ASTRONOMY 310 HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

For information on homework rules & requirements see below. Remember that the written homework counts for 20% of your total grade.

Recent Homework Assignments:

Feb 10:
- Reader: "The UFO Controversy and the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis" by S. Dick.

Feb 8:
- Course Reader: "Abducted! Encounters with Aliens" by M. Shermer from his book "Why People Believe Weird Things".
- Review all the articles in the Course Reader you've been asked to read.
- Written HW #1 due on Friday.

Feb 6:
- Review the Doppler Effect in Ch 11.
- Study Chapter 3 - many questions on Exam 1 will come from this chapter. I recommend you read it at least twice; 3 times is better. Also try answering all the multiple choice questions. This will help you learn the material and help you do well on the exams. Suggestion: Read the questions at the end of the chapter, then go back and re-read the chapter. This technique helps you learn faster and focus on the most important parts of the chapter. If you have any trouble, just ask for help.

Feb 3:
- Carefully review Chapter 3 - there is a LOT of material in this chapter!

Feb 1 :
- Read Chapter 11
- Written Assignment #1 (due Fri Feb 10):
Remember: the homework is worth 20% of your grade, and there are only a few homework assignments. Each one is a big part of your grade. Treat each homework like a mini-term project. Length should be about 3 typed pages. The spacing and margins and fonts are your choice - just make sure the text is not difficult to read. Be sure to use proper college-level English: grammar and spelling are important. You can collaborate with others, but you must submit your own independent work. Please don't forget to staple your pages together.
Warning: Do not plagiarize!!! Use your own words. If you copy more than 4 words in a row from someone else's work without quotes, then you are probably plagiarizing that work. It does not matter if it is from a textbook, the Course Reader, web pages, class notes, a book, or any other source - plagiarism is stealing. You will automatically fail this assigment and possibly the entire course, and be reported to the Center For Student Rights and Responsibilities. (See more info at the bottom of this web page).
I. Multiple Choice: Textbook Chapter 1, Questions #11,12,17 ; Ch 3 # 35,40,44
II. Read several recent articles from Astrobiology Magazine. Choose your favorite two, then present a summary of each and say why you think the articles are interesting. Give the full name, date, and URL of the articles. These must be stories published after 2012 Jan 1; no articles earlier than this are acceptable. (Note: an article on Jan 15 may be of particular interest...)
III. Summarize the Chapter Hallucinations in the Course Reader by Carl Sagan. What do you think are the two most important points in the article, and why?

Jan 30:
- Course Reader: "Hallucinations" by Carl Sagan (a chapter from the book The Demon Haunted World)
- Textbook: "The Doppler Technique" in Ch 11 (pages 370-372). I recommend you read Ch 11.1 and 11.2, not just this section, so that things are in better context.

Jan 27:
- Finish reading Chapter 3 of the textbook.
- Course Reaser "The Search for Extraterrestrial Life" by Carl Sagan.
- Read several recent articles from Astrobiology Magazine.

Jan 25:
Continue reading Chapter 3 of the textbook. (you can skip the "Movie Madness" section)
- "Claiborne Pell, Senator from Outer Space" by M. Gardner
- "Courtney Brown's Preposterous Farsight" by M. Gardner

Jan 22:
Begin reading Chapter 3 of the textbook.

Jan 19:
Read Textbook Chapter 2.
In the Course Reader: Read the excerpt of the article "Are We Alone in the Cosmos?" by T. Owen.

Jan 18:
- Thoroughly read and understand the class rules - see the class webpages and syllabus.
- Read Chapter 1 in the textbook.
- Explore, read, and bookmark the class WWWeb site. Learn what's available to help you with this course like the Class News, Astrobiology Sites, Critical Thinking, and Class Information.
- Flip through the textbook and Course Reader to get an idea of what you are going to learn this semester. We will cover nearly all of the book and Course Reader.



Information on Homework Assignments:
Homework Grading Policy:
Written homework assignments are graded on the following scale (no curve):
A = excellent work; full and thorough answers; no mistakes and no English errors
B = good work, only very minor errors; very few English errors
C = acceptable work, but more than one incorrect answer; errors in the science and/or English
D = poor work; several incorrect answers/errors
F = major problems with the answers or not submitted
Remember that the homework counts as 20% of your course grade! Be sure to put in the appropriate amount of effort. Poor grades on the homework almost always lead to poor grades in the course. Think of each written homework assignment as a mini term paper. Each homework assignment constitutes a large fraction of what determines your course grade.
To be accepted for credit, the following rules apply:
- Copying out of the textbook is plagiarism; it will result in a failing grade for the homework assigment.
- All written homework assignments must be typed.
- Homework must be printed and and a hardcopy turned in: e-mailed homework will not be accepted.
- Multiple pages must be stapled together.
- All material submitted for a grade must be written in proper English, at a level appropriate for a college course. Write complete and full sentences for all questions that are not purely mathematical in nature.
- Students can study together on the homework (I encourage this), but the submitted work must be independently written. If the homework is very similar (not just identical) to another homework, but get a failing grade.
- Homework is due at the start of class. Do not interrupt class to hand in your homework. Put it on the table at the side of the class or hand it to me after the lecture is over. Do not interrupt the lecture to hand in homework!
- Late homework will be accepted but one letter grade is deducted per class late.
- Show all work when doing calculations. Just writing down the answer is insufficient. Showing your work allows me to give partial credit if the numerical values are incorrect and it is the only way to see how you are doing the problem (the method is more important than the answer).
- Again, copying verbatim from the Textbook, Course Reader, or Class Notes is plagiarism and will result in automatic failure of the assigment.


Plagiarism Policy:
 Plagiarism is not tolerated and will result in automatic failure of the assigment. Plagiarism on a term paper or project will result in automatic failure of the course and will be reported to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Plagiarism is theft. If you copy more than 4 words in a row from any source (including the textbook, notes, Reader) and do not reference that source, you may be committing plagiarism.
Committing plagiarism could be the end of your college career: ``... an appropriate penalty, even severance from the University and in some cases revocation of an advanced degree,...'' (see page 447-449 of the 2005-2006 General Catalog). Plagiarism and cheating are at the top of the list of reasons for expulsion, suspension and probation of students. Take a look at the SDSU Academic Dishonesty Incident Form (in .pdf format) for what comes next if you commit plagiarism.
Fraud and stealing is not taken lightly at SDSU. Don't throw away all the effort, time, and money you spent going to college (this or any other one) by plagiarizing someone else's work. It is just not worth the risk. You almost certainly will get caught - just as it is so easy to steal material off the WWWeb, it is sooo easy to get caught. It requires just a few keystrokes to check your project and homework for plagiarism. And there is no time limit - semesters later, or even years later, the crime is just as serious (in fact, usually more so - you can lose your degree, job, career)!

Simple Rule: If you copy a phrase of 4 or more words, put it in quotes and reference the source.
Simple Rule: If in doubt, reference the source.
 What is plagiarism? Find the definition from the Turnitin.com website.