Policies

1. Please come to class on time.

2. Attendance is mandatory. You may be asked to sign an attendance sheet during class. You will be counted as absent if you arrive so late that you cannot significantly contribute to the work done by your group or leave early before all work is done. I will cross check my attendance records with the labs that get turned in. If your name appears on a lab report but not on my attendance sheet I will raise an eyebrow and give you zero points for the lab. Always plan to be in lab for the full two hours.

3. Read the labs before coming to class. Weekly quizzes based on the lab you are about to do may be given.

4. Please write legibly for the labs. If I cannot read it, I cannot grade it. So if you have illegible penmanship, spend an extra few minutes making your labs readable so that no one receives a zero. Better yet, get into a group with someone who is lucky enough to possess good penmanship.

5. I will not penalize inaccurate spelling if the meaning is clear to me. However, if I cannot understand it, I cannot grade it. If you misspell a word and end up with a different dictionary word (eg. minuets vs. minutes), I reserve the right to choose the meaning that I find most entertaining.

6. Proof read your labs and summaries. It is helpful (for me, and your grade) to write your answers in complete sentences. Summaries are graded on completeness, demonstrated understanding of the material, and quality of writing. The most important part of the quality of writing grade is that I be able to easily understand your meaning.

7. All summaries must be typed. They should be in size 12 pt, Times New Roman or equivalently suitable font. They may be double line spaced but no more than double. Use standard one inch margins. Padding summaries with overly large fonts, extra spacing, or frivolities is pointless as I grade on completeness not length. Summaries should be at least one page and no more than 1.5 pages.

8. You will work in groups of 3-4. All groups must be four people or fewer. Each group will turn in ONE lab, but EVERYONE will turn in their own summary.

9. Please turn off your cell phones. A vibrate mode can be quite noisy and disruptive. I reserve the right to deduct a few points from your lab grade if your cell phone repeatedly disrupts my class. If it happens frequently "a few" will turn into "lots".

10. Do not under any circumstances answer your cell phone in class or use it for other forms of communication, e.g. text messages. You will be asked to leave if you do and marked absent for the day. If you are expecting an emergency call, talk to me at the start of class.

11. In science we have a chance at understanding what we can measure. Most values are not exact and should not be given to an excessive number of decimal places. Most numbers in science have units without which they are meaningless. (Astronomy probably has the most exceptions.) On everything that you turn in for me to grade, each number must have the units specified or be accompanied by an explanation for why it is unitless. For any numbers that are presented naked I will assume that the accompanying units are calories * teaspoons / fortnight. These are not CGS units and points will be deducted for any number not given in CGS or otherwise appropriate units.

12. For the required monthly observations at the campus observatory, do not wait until the end of the month! The observatory is open (if it's not cloudy or raining) at scheduled times each week, so do these observations as early as possible, as weather is unpredictable. You may call 646-6278 about an hour before going to the observatory for a recording telling you if the observatory is closed do to poor seeing. The schedule of when the telescopes are open will be posted in class and linked to on the section web-page. Graduate Assistants will be at the observatory to help you.

13. Office hours are extra time that I reserve for you. Contact me to see if I am in the office and available or simply drop by. I can be of assistance with lab write-ups and summaries.

Remember, I am here to help you, so feel free to ask me questions. Have fun!