Syllabus

Course Overview

This course introduces students to astronomy and the study of our solar system. Course modules include:

Course Work & Grades

Grades will be based on in-class quizzes and the final. There will be seven quizzes, one every second Thursday: Jan. 23, Feb. 6 & 20, Mar. 6 & 27, Apr. 10 & 24. The final is on May 8 and will count as two quizzes. There will be no make-ups, but we will drop your two lowest quiz scores to allow for absences. If you complete all seven in-class quizzes and are satisfied with your performance, you may skip the final.

Grading Scale

A. 90 - 100%
B. 80-89%
C. 70-79%
D. 55 - 69%
F. 0 - 54%

There will be no homework nor will there be extra credit on request, so do not ask. On rare occasions, there may be in-class extra credit assignements.

Additional Resources

Slides will be posted after the corresponding lecture. These are meant as an aid and not a replacement for attending class: the slides by themselves are not helpful without the context of the lecture. Experience shows that final grades correlate strongly with attendance.

Links to ancillary resources will also be provided as appropriate, e.g., the planetarium freeware at stellarium.org. Lectures will follow the same general flow as the book, but may differ in detail. Some of the quiz questions may be adopted from the text's practice quizzes.

Technical help with Canvas and computer issues in general is provided by the CWRU help desk: help@case.edu and 368-4357. Students with documented disabilities should contact Disability Resources (368-5230) for appropriate accommodations.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is simple: don't cheat. Penalties for violations of academic integrity will be severe and capricious, and decided arbitrarily. The only tool you will need for the quizzes is a pen or pencil. Questions on the quizzes will mostly be multiple choice, but there will also be short answer questions that require at most a few sentences, a simple sketch, or a bit of basic arithmetic. The use of outside resources is forbidden. No notes, no books, no calculators, no internet-connected devices, no copying from others, no Chegg, no AI, etc. The use of AI in any capacity is discouraged as using it impairs the devel- opment of your ability to reason and think critically. In general, the current generation of AI tools cannot be trusted to give correct responses.

Learning Outcomes