INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Larry Adkins
Larry Adkins' Website: http://www.cerritos.edu/ladkins/a106/ladkins
e-mail: ladkins@cerritos.edu
Voice Mail: (562) 860-2451 x2666
REQUIRED: Stairways to the Stars by Anthony Aveni
Seeing and Believing by Richard Panek
Modern Theories of the Universe from Herschel to Hubble by Michael J. Crowe
SUPPLEMENTAL : Theories of the World from Antiquity to the Copernican Revolution by Michael J. Crowe
Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo Translated by Stillman Drake
This is a different kind of science course. Different because it explores the history and development of ideas and their relation to culture and philosophy. How did the appearance of the sky from different latitudes affect the cosmological outlook of cultures living in those latitudes? How were the Maya able to predict eclipses? Why did Greek philosophers begin look for non-mystical explanations for natural phenomena? How did Galileo’s observations through the telescope help convince scholars that the heliocentric system was true? What were the issues in Galileo’s trial before religious authorities? Where did the idea of the “Big Bang” (our current model of the origin of the universe) originate? At the end of this course you should not only have a good grasp of our current picture of the universe - its size, composition, and origin – but also how this picture came to be.
GRADE DETERMINATION: 1. Four Major Tests 50%2. Quizzes/Homework 25%3. Final 25%
Tests (50%)
Five major tests will be given during the
semester. The lowest score will be dropped and the four highest scores counted. A
test will be given every fourth class meeting. Each test will cover the
material presented in the previous three meetings.
TESTS CANNOT BE MADE UP. A MISSED TEST WILL RECEIVE A GRADE OF 0. If you miss a test, then that score will be the one dropped.
In Class Participation
It is very important to read the assigned material. You will be expected to have read the assigned selections and to be prepared to discuss them. Plan on being called on from time to time during the semester .
Quizzes/Homework/Activities (25%)
QUIZZES: Plan on having a quiz every class meeting during the semester. These will consist of two or three questions relating to the material we have been studying.
GOOD NEWS: If you take the quiz, you will receive from 3 to 5 points. Papers with all correct answers will receive 5 points, papers with one or more wrong answer will receive 3 points. The main purpose of these quizzes is to generate discussion and prepare for the major tests.
BAD NEWS: These quizzes cannot be made up. If you are not here when a pop quiz is given, you lose the points for that quiz.
ACTIVITIES: From time to time we will have laboratory type activities (observing with telescopes, for example) which will require short write ups and will be graded (usually these will be worth 10 points).
HOMEWORK: Homework will be assigned from time to time. Most homework assignments will be worth 10 points. Rough drafts of the Term Project described below will be graded under this section.
Final (25%)
There will be a comprehensive final over all material at the end of the semester.
Assignments: All written assignments should be neatly written or typed. This ensures
I can read them. Unreadable text will not be graded. All assignments should
have proper grammar and spelling and should be stapled. Any calculations should
begin with an equation and proceed in orderly, easily read steps to an answer
that is boxed, circled, or highlighted.
Attendance: Students are expected to attend all classes. Attendance will be taken
formally in some classes. Anyone missing more than four classes, without prior
approval from the instructor, will be automatically flunked. Attendance will be
based on whether or not you completed your quiz. If you miss a quiz, it is
counted as an absence. Note: Only students of this class should be in attendance. Leave children,
family, and friends at home.
Scholastic Ethics: Science is a subject that thrives with shared information, however
everyone must do their own work. Cheating, plagiarism, and other failures of
scholastic ethics will not be tolerated. There are no second chances.
§
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is taking credit for someone else's words or
ideas. This includes, but is not limited to, coping out of a book or off a web
page without giving proper credit, minimally rewording or rearranging sentences
from a book or web page, passing off another's idea or solution as your own,
and copied assignments. The minimum penalty for plagiarism is a zero on the
work in question and the maximum is a failing grade in the class.
§
Cheating: Anyone caught cheating on a test will receive an F for the
course. No amount of pleading or apologizing will change this action, even if
it is the first offense. Helping a cheater is also cheating and will receive
the same penalty. Do not consider anything that may resemble cheating, such as
loading your calculator with useful information before a test, as this will
also cause you to receive a failing grade for the course.
Dictionaries: Students for whom English in not their first language may use a printed
(not pocket computer) general (not scientific) translating dictionary during
the exams, but they must allow me to inspect it beforehand.
Latecomers And Early Leavers: Coming late and leaving early is discourteous and
disruptive to the concentration of the instructor and those who come on time
and stay to the end. Anyone coming more than just a few minutes late of leaving
more than just a few minutes early will be considered absent. If you miss the
distribution of a quiz, you will receive a quiz grade of zero for that quiz. In
the case of coming late or leaving early for legitimate reasons, you will be
considered present providing you explain the reason to me beforehand or very
soon after.
Religious Observances And Practices: If you must miss a class activity because of
religious observances and practices, accommodation will be made providing you
inform me two weeks in advance in writing. The date(s) on which you will be
absent and the reason why class participation is impossible must be given in
the written note. You will still be responsible for all lecture material that
you miss.
Students With Disabilities:
Withdrawal: Withdrawal from the course is the responsibility of the students. The
official withdrawal deadline (with a grade of “W”) is April 23, 2003.
Incomplete (I): Grades: Incomplete grades are only for students who have completed most
of the work and have a legitimate reason for not completing all of the work.
They will only be given to students who have taken three of the exams and who
have discussed with me the work done and the reason for the incomplete grade.
Student Code of Conduct: Behavior which is disruptive is not appropriate to
the classroom. I will follow the Student Code of Conduct published by CC and
listed in the schedule of courses.
SYLLABUS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT/RECEIPT (REQUIRED)
NAME:
Last First M.I.
STUDENT SIGNITURE:_________________________________________
CLASS: Astronomy 106 History of Astronomy
Course Number Ticket Number Course Title
CERRITOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SEMESTER _________________ DATE _____________