Hello, my name is Adam McKay and I will be the TA for the M03 Lab Section of Astronomy 105 this semester. The office hours listed above are only suggested times. If you would like to talk to me at another time you can send me an email to see if I am available. Click here for a list of objects and map for the scale of the solar system lab


Class Policies

*Attendance is mandatory
*There will be 13 labs during the semester, worth a total of 20% of your grade
*No makeup labs are scheduled
*Rules for the university on disabilities, plagiarism, student conduct, etc. are located in your syllabus


Lab Policies

* Attendance is mandatory and will be reflected in your final lab grade. If you have to miss lab one week (for a legitimate reason, which is at my discretion) and let me know ahead of time, or if you are sick and have a doctor's note, it will not be held against you. You are still required to turn in the previous week's lab on time. If you miss a lab and you do not have an excuse, you will receive a zero for that day's lab. There are no make-up labs available.
* A calculator will be required for many of the labs in this course, preferably either a scientific or graphing calculator. Your phone calculator will not be enough for some labs, so investing in a calculator would be a good idea.
* You may work in groups of 3 or 4.
* Each group must turn in one copy of its in-lab work, and each individual must turn in his/her own take home section. Any instances of plagiarism will earn a zero for all parties involved.
o The group lab must have "Group Lab" written on the front and list all the group members' names.
o Please staple your lab and make sure the pages are in order.
* Labs are due one week from when they are assigned. If turning in labs on time becomes a problem, I reserve the right to deduct points for late labs.
o Each student is allowed to turn in one lab one week late with no penalty. This applies to the take-home section of the lab only. You must tell me you are using your free late pass.
* Please read through the lab before coming to lab. This will make the lab go more quickly and ensure that you get more out of the time we are in lab. If this becomes a problem, I reserve the right to issue quizzes at the beginning of lab to ensure everyone is reading the lab beforehand.
* Please turn off your cellular phone when you come to lab. You should have no use for it during the lab session.


Hints for Success in Lab

* Know how to use your calculator! Most errors made in labs are a result of calculator-student-error. This usually happens with division. While you might implicity know that when you divide a quantity by 2*pi, you are dividing it by the quantity two times pi, the calculator will require you to put 2*pi in paranthesis (i.e. Quantity/(2*pi)... NOT! Quantity/2*pi. The later case here will divide the quantity by 2 and then multiply that result by pi).
* Be on time. I will usually begin lab with a brief lecture on the lab and will answer any initial questions you may have about the lab (which assumes you have read the lab prior to showing up that day). It will benefit you greatly to arrive on time.
* Count Question Marks: The questions in the lab and lab takehome usually ask you to answer more than one thing. For example, a question might ask you to provide a few facts, and then explain how they are linked together. A good rule of thumb, is to see how many question marks there are, and provide an answer for each one that you count.
* Ask Questions: I guarantee that you will have questions about the labs over the course of the semester, either during lab or about questions in the take home part. Do not be shy about asking me for help if there is anything that is unclear.
* Show your work. Partial credit is your friend. Even if you get the wrong answer, you can still get a majority of the points if you show you're work and I can see what went wrong. I can't give partial credit if you only write down a wrong answer.
* Remember your units. 2 hours is very different from 2 seconds, and 26.2 miles is very different from 26.2 cm.

If you have questions outside of lab time, come by my office or send me an email.