Purpose of the course
This course is intended to provide a basic knowledge and understanding of what lies within the bounds of the Solar System. Several hours of observing time will be spent identifying several constellations, stars and prominent planets.
Lecturer:
Online Information:
Assumed background:
Course goals: On completing this course students will:
* Gain a knowledge of what lies within the bounds of the solar system. The sun, Planets, moons, comets, asteroids, meteoroids, interplanetary gas, dust, magnetic fields.
* Gain an appreciation of the early astronomers who, without the telescope and possessing only rudimentary instrumentation developed ideas taken for granted today.
* Be able to perform a number of numerical calculations dealing with Kepler's harmonic law, time, tides, magnitudes and parallelax.
* Be able to identify several constellations, stars and nay planets that are prominent (especially at the time of the examination).
Graduate Attributes:
The development of graduate attributes through course content, learning modes and assessment is outlined in the following tables.
Teaching and learning methods
Lectures (40 hours) will cover the formal course content. The lectures will be supplemented by tutorials (12 hours total). The lecture and tutorial times may be interchanged. In the tutorials the students will be expected to work on the tutorial problems provided. Handout solutions to the tutorial problems will be provided.
Assessment program:
The course has a two hour final (100 multiple choice) and optional one hour (50 multiple choice) mid-term examination. The optional midterm will only count if it improves the %. There is no penalty for guessing an answer, but I give a quarter mark if no answer is given. I award a "4" if 50% is achieved. The result may be expressed as %=maximum(final marks, (final marks+midterm marks)/1.5)
Assessment criteria:
Assessment will be criterion based, and not norm based, as required by University policy. The students understanding of the course will be shown by their being able to:
Criteria for the award of grades:
To earn a Grade of 7, a student must demonstrate an excellent understanding of the course material, and be highly proficient in applying appropriate techniques to accurately solve both theoretical and practical problems.
To earn a Grade of 6, a student must demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the course material, and be proficient in applying techniques to solve both theoretical and practical problems. This may be exemplified by the ability to solve non-routine problems and apply ideas to novel situations.
To earn a Grade of 5, a student must demonstrate good understanding of the course material and adequate ability to apply techniques to solve problems, using and applying fundamental concepts and skills of the course.
To earn a Grade of 4, a student must satisfy the basic learning requirements for the course, such as understanding of the fundamental concepts and performance of basic skills. The student must demonstrate knowledge of techniques used to solve problems.
To earn a Grade of 3, a student must demonstrate some understanding of the basic concepts and knowledge of techniques used to solve problems. The student falls short of satisfying all requirements for a Pass but may be close to satisfactory overall, or have compensating strengths in some aspects of the course.
To earn a Grade of 2, a student, although failing to satisfy basic requirements of the course, must demonstrate some knowledge of the basic concepts and limited knowledge of techniques used to solve problems.
A student will earn a Grade of 1 if he/she shows a very poor knowledge of the basic concepts in the course material. This includes attempts at answering questions that demonstrate very limited understanding of the key concepts.
Assessment and grading
* Each assessment item will be given the weighting for the determination of the final grade as set out in the Course Profile.
* Assessment will be in terms of the extent to which the student has achieved the goals of the course. The grade awarded, which will be in the range 1 to 7, will reflect this achievement.
* Assessment will be based on the judgement of the assessors as to how well the particular item being assesses demonstrates the students level of understanding.
* Unless specified to the contrary, the Course Coordinator(s) will carry out assessment and other Teaching Staff assigned by the Head of Department.
PHYS2081 is derived from PH223/226 and so the material is very similar though slightly increased by the inclusion of Comparative Planetology and some Space Physics. So here are some old exams for practice: Try the
1997, 1998or the
1999 mid semester exams.
And here are the 1997 final exam and the
1998 final exam.
Assessment policies:
* Calculators/pocket computers may be used in the examination, so long as they are small, portable, silent and battery powered. They must however have a restricted display capability not exceeding 150 characters. QWERTY keyboards are permitted and memories need not be zeroed. Notebook or lap top computers may not be used. All such devices must be presented for inspection at the examination and approved by the lecturer concerned.
* Penalties for non-conformity with Assessment Program, such as late submission of work, non attendance at tests or examinations, plagiarism, illness and so on, will be in conformity with general University Policies dealing with these matters. Such policies are outlined in the Assessment rules, set out in the University of Queensland Calendar.
Plagiarism:
The University expects and encourages you to act with integrity, ethically and with mutual respect for fellow members of the University community. A breach of the appropriate standard of conduct or of University rules may constitute misconduct and will be dealt with according to University proceedures. See Undergraduate Handbook; Student services and Information Section. Also On the web.
Special examinations:
If a student is unable to sit a scheduled examination for medical or other adverse reasons, she/he can and should apply for a special examination. Applications made on medical grounds should be accompanied by a medical certificate; those on other grounds must be supported by a personal declaration stating the facts on which the application relies; other corroborative evidence may also be accepted.
Warning: Special exams will not be multiple-choice. They will be short answer questions similar to exercises found at the end of the chapters in the recomended text.
Applications for special examinations for central exams must be made to the Director of Studies in the Faculty. Applications for special examinations in departmental exams must be made to the course coordinator.
More information on the University's assessment policy may be found HERE.
EPSA Faculty policy on the award of special and supplementary exams may be found HERE.
Feedback on assessment:
You may request feedback on assessment in this course progressively throughout the semester from the course coordinator. Feedback on assessment may include discussion, written comments on work, lists of common mistakes and the like.
Students may peruse examinations scripts and obtain feedback on performance in a final examination provided that the request is made within six months of the release of final course results. After a period of six months following the release of results, examination scripts may be destroyed.
Information on the University's policy on access to feedback on assessment may be found HERE.
EPSA Faculty policy on feedback and re-marking may be found HERE.
Recommended texts and references:
W J Kaufmann III/N F Comins: Universe with Starry Nights CD-ROM.
(Any edition... Abell's Exploration of the Universe is OK too.)
You can download skyglb36.zip the shareware version of skyglobe but for a measley $US20 you can get the full blown version of SKYGLOBE like I have. It's worth it and you feel good too!
Just PKUNZIP skyglb36 in some subdirectory (I use Sky) then (open a DOS full screen window), get to the subdirectory and enter skyglobe. hit "L", toggle over to "more locations" then select Brisbane. Hit a "V" since Brisbane is not on daylight savings time then enter the number "1" to save "configuration 1". Then when you enter "skyglobe 1" you will start up in Brisbane. If you use Windows drag the skyglobe.exe onto the tabletop and modify the (right click the icon) properties "Cmd line" to read SKYGLOBE.EXE 1 then tick the "close on exe" box and on the "screen" tab check the "Full-screen" box. Enjoy! (Warning: If you hit the "1" key" your configuration 1 will be reset.)
Library contact:
The liaison librarian for Earth Sciences/Maths/Physics is located in the Physical Sciences and Engineering Library in the Hawken Building and may be consulted for assistance in the course:
Student with disabilities:
Any student with a disability who may require alternative academic arrangements in any course offered by this department is encouraged to seek advice at the commencement of the semester from a Disability Adviser at the Student Support Services.
Assistance for Students:
Students with English language difficulties should contact the course coordinator or tutors for the course.
Students with English language difficulties who require development of their English skills should contact the Institute for Continuing and TESOL Education on extension 56565.
The Learning Assistance Unit located in the Relaxation Block in Student Support Services. You may consult learning advisers in the unit to provide assistance with study skills, writing assignments and the like. Individual sessions are available. Student Support Services also offers workshops to assist students. For more information, phone 51704 or on the web HERE.
Student Liaison Officer:
The School of Physical Sciences has a Student Liaison Officer as an independent source of advice to assist students with resolving academic difficulties.
The Student Liaison officer during semester 22003 will be Dr Peter Adams Rm 547 Priestly Building (email pa@maths.uq.edu.au)
Syllabus: