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 lectures will generally follow material from "The Essential Cosmic Perspective, 4th Edition" by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, & Voit. You may be able to get by with the older 3rd edition. The i-Clicker personal response system will be used for some extra credit, as described below. You do NOT need the Mastering Astronomy student access kit or any other such material.

4. Instructor: Prof. Steve Zepf

5. Office hours: Currently Monday 12:20-1:00, Tuesday 2:00-3:00, and by appt. 3258 BPS. Questions can also be e-mailed to zepf@.msu.edu.

6. Exams:here will be three mid-terms, and a final exam. The mid-terms will occur during the 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 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). Dates for the tests and final are listed on the class schedule. Students can be excused from the exams only for serious medical or personal reasons, indicated by a signed letter. Makeups include long answer questions, and photo IDs are required for all tests.

7. Grading: The following grade scale is guaranteed. For example, you will get a 4.0 if your score is above 91% no matter what. 0.0 - 0.0% to 48.0%, 1.0 - 48.0% to 55.0%, 1.5 - 55.0% to 62.0%, 2.0 - 62.0% to 69.0%, 2.5 - 69.0% to 77.0%, 3.0 - 77.0% to 85.0%, 3.5 - 85.0% to 92.0%, 4.0 - 92.0% and above. There will be no ``rounding up'' beyond counting for extra credit as described below.

8. Extra Credit: There will be a number of in-class problems involving both the i-Clickers and written work. 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%. In detail, for written assignments, any reasonable attempt will receive credit, and for the clickers, the correct answer will receive full credit and any response will count as 2/3.

9. Homework: To help with monitoring your understanding of the class and preparing for the tests, example problems from the material covered in class will be posted on the homework site for this course most Thursdays, and then solutions to these problems will be posted the following Thursday (along with the next week's problems). Sample problems from tests from previous years will also be posted online to help you assess your understanding of the material.

10. Study Guides: Before each exam, an outline of the material covered will be placed on the class website. Note that this is an outline, and not a replacement for class notes or the book.

11. Common Sense: Respect the other students in class and don't be an idiot. Turn off ringers on cell phones. Don't carry on side conversations. The class is for learning.

12. Academic Integrity: We will follow the University's academic integrity policy. This includes the basic statement that cheating of any kind is unacceptable. Any person found in violation of the academic honesty policy described here or on the University web site may potentially receive a 0.0 for the entire course. Cheating includes copying or allowing someone to copy from you answers to questions on the tests and exams, and also any discussion of test questions for those who have not yet taken the test because of an official absence (note makeups will include long answer questions). It is also cheating to answer in-class questions in writing or with an i-Clicker for someone other than yourself.