1. Goal: The goal of this course is to provide an introduction to astronomy, which is the scientific study of the Universe. This introduction will aim to show by example how science is done, and also to show some of the beauty of the Universe we live in.

2. Time: MWF; 11:30-12:20; Location: 1410 Biomedical & Physical Sciences Bldg.

3. Text: "The Cosmic Perspective" (3rd edition) Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and Voit

4. Instructor: Prof. Steve Zepf

5. Office hours: Monday 12:30-2:00, Thursday 2:00-3:00 and by appt. 3258 BPS. Questions can also be e-mailed to isp205-2@pa.msu.edu.

6. Exams: There will be three mid-terms, and a final exam. The mid-terms will occur during regular class times and location and will total 70% of the grade. The final exam will occur at the official time and place and will be worth 30% of the final grade. (the final exam schedule is available from the registrar, and ours will be Thursday, December 11 from 8-10 PM in 1281 Anthony Hall). The final will include both some material from the course after the third mid-term and from earlier sections covered by the previous mid-terms (including questions taken from the earlier mid-terms). Students can be excused from the exams only for serious medical or personal reasons. A signed letter is necessary to be excused.

7. Extra Credit: There will be a number of in-class problems to do. Group work is allowed (encouraged for these). Each assignment completed will result in a small amount of extra credit so that the total amount of additional credit if all are completed is 3%.

8. Grading: The following grade scale is guaranteed. The actual scale may be curved from these values, but it will not be raised. For example, you are guaranteed to get a 4.0 if your score is above 90% no matter what.
0.0 - 0.0% to 47.5%, 1.0 - 47.5% to 55.0%, 1.5 - 55.0% to 62.0%, 2.0 - 62.0% to 68.0%, 2.5 - 68.0% to 76.0%, 3.0 - 76.0% to 83.0%, 3.5 - 83.0% to 90.0%, 4.0 - 90.0% and above.

9. Homework: Example problems from the material covered in class will be posted on the homework site for this course on most Thursdays, and then solutions to these problems will be posted the following Thursday (along with the next week's problems). These will be important for monitoring your understanding of the class and for preparation for the tests.