GE 150 Astronomy

1. GE 150 Astronomy Week #1 January 15, 2013

2. Introductions Instructor – Thomas Kuchar • Office hours: T & Th 1:30-2:30, Devlin 313 • Phone: 2-6155; during office hours: 2-2582 • kuchar@bc.edu Teaching Assistant –Seyi (shay-ee) • Office hours: Monday 2:00–5:00 PM, Devlin 311 • oluwaseyi.bolarinwa@bc.edu

3. YOU CAN CALL ME: • Dr. Kuchar, (Mr. Kuchar is my Dad.) • Professor Kucharor just Professor • Tom • Can’t remember that, I will still answer to: Wassup, Hey, Help, We’re Stuck, or even “Dude, I don’t get it”

4. Course Material BC Blackboard Vista: https://cms.bc.edu Class Supplements, Homework, Lecture Notes, Grades

5. Course Material - Textbook Pathways to Astronomy – 3rd Edition by S.E. Schneider and T.T. Arny Lecture Tutorials for Introductory Astronomy – 2nd Edition, by E.E. Prather, T.F. Slater, J.P. Adams and G. BrissendenNOTE: BRING THIS TO CLASS EVERYDAY!!

6. Course Material - Textbook • Planetarium Software • Starry Night - with new copies of the text • Stellarium - free alternative to Starry Night • stellarium.org • Alternatives • Microsoft World Telescope • Google Earth in Sky Mode • Various iPhone and Android Apps • e.g. Distant Suns ($)

7. So what is going to happen in this course?A look at theSyllabus– Our Contract! Active engagement with nearly daily group activities.

8. A Commonly Held Incorrect Model of a Student’s Conceptual Framework tabla rasa

9. A Commonly Held Incorrect Model of Teaching and Learning

10. fromHow People Learn “Students enter your lecture hall with preconceptions about how the world works. If their initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp the new concepts and information that are taught, or they may learn them for the purposes of a test but revert to their preconceptions outside the classroom.” HOW PEOPLE LEARN, National Research Council, National Academy Press, 2000.

11. Key results from cognitive science and education research 1. Learning is productive / constructive - learning requires mental effort 2. Knowledge is associative / linked to prior mental models and formal structures 3. The cognitive response is context dependent – what and how you learn depends on the educational setting 4. Most people require some social interactions in order to learn effectively

12. Can Lecture Tutorials intellectually engage students at a level that is more effective than traditional lecture at promoting deep conceptual change? Pre-Course: Students take a 68 question survey Post-Lecture: questions administered in subsets Post-Lecture Tutorial: questions administered in subsets • Pre-Course mean: 30% • Post-Lecture mean: 52% • Post-Lecture Tutorial: 72%

13. Students Speak OUT(focus group) • “I liked the Tutorial, they were very helpful. I am not a science person but feel that I learned a lot from them. • “Why don’t all professors use tutorials during class?” • “The student interaction and tutorials are a very effective approach to both teaching and learning. I guarantee most students will retain most of this course.”

14. A look at the syllabus – Our Contract! • Active engagement with nearly daily group activities. • Attendance at all classes is REQUIRED. • To succeed in this course you need to be here • Periodic class surveys (i.e take attendance)

16. Lets give it a try I am: Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior In the wrong class

17. Currency of the Class: NASA Stickers

18. Currency of the Class: NASA Stickers • How to get “rich” • Provide answers/explanations that shed light on the topic at hand • Catch mistakes/errors (other than typos!)

19. A look at the syllabus – Our Contract! • Active engagement with nearly daily group activities. • Attendance at all classes is REQUIRED. • Periodic Homework is REQUIRED.

20. Grading Homework • Graded on a 4 point scale: • 4 - Thorough, detailed, correct response; maybe one minor reasoning error • 3 – Major ideas present but with an abbreviated or somewhat incomplete reasoning; more than half correct • 2 - Major errors in reasoning but thoughtful response • 1 - Major errors in reasoning and very incomplete/abbreviated description • 0 - No meaningful attempt worthy of grading

21. A look at the syllabus – Our Contract! • Active engagement with nearly daily group activities. • Attendance at all classes is REQUIRED. • Periodic Homework is REQUIRED. • Testing Circumstances • You can drop your lowest, or missed, midterm exam. • Everyone is required to take the CUMMULATIVE Final Exam!! • No make-up exams for the midterms or Final • (exceptions require a written deans excuse)!!!

22. A look at the syllabus – Our Contract! • Active engagement with nearly daily group activities. • Attendance at all classes is REQUIRED. • Periodic Homework is REQUIRED. • Testing Circumstances • Observation Log

24. Grading Scheme • “Bell Curve” Grading • absolutely no extra credit • Three Exams (drop lowest) 50% • Final Exam (cannot drop) 20% • Homework 15 % • Participation 10 % • Observing Log 5% Grades are available online 24/7 via Blackboard Vista

25. How to be SPECIAL!! • Cell Phone calls or Texting in class • Don’t Participate • Be disruptive or disrespectful • Leave before class is over • Come late to class - often and you don’twant to be special!!!

26. Due to unplanned and/or unintentional occurrences of potentially colorful expressions or actions either during lecture or in accompanying course media it is possible that you could be offended at some time during the semester. Let me start off by apologizing right now should this come to fruition. If you ever feel that you need to make me aware of any such occurrence, please feel free to do so at your convenience outside of class so that appropriate accommodations can be made. This Class is rated PG13!!

27. WHO ARE YOU??!!?!?!? Are you a professional student or are you an amateur?

28. Goals of the course Help you develop: • a basic understanding of the central ideas of astronomy • an appreciation for the role astronomy has played in shaping the consciousness of the world in the past, at present and what the future holds. • a real world perspective for how astronomy is connected to your daily lives • the skills and motivation to pursue life long learning and become a valuable member of the workforce and our society

29. NOTGoals of the course • Turn you into Math-oholics! • Expect you to sit there and listen to me lecture for an hour+ everyday • Force you to work through an endless array of unconnected homework assignments (don’t worry you will still EARN your credits!) • Teach you essentially the same stuff as astronomy/physics majors

30. Class Survey

31. Class Survey – Question # 1 • Science is: • body of knowledge • a process to explain nature • both a body of knowledge and a process • a government program to keep geeks off the street • all of the above

32. Science is not… • A list of previously known facts about nature • A list of equations handed down from Ancient times • A set of laws that were discovered by Dead White Guys a long time ago and are kept from the general public

33. Science Is… • a continuing process that • seeks to understand the rules and laws of nature • uses systematic observations • uses mathematical models • experimentally tests ideas • subject to independent verification These are the components of the scientific method used to comprehend the universe: i.e. observe, theorize, predict, test and modify

34. Question # 2 • An hypothesis is • A well tested guess • A proposed idea based on an observation • An untested idea that appears to be true • None of the above

35. Question # 3 • A theory is: • A guess on how nature works • A provable law of nature • A well-tested explanation for observations • A collection of related facts • none of the above

36. Ascientific theoryis a collection of ideas that explain a phenomenon in a way that is consistent with laws, observations and experiments.

37. Side Bar: What do we mean by a “Theory” • Not a “guess” but a way to explain and predict results and observations • Must always be tested and verified in light of new information • New observations and experimental results must be explained by existing theories or they need to be modified • The longer they hold up to testing the stronger the theory • Modification is a strength of theories

38. What do Astronomers do? • Make observations using telescopes • Analyze data/results of observation • Create theories about what is seen and what might exist yet unseen • Create computer models that simulate what occurs in the Universe • Invent, design, and build instruments that let us see beyond the Earth! BUT, most astronomers do NOT spend much time looking through telescopes

39. Question # 4 • Gravity is: • a fact • a well-tested hypothesis • a theory • all of the above • none of the above

40. Question # 5 • Evolution is: • a fact • a well-tested hypothesis • a theory • all of the above • none of the above

41. Question # 6 • That the Earth is round has been known since: • Columbus’ voyage in 1492 • Renaissance of the 12th Century (High Middle Ages) • 500 BC • Stone Age (prehistory)

42. Question # 7 • The Moon’s phases are caused by • clouds blocking light • the Earth’s shadow falling on different areas of the Moon as viewed from the Earth • the Sun’s light falling on different areas of the Moon as viewed from the Earth • the Moon’s rotation on its axis

43. Question # 8 • The time it takes the Moon to go around the Earth is about: • One Day • One Month • One Year

44. Question # 9 • The time it takes the Earth to go around the Sun is about: • One Day • One Month • One Year

45. Question # 10 • Seasons are caused by: • the Earth tilting toward (summer) or away (winter) from the Sun results in more direct sunlight • the Earth tilting toward (summer) or away (winter) from the Sun results in the Earth being closer to the Sun • the shape of the Earth’s orbit brings it closer to the Sun (summer) or farther away (winter) • changes in the Sun over the year.

46. Question # 11 • The speed of light in space is • 186,000 Miles per second • 186,000 Miles per hour • Infinite (light travels instantaneously) • varies

47. Question # 12 • The time it takes light to travel from the Sun to the Earth is : • almost Instantaneous • about 1 second • about 1 minute • about 10 minutes • about 1 hour • closer to 8 minutes

48. Question # 13 • The nearest star is: • Alpha Centauri • Polaris (the “North Star”) • The Sun 4.2 light years 430 light years 8 light minutes

49. Question # 14 • The age of the Universe is roughly: • 500 million years • 5 billion years • 14 billion years • Infinite (it always existed) • Unknown (impossible to determine)

50. Question # 15 • The age of the Earth is roughly: • 10,000 years • 500 million years • 5 billion years • 14 billion years • Unknown (impossible to determine)