Physics 105 - Astronomy
Spring, 2009
Quiz/Homework Summary

Your quizzes and homework will count 30% of your grade = 30 points. Of those points, item 1 is worth 3 points, item 2 is worth 6 points, item 3 is worth 6 points, and item 4 is worth 15 points.

1. You will have quizzes at the beginning of random class meetings. These will test, on a regular basis, your understanding of the reading that you should be doing before class as well as the material that has been covered in class.
 
2. There will be three outside projects this semester. Two of them will deal with measurements: measuring the diameter of the sun and measuring the amount of solar energy incident on the Earth’s surface. These two projects will be described later in the course when we begin talking about the Sun and other stars.

3. The third project is for you to perform a series of observations of the Moon with your unaided eye during the semester. You must do four observations, one during each of the four different parts of the Moon’s month (as defined below). It doesn’t matter from where you look or the order in which you do them. One of the observations must be done between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm. Your observations ideally should be continuous and about a week apart.

                       Part of cycle                                  Part of Moon’s Month
                              #1                                          From New to First Quarter (e.g., Jan. 26 to Feb. 2)
                              #2                                          From First Quarter to Full (e.g., Feb. 2 to Feb. 9)
                              #3                                          From Full to Third Quarter (e.g., Feb. 9 to Feb. 16)
                              #4                                          From Third Quarter to New (e.g., Feb. 16 to Feb. 24)

1. For each observation, sketch the Moon as it appears in the sky (leave the light part white and darken the part that is not visible).
2. On your sketch, include an indication of the direction you are looking.
3. On your sketch, record the date and the time of your observation.
4. On your sketch, indicate the part of the cycle (#1-4 above) that the Moon is in. Make sure you do an observation in each of the four parts of the cycle (e.g., if you say full moon, you also need to say whether that observation is in part #2 or part #3 of the cycle). There are a number of times during the Moon’s month when you cannot see it at a specific time and so can’t use it as an observation, e.g. you cannot see the moon when it is within about a day either side of the New Moon stage.

This observational project must be done individually. Your pledge means that you actually saw the real moon outside, that all the data is your own, and that the data was not copied off of the web or a planetarium program. The project is due before or on April 24. You can record all of these observations on one sheet of paper, back and front. Do not put this off until too late. If you miss a part or parts of the cycle, you will lose points for that part. There are no excuses. The moon is very regular.

4. You will have seven to ten homework assignments that will be handed in on a regular basis. Some of the homework will be done in Dana 126 when certain equipment or a specific computer program is a necessary part of the homework.