Astronomy 110G

Lab Section 05

Spring '08

Wed 4:30-6:30pm

Attendance:
Please attend all labs. There are no make up labs, and labs count for 25% of your total grade. If you know that you will have to miss your laboratory session one week, for a legitimate reason, talk to me beforehand about joining other lab sections (Section 6 , Th 1:30-3:30pm or Section 7, Th 3:30-5:30pm) for that week. You are still required to turn in the previous week's lab report on time. You can either email me your summary or drop it in my mailbox in Astronomy Rm. 101.

Lab Preparations:
You need to purchase the ASTR110 lab manual before laboratory sessions begin (by Jan 23rd). It can be found at Kinko's Copy Center on University Ave. It costs $17. The lab manual is also online. Note that some labs (e.g., the HR Diagram) have figures with exact scales that may not print correctly. Let me know if you are printing out the labs on your own.

Please read the lab manual and assigned readings for that week before you enter the lab. Reading the material beforehand will aid in comprehension and move you efficiently through the lab. I will quiz you at the beginning of each lab session on the material in the lab manual. If you took the time to read it you will have no problem answering the questions. You will also need to have a scientific calculator (one that can compute sines and cosines, and take square roots). Beware that cell phone calculators cannot perform such operations.

Again, please make sure to read through each week's exercise in the lab manual before coming to lab, so that you are ready to begin.

Lab reports and Summaries:
One lab report per each group will be required, but all group members have to submit their own summaries. For lab reports, you should answer every part of each question or exercise. I am happy to help you understand problems and procedures, but I am not doing your labs for you. You and your group members should figure out what numbers or equations to use. Lab reports and summaries are due on the next lab session. Work turned in after that but no later than two weeks after will only receive 50% credit. Anything later than this will receive no credit.

The questions to be answered in the summary are outlined at the end of each section in the manual. Summaries should be well-written, typed essays including all the topics mentioned in the lab manual. Do not just copy from the lab manual. Do no just answer each question separately. On that note, plagiarism, as defined in the Student Code of Conduct, will not be tolerated, and any evidence of plagiarism will result in harsh consequences for all involved parties. Summaries must be typed.

Observatory:

One night time visit to campus observatory (on Williams St., between Stewart St. and Wells St.) each month is mandatory. Check the schedule on the observatory website . In the back of the Lab Manual are a set of observatory worksheets. You will need four of these on each visit to the observatory. The TAs there will give you instructions on the use of the telescopes. It is vital that you get each sheet stamped at the observatory. Observatory notebooks without stamps on each observatory worksheet page will not be given credit.

I strongly recommend that you attend early each month, so that (1) you don't have to pray for clear skies at the end of the month, and (2) you don't have to wait in a long, long line to use the telescopes.

Help:
If you have questions, concerns or need help with any aspect of the lecture or lab, you are welcome to stop by my office during office hours. If you need to see me, please send me an email in advance letting me know when you are coming.