 Hard Work is the key to success. For each hour in lecture or lab, expect to do TWO hours of work at home.
 There are NO make-up Exams. An exception is the Final Exam, but only with pre-notification and a documented excuse. Copying during Exams results in an F.
 Attendance in the lectures is mandatory.
 Homework Assignments are worth 25% of your final grade. Late Homework gets a 25% penalty and is only accepted up to one week late. Copied Homework earns an F.
 You must complete three observing sessions, worth 10% of your final grade.
 There are plenty of extra credit options if you wish to improve your grade.
 Questions, Comments, Problems? I am available after class, or by appointment. Don’t wait until the exams, or worse, until after the exams.
There will be weekly assignments. These include reading assignments, problems sets, and/or essay questions. The problems sets and essays have to be handed in on the due date. It is your responsibility to keep up with the reading assignments – that material may not always be covered during the lectures, but you are requested to know it for the exams. Only the “optional reading assignments” are truly optional, but you will find these useful in understanding the material. Late homework gets a 25%. No credit will be given once the sample solutions have been posted. Sample solutions will be made available after the assignments are returned. (The graded assignments will not contain comments from the instructor – it is your responsibility to check the sample solutions.)
You can work together during the homework (in fact you are encouraged to do so), but you must phrase everything in your own words. Copied homework gets you an F.
You are required to participate in three Observing Sessions (and/or Field Trips) during this semester. You may replace two Observing Sessions with a Field Trip and write a “Term Paper”, however, you will have to talk to the instructor BEFORE midterm. Note that the observations depend on the weather. This means that you will have to plan ahead. We suggest scheduling the labs during the first half of the semester. If you get rained out and do not finish the observation requirement by the end of the semester, it’s “Tuff Luck”. You will thus have learned an important lesson about astronomy and the weather. NO exceptions will be made, so plan wisely. The alternative to observing, i.e., the Term Paper, does not depend on the weather, however this involves more work. You cannot switch to the term paper option after midterm. Dress warmly and bring gloves and hats. Astronomy tends to loose its beauty pretty fast if you are freezing.

There are three tests in total. These are worth 65% of your total course grade – homework and observing make up the remaining 30%. The first test is worth 15%, the second 20% and the final
30%. You may use the T OOLKIT and a calculator during the exams. Copying and/or cheating during the tests results in an F.
Format and Focus: The tests will consist mostly of short questions and essays, although up to 25% may involve calculations. You will not need to memorize formulae – these will be listed in the
Toolkit. There will be NO multiple-choice questions. You will be tested on your general understanding of the material. Knowing mundane facts is not as important as showing how you arrive at your final conclusions. So when you work for tests, concentrate on understanding concepts, not facts. Always articulate your points clearly. Badly phrased arguments will only earn you partial credit. A minimal amount of Math is essential (including basic arithmetic and trigonometry), but it is more important to know how to solve a particular problem. So, when you are stuck, always be able to explain in words how to proceed to get to the solution. This will earn you partial credit. The main focus on tests is on conceptual thinking and scientific arguing.
Decide on a project, write a brief abstract and talk with the instructor. Only approved projects will receive credit. Choose from the following options:
 Perform your own observations and write an interpretation
 A critical literature review of any chosen topic that interests you
 An original and innovative piece of Art involving astronomical observations
 A proposal of how to use Astronomy for Science Education (at levels K1-12, at museums or during public observing nights).
Note that the Tests only constitute 2/3rds of your final grade. So do your weekly homework and the
Observing Projects. You may earn up to 10 extra points by doing the optional homework and the extra credit project. (And there is a big difference if your final grade is 70 or 80%.)
Test 1
Test 2
1 Cumulative Final
Homework
Observing Projects
Optional Homework
Extra Project
10%
20%
30%
25%
10%
10%
10%