the lowest two quiz grades OR the grade on the final will be dropped, so if you take all of the quizzes, you do not need to take the final. I suggest, however, that you take the final even if you have taken all of the quizzes unless you have an A average. There is always the possibility that by taking the final you will improve your grade.


    • Do you have any suggestions that may help me study for the final? One hint is that the final will cover the same material that was covered in the quizzes (plus the additional material covered in class after the last quiz). In studying for the final, make sure you understand the answers to the quiz problems, and review the six study guides again. Go over the problems that you got wrong on the quiz, and make sure you understand the correct answers. If you are uncertain about the answers to any quiz problem, get in touch with me.


    • The final is worth two quiz grades, that is, it will replace the lowest two quiz grades if one does well. What if the final exam score is only higher than ONE of the quiz grades? (What if all the quiz grades save one are higher than the final exam score?) If the final grade is higher than the sum of the two lowest quiz grades, then it will replace both of them. Otherwise, the two grades will stand. For example, if your lowest quiz grades are 5 and 16, and you get a 20 (out of 40 problems) on the final, then the final won't replace them. But if you get a 22 on the final, it will replace them.


    • Is the final cumulative? Yes, it may contain questions on anything we covered during the entire semester.


    • Because of an emergency, I missed my lab (or will have to miss my lab). Can I do a make-up?
      If you miss a lab, you can make it by doing one of the two special take-home labs at the end of the Lab Manual (Lab 11 or 12).


    • Will you tell us our grades in the course before the final? I would like to know if I need to take the final or not.
      Before the final exam, I will let everyone know the grade they will get in the course IF THEY DO NOT TAKE THE FINAL. Note that if you have missed a quiz, a zero will be averaged into your pre-final grade, thus your pre-final grade does not necessarily represent the grade you will get in the class if you take the exam. Remember that the final exam is worth two quizzes. The grade on the final can be used to replace your two lowest quiz grades, or can be used as a make-up if you have missed 1 or 2 quizzes. If you have taken all 6 quizzes, you do not have to take the final unless you want to improve your grade. If you do not have an A in the course before the final, I strongly advise you to take the final. Taking the final cannot hurt your grade; it can just help. If you have a pre-final grade of a C and do worse on the final than your two lowest quizzes, your course grade will be a C.

    • What would happen to an unprotected human being in the vacuum of space? Would they explode?

      See the answer on the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center `Imagine the Universe!' web page.