The CourseNo textbook required. Schedule: Wednesday's 2:45-5:50pm. YouTube Videos on ET Life
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Other Course Resources
Useful Links Phil Plait's YouTubes "Crash Course" in Astronomy MIRA's excellent set of Lecture notes on modern Astronomy Useful Links from Cabrillo on
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Instructor: Rick Nolthenius (...call me Rick!)
Office:
706a
Office Hours in 706a
Wed 11am-noon and 5:50-6:50pm
Fri 5-6pm at the Observatory
and
otherwise by appointment
Welcome! Note that this is a transfer-level
science course and we're here to understand our universe and the reasoning
and techniques behind the science of astronomy at a level comparable to similar
courses at UC or CSU (albeit without mathematical problem solving). In this course, we'll be looking at...
* The nature of science, scientific method, and how we acquire knowledge (chapter 0)
*
the nature of life and the controversies that surround the question - just what IS life?
* Intelligent life: what is it? Is consciousness required? What might be the requirements for consciousness to arise?
* Key requirements for an environment suitable for long term life. Chief among these is a climate that is stable with fairly narrow ranges
* The SETI search
* Our first interstellar visitor: Oumuamua in 2017. What was it? Odd comet? or Alien spacecraft?
* How long term stable climate defines the habitability of a planet.
* Paleontologist Peter Ward's insights into mass exctinctions and his "Rare Earth" ideas
* The Drake Equation and prospects for intelligent life
* And additional topics
I have insightful thoughts on the subject of
scientific method and the nature of clear thinking. We'll use my own "Chapter
0" for this area and it will be our first week of class lecture.
What I'm here for: Encourage clear thinking, healthy skepticism (not the same as cynicism!), an appreciation for a scientific mindset, turn you on to the joys of discovery and your true connections to the cosmos.
Grades
Like all good exams, there's a mixture of easy, moderate, and harder questions. All will be multiple choice objective questions with firm answers.
* Quizzes: 70%.
There will be 6 "lecture quizzes" covering lecture and textbook material
(about 8-10 multiple choice questions each), and 3 "video quizzes"
(~13-26 multiple choice's). The "lecture quizzes" are closed-book.
On the videos you should definitely take notes, and you may use these notes
and only these notes while taking the video quizzes. Your lowest 2 quizzes (including
video quizzes) scores will automatically be dropped. If you miss two quizzes, then those will be the two low scores that are dropped from your scoring. For any additional missed quizzes,
you take a 30%. There are no makeups. The
average of your remaining quizzes will be your quiz score, and accounts
for most of your course grade.
* Final Exam 30%: About 50 multiple choice questions on lecture/ text material only (not the videos). You'll have at least 3 hours to do both Quiz #6 and the Final Exam, totalling about 60 questions.
* CLASS PARTICIPATION: My computer will give a final numerical
percentage score for you. Then, when I actually assign the letter grades at
the end, I will look at how close you came to making the next higher grade
and then remember how interested and involved you were during the lectures.
It's like a bit of extra credit for "attitude". Of course, I'll
never ever give you a lower grade than your scores indicate.
Important note: If you miss the final, here's what'll happen. If you've
already got a good reputation with me for working hard and the other Astro
3 section's final still hasn't been given, you may sit in and take their exam (same
text and course, but different questions... I can't let you take the same
exam you missed, for security and fairness to those who were there). Unfortunately,
that means a different final than your study guide was tailored for (but still the study guide for the other section is available to you above). If your
class has the last final exam time so there is no chance to sit in on the
other class's final, I will look at your average quiz grade, lower it by 1
grades, and assign that as your final exam grade. Or, if your grades
are otherwise good and you let me know right away, I can give you an "incomplete".)
Example; your average quiz score is a middle"B", but you miss the final.
You will get a middle "C" score for your final... So, don't miss the final!
Grading Scale: Letter grades will be assigned from your total cumulative
percentage as follows:
A......80% and above
B......70% - 79.99%
C......60% - 69.99%
D......50% - 59.99%
F......below 50%
Credit; 60% and above.
At the end of the semester my computer takes the weighted average of all your work, plus extra credit, and gives a final percentage out of a total possible 100%. Only then do I assign a letter grade. Write down your quiz scores as you go along so you can calculate what your grade would be at that moment. Please note that Canvas Quizzes has a limited ability for me to alter scores. I have my own grading rubric; sometimes I must throw out a quiz question, or it accidentally has 2 right answers (Canvas can't deal with more than 1 right answer to multiple choice questions). If your % score is different than what Canvas shows, I'll make that clear in communicating with you and the class. I expect the average course grade will be in the B range. That includes a lot of students with imperfect study habits. However, people of all kinds have all earned "A" grades when they come to lecture, do the reading, and ask questions about material they don't understand.
Exam
Policies
In order to speed scoring and to sample a larger range of questions, I give only multiple choice quizzes/exams which you'll do on Canvas quizzes. Your lowest two scores will be dropped, and that may include missed quizzes, without affecting your grade. The dates of the quizzes are on the schedule above. It's possible we might have to delay a quiz if we fall too far behind, but I will never ever give a quiz BEFORE the stated time I put into the schedule.. Remember, I consider any exam you take, in principle, as a fair sample of your mastery. The only reason I drop two is to not penalize the occasional, tragic, legitimate miss. Beyond those two, a missed quiz is recorded as a 30%. Write down your scores and keep a running average so you'll know how you're doing. Just drop your lowest two exams, add up the total possible's, add up your number correct's, divide one into the other, compare to the scale above. Those used to rote factoid-ized learning may be surprised and find my exams will stress grasping the logical connections. But remember, I like to hear questions! I know some of this material is rather abstract and I don't expect everyone will get it the first time; but only YOU can identify what you don't understand. Don't let your shyness get the better of you! The more involvement and questions you put forth, the more fun I (and we) have.
* Dropping the class: It is the student's responsibility to drop a class. If you just stop showing up and don't tell anyone, you'll likely end up with an "NC" on your record. This has happened too many times. Don't let it happen to you!
--Last day to withdraw is (see schedule of classes)
--Last day to go for
Pass/No Pass is (see schedule of classes)
Once the withdrawal
cutoff has happened, there's nothing I can do to keep you from getting
a grade for the class - Our dean says she will not sign grade changes
to "W" for forgetful students.
* Pass/No Pass: The counselors can tell you if you can
or should take this class Pass/No Pass. The purpose of Pass/No Pass
is to allow students to take non-essential classes "for fun",
without grade pressure. It's tempting to use it as an "out" to
make sure you never get a D or F, but that ruins the value of grades in
evaluating performance, hence they give the early deadline. So, you need
to tell me by the deadline if you decide to go for Pass/No Pass.
How
to Approach this Course
The ideal class "esprit de corps" would be informal and conversational... more a discussion than a "lecture", but focused on science, clear thinking, and astronomy. In the Fall '20 CoVid era, while I still welcome conversation and impromptu question asking, my experience so far is that Zoom and Canvas don't make that very easy, what with the satellite delays, audio feedback from student's phones and computer mics, etc. I accept that that's going to be a bit of an inhibitor, but still welcome your impromptu feedback.
Added
Attractions
**** Nolthenius-brand
dry humor to lighten the proceedings!
The Science of Current Climate Change
Astrology and the Evidence
TeachAstronomy - a free online text and related materials (a work in progress - still the early stages of development).
My
essay; On Teaching
TED: lectures from famous thinkers online
YouTube video interviews with Great Scientists on the Big Questions
YouTube Videos on Astrobiology and Life in the Galaxy
Students needing accommodations should inform the instructor. As required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), accommodations are provided to insure equal access for students with verified disabilities. To determine if you qualify or need assistance with an accommodation, please contact ACCESSIBILITY SUPPORT CENTER (Formerly DSPS), Room 1073, (831) 479-6379.
1. Identify the key requirements for a planet to harbor advanced life and how this differs significantly from the requirements for primitive life. |
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2. Describe the connection between greenhouse gas processes and parent star evolution and how strongly this limits life possibilities. |
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3. Calculate the approximate number of living and intelligent living planets in the Galaxy from evaluation of parameters in the Drake Equation, based on evolving understanding of planets beyond the Solar System. |