General Information Class Format Reading Assignments Writing Assignment Grading Exams and Quizzes Extra Credit Opportunities Course Schedule Response system transmitter list Text book companion web site

Class hours:	Mo., Tu., We., Th., 1:10 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
	Walter Hall 135

Instructor:	Assoc. Prof. M. Böttcher
	Office: Clippinger 339
	Phone: 593 1714
	E-mail: mboett@helios.phy.ohiou.edu

Office hours: Mo., Tu., We., Th., 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Interactive Online Materials accompanying the text book are available at the Cengage Learning web site..

Generally, the sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be regular lecture sessions in which new material will be presented. Throughout those lectures, I will ask questions, which you should answer using a Personal Response System (PRS). Regular class participation is a requirement to achieve the maximum score in the class and will contribute 10 % towards the final class grade. Answering at least 95 % of the questions asked in the regular sessions, will secure this 10 % score; answering 90 - 95 % gives 9/10 of this score, etc. Consequently, if you answer less than 50 % of the PRS questions during the regular (Mo. - We.) lectures, your class participation score will be 0. For your score, it does not matter whether you are answering the questions correctly or not - this only measures your active class participation. Please pick up your assigned transmitter at the beginning of each lecture.

Whenever appropriate, the Thursday sessions will be used to discuss in depth a special topic and/or a particular space exploration mission related to a topic covered in class during the current week. This will be based on information available on-line, and it will be a homework reading assignment for you to explore the given internet site and be prepared to answer questions about its content. Throughout the Friday sessions, PRS questions will be asked about the reading assignment and the material covered in class during that week. Your answers to those questions will be graded, and the combined score will enter with a 20 % weight into your final class grade. Here, it does matter whether your answers are correct; you will only receive credit for correct answers. You may take notes while preparing for these quizzes, and use your notes when answering the quizzes.

Grades will be based on:	2 midterm exams:	30 % (15 % each)
	Final exam	20 %
	6 Reading Assignment Quizzes (Th. sessions)	30 % (5 % each)
	1 Writing Assignment	10 %
	PRS class participation (Mo. - We. sessions)	10 %

Study guides with sample questions to help prepare for the exams are posted on a weekly basis (links behind the chapter numbers in the course schedule posted below). The exams will cover the content of the lectures.

Exam / quiz schedule:	The midterm and final exams will be in-class, closed-book exams and will be held in the regular lecture Hall, Walter Hall # 135.
	There are two midterm exams, namely on Thu., Jan. 29, 2009 and Thu., Feb. 19, 2009 during regular class hours. The second midterm exam will cover material discussed after the first midterm exam.
	The Final exam will be on Wednesday, March 18, at 2:30 p.m. This exam will be comprehensive, covering the material of the entire quarter, with focus on material covered after the second midterm exam.
	Reading assignment quizzes spread throughout most Thursday sessions using the electronic Personal Response System. Please pick up your assigned transmitter at the beginning of each session.
	Writing assignment:write an essay about the Messenger mission to Mercury. The essay is due on Mo., March 2. For details, please see the link to the writing assignment.
	In addition, there are 2 extra credit opportunities: A movie night on Monday, Feb. 16, and a telescope night on March 4 (alternative date: March 5 in case of bad weather on March 4). See the link above for details.

Attendance Policy:	Students are responsible to follow the class throughout the quarter. Your participation will be monitored through the PRS input and enters the course grade as described above.
	Attendance will also be tracked through the attendance tracking devices on the front desk of the class room. You can swipe your ID any time starting 15 min. before the beginning of class, untill 5 minutes after the end of class.

Markus Böttcher's home page
OU Astronomy and Astrophysics
Department Physics and Astronomy
Ohio University