Introduction to Astronomy
ASTR 110G: M01, M02, M03

Course Homepage
Spring 2011
New Mexico State University

| Syllabus | Lecture/Lab Schedules |

MEETING TIMES, OBSERVATORY, SECTIONS


Lecture Section
MWF @ 11:30-12:20
Biology Annex 102 (BX 102)

Observatory
M, TH @ 9-10 PM
weather permitting
(always confirm)

LAB SECTIONS
Lab (web page)
Day...................
Time .................
Location ........... 		M01
Monday
1:30-3:30
BX 102
M02
Monday
3:30-5:30
BX 102
M03
Tuesday
1:30-3:30
BX 102

INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION

Professor

Dr. Chris Churchill
Office hours: T & Th 12:00-1:00
Office: Rm 105 Astronomy Bldg (#55)
Phone: 646-1913
Email: "cwc"

Lab Instructors

TA .............
Lab ...........
CRN# ...........
Office ........
Office Hrs ..
Phone .......
Email .........
Michael Hayden
M01
13097
Rm 110
T 1:30-2:30
646-2107
"mrhayden"
Michael Hayden
M02
13100
Rm 110
F 1:30-2:30
646-2107
"mrhayden"
Mark Gleed
M03
13103
Rm 109
TH 2:30-3:30
646-3409
"mgleed"
All email addresses are the username given above "@nmsu.edu".

BULLETIN BOARD
(last modified 05/10/11)
NEW UPDATES IN RED
PAST UPDATES IN GREEN

20-Apr11
FINAL SCORES AND LETTER GRADES
Your Total Points and Attendance (PDF)
Your Lab Scores (PDF)
Your Weighted Scores and Letter Grades (PDF)

Your were a great class! Have a great summer!

29-Apr11
EXAM 3: FRIDAY APRIL 15 (in class)
Click here for the final Exam Study Guide
You do NOT need a scantron. You do NOT need a calculator.
Simply be sure to bring sharpened pencils (prefered over pen).

ANNOUNCEMENT: The deadline for submitting the electronic evaluations has been extended to Thursday May 5 at 11:59 pm. I asked for the extension so that you could have the experience of the Final Exam before filling them out.

27-Apr11
BEST POSSIBLE GRADE YOU CAN EARN
Your Calaculated Best Possible Grade <- click here. Be sure to read the Notes at the bottom of the spreadsheet. Just so we a clear on this- THESE ARE NOT YOUR GRADES; THEY ARE AN ESTIMATE OF THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE GRADE YOU CAN EARN IN THE CLASS AFTER ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE INCLUDED. They are provided here only as a courtesy and in no way are meant to reflect what your final grade in the class will actually be.

How is the computed? Left to enter into the grade book is your Lab 11 (worth 100 points), your Lab 12 (worth 100 points) and your Second Observing Project (worth 100 points). This total of 300 points contributes to your Lab Grade (the blue column). Also left to grade is the Final Exam. Part 1 is worth 100 points and contributes to your Exam Grade (the yellow column). Part 2 is worth 100 points and is your Final Exam Grade (the green column). Assuming you earned all the points in full, the FINAL GRADE (the purple column and the white column) is what you can earned AT BEST. Also see the notes at the bottom of the spreadsheet in the PDF file.

Evaulations and Extra Credit There is one evaulation form for the Professor/Lecture ans one evaluation form for the Teaching Assistant. Evaluations are done on line via Blackboard according to the following INSTRUCTIONS. Follow the instructions closely. I will provide 5 points extra credit for filling out the Professor/Lecture form AND 5 points extra credit for filling out the Teacing Assistant form. These point will be added to your Final Exam scores. IMPORTANT DEADLINE: the evaluations are avalable only until Monday May 2 at 7:55 am.. so you must fill them out before you come to the Final. [I cannot read them, nor will I ever be able to identify who wrote which comments- but I can determine who filled out which forms... so I can give out the extra credit points. Thank you for filling them out - it is important!

20-Apr11
EXAM 3: RESULTS AND GRADES TO DATE
Your Total Points and Attendance up to Exam 3 (PDF)
Your Lab Scores up to Exam 3 (PDF)
Your Weighted Grades up to Exam 3 (PDF)

"Weighted Grades" is the one that has your weighted points and percentage points; this file containes the data from which your grade will be determined.

To see your "midterm grade letter grade" examine the Graph of the Class Distributions (.gif).

28-Feb11
EXAM 3: FRIDAY APRIL 15 (in class)
I am moving Exam 3 to Friday (it was on the schedule for Wednesday april 13.

Click here for the Exam 3 Study Guide
You do NOT need a scantron. You do NOT need a calculator.
Simply be sure to bring sharpened pencils (prefered over pen).

LECTURES COVERED (details given on the Study Guide):
1. Stellar Evolution I: Low Mass stars
2. Stellar Evolution II. High Mass Stars
3. White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars
4. Black Holes

02-Apr11
EXAM 2: RESULTS AND GRADES TO DATE
Your Total Points and Attendance up to Exam 2 (PDF)
Your Lab Scores up to Exam 2 (PDF)
Your Weighted Grades up to Exam 2 (PDF)

"Weighted Grades" is the one that has your weighted points and percentage points; this file containes the data from which your grade will be determined.

To see your "midterm grade letter grade" examine the Graph of the Class Distributions (.gif). You will note that there is a strong corelation between attendance and total grade. Except for two students, all students earning an "A" have attended class more tha 85% of the time.

28-Feb11
EXAM 2: WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 30 (in class)
Click here for the Exam 2 Study Guide
You do NOT need a scantron. You do NOT need a calculator.
Simply be sure to bring sharpened pencils (prefered over pen).

LECTURES COVERED (details given on the Study Guide):
1. The Sun: Introduction
2. The Sun: Magentic Properties and Sunspot Cycle (and Scientific Method)
3. The Sun: Energy Generation
4. The Stars: Introduction
5. The Stars: The HR Diagram (I and II)
6. The Stars: Main Sequence Lifetimes

23-Jan11
UPDATED SCHEDULE DUE TO SNOW DAY FIASCO
See the SCHEDULE.

23-Jan11
EXAM 1: RESULTS AND GRADES TO DATE
Your Total Points and Attendance up to Exam 1 (PDF)
Your Lab Scores up to Exam 1 (PDF)
Also see: A Graph of the class distribution (.gif)

14-Jan11
EXAM 1: FRIDAY FEBRUARY 18 (in class)
Click here for the Exam 1 Study Guide
You do NOT need a scantron. You do NOT need a calculator.
Simply be sure to bring sharpened pencils (prefered over pen).

LECTURES COVERED (details given on the Study Guide):
1. Scale of the Universe
2. The Sky and Seaons
3. Light: What it is
4. Bohr Atom and Kirchoff's Laws
5. Gravity: Kepler's and Newton's Laws

19-Jan11
LINK TO THE LAB MANUAL (LARGE PDF FILE)!
http://astronomy.nmsu.edu/astro/Ast110fall10.pdf

Per discussions in class; to save you the most money-- download the Lab Manual to your computer and save it! Then, for each week, check which lab assignment you will be doing (before Lab Section meets! - you can see the schedule here) and print one or two copies of that specific lab assignment to take to the Lab Class with you. We will not be using all the labs in the manual, so there is no need to print the whole manual. NOTE: the Lab Manual linked to above is for 2010/2011 and IS the one we are using for the Spring 2011 semester.

12-Jan11
This is the class bulletin board. It will be updated often. If you miss class,, you will want to look here to see that you have not missed any announcements. A note about web browsers: when you view this page, always click the "refresh" button on your browsers to be sure you have the most current version (depending on the settings of the browser, the most current page may not alwasy be viewed).

LINKS
| syllabus | lecture/lab schedule |
| ASTR classes home | campus observatory |
| academic calendar | astro dept |


TUTORING/MENTORING

If you would like additional studying assistance, contact the Campus Tutoring Services at Student Support Services located in Garcia Annex, Rm 143. Phone 646-3121. More general assistance can be found at the Center for Learning Assistance located in Hardman Hall, Room 210. Phone 646-3136