For the Spring semester, 2009, I am teaching the Physics of Light and Sound (GSCI 121) and Exploring the Night Sky (GSCI 104). GSCI 121 is intended for non-science majors and in particular music majors. It discusses wave phenomena for both light and sound. The textbook for this course is Physics in the Arts by Gilbert and Haeberli. This course has a laboratory component with an in-house lab manual.

Exploring the Night Sky is a course generally taken by non-science majors to fulfill their general science laboratory requirement. The course focuses on those things that we can determine about the sky that do not require telescopes such as the Earth's size, celestial navigation, the distance to the Moon and the Sun, sunspots, sundials, planetary motions, lunar phases, seasons and tides. The main goal of this course is to be able to see how a few simple observations lead to a profound understanding of the stars, the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth.

GSCI 121: Physics of Light & Sound GSCI 104: Exploring the Night Sky

Homework: There will be a homework set assigned roughly each week. The homework will be usually assigned in class, and then posted on the web. We will be using the LON-CAPA online software for homework. You should already have an account using your regular JMU username and password. The website is http://lc.cit.jmu.edu. Homework should be completed by the beginning of class on the due date. Students can collaborate on homework problems. There will be problem solving sessions and in-class activities, so plan not to miss any classes. The homework is worth 20% of your grade.

Labs: There will be a lab roughly each week. The labs take place on Monday afternoon as scheduled. There are more than 10 labs planned for the semester and there will be no opportunity to make-up a lab if you do not come to class. Lab activities will count for 25% of your grade. Since labs are scheduled Mondays, we will ordinarily not have lecture on that day but tests and make-up classes may be assigned then.

Grades: There will be two 1 hour exams during the semester. Each exam is worth 17.5% of the final grade. Exams will include multiple choice, short answer, and short mathematical problems. The final exam is comprehensive and is worth 20% of the grade. It is scheduled for Monday, May 3rd from 1:30 - 3:30. Your grade will be determined based upon the total points earned on examinations, homework, and in-class participation. It will roughly follow the the formula below:

A = 90.0% to 100%

B = 80.0% to 89.9%

C = 70.0% to 79.9%

D = 60.0% to 69.9%

F < 60.0%

Each week, there will be an in-class lab. Each lab will be handed out in class followed by a brief lecture. You may work together with one or two other persons as your lab partners. You must check with me that you have completed all that is necessary before leaving class. Labs are not graded but attendance counts 14% of your grade. If you miss more than 1 lab, that will result in an automatic "F" in the course. Prior to the following lab period, you will be required to complete an online quiz based on the previous weekÕs lab available through blackboard. This quiz will test your knowledge of what you learned during the lab. The online quizzes will count for 50% of your grade. There will also be 3 observational projects, 2 of which are to be completed outside of the class and one of which will be completed during class time in the last 2 weeks of the course. They will involve making a series of observations over the course of several weeks and doing some minor calculations based on your observations to produce a result. 36% of your grade comes from the 3 observational projects.

Week Lab Exercise
Jan 12 - 16 Shadow Stick Astronomy
Jan 19 - 23 Motions in the Sky I
Jan 26 - 30 Motions in the Sky II
Feb 2 - 6 Celestial Navigation
Feb 9 - 13 The Earth
Feb 16 - 20 Moon & Sun Distances
Feb 23 - 27 Moon
Mar 2 - 6 Planetarium Visit
Mar 16 - 20 Planetary Motion
Mar 23 - 27 Telescope Observations
Mar 30 - Apr 3 Sundials
Apr 6 - 10 Sunspots
Apr 13 - 17 Observational Projects
May 1 Projects Due