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Method
of Evaluation:
You
are not
obliged to
write a term
paper or
to do four
of the six on-line study quizzes,
but
you
must do one or the other to count for 50%
toward
the term-work component of the final grade. You may use only
one choice or the other for the 50% term-work grade.
For most people, the quizzes have given the better raw mark but
as we adjust the marks of the term-papers to the same average as
attained by the cohort of quiz grades, there should be no
disadvantage in writing a paper. Still, even if you write a
paper, you should do the quizzes as they help you focus on the
expectations of the course as they will be tested on the final
exam.
- If
you choose to submit a term
paper (with
text body less than 1000-words) in a formal scientific article
style with proper referencing of sources, it will be due on
March
30, 2021.
TAs will be available to help you with your term papers. Papers
are to be submitted on-line in either *.doc,
*.docx or,
preferred, in
*.pdf
formats.
The e-mail address for submission: terrestrial.planets@gmail.com
. Late papers will be penalized at 10% (i.e. 4 marks/week or 0.5
marks/day). If
you do submit a term paper, it is that paper that will count for
50%
of
your grade, but if your quiz grades are higher, we shall accept
the quiz grade for term work.
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There
will be 6 on-line “Study Quizzes”
offered, a new one given every second week during term; your
best 4 will count. Moreover, there is a practice
quiz posted on the myCourses site for you to try a few
times and to help you become familiar with the method for
accessing and submitting quizzes. This practice quiz will be
left available for your continuing practice throughout the term.
The first of the Study Quizzes (Quiz #1) to be counted will be
posted on Friday, January 22 at
00:00AM for completion by midnight that day. You
will be free to do that quiz twice and the best of your 2 grades
will be recorded for Quiz #1.
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For
the following quizzes, you are given only one try. Thereafter,
new quizzes will be posted every second Friday morning. These
quizzes will be open on Feb.
5, Feb. 19, Mar. 12, Mar. 26 and Apr. 16 at
00:h00, Montreal local time. The last ( April
16 )
of these serves as a whole-course tutorial review that may be
used as a study aid for the final exam; it will remain open and
available through until the morning of the day of the final
exam. You might wait to do it until a day or two before the
final exam when you have already done some exam preparation.
-
You
should try to review your notes before attempting the online
quizzes because they
are time limited.
You will normally have only 15 minutes for each study quiz
excepting the overrun/grace time extension which allows you a
total of 35 minutes of quiz time. Students with disabilities who
can present a note from OSD to that effect will be given
additional time as required by OSD. You must inform me with a
letter from OSD or ask the OSD office to e-mail me to effect
your access to these quizzes. If you can't follow this schedule
for the online quizzes, you must write the term paper (due
on March 30)
for the term work's 50%. You can no longer, under current
Faculty of Science rules, write the final exam for 100% of your
grade.
-
If
you choose not to write the term paper in favour of the study
quizzes, the best 4 will contribute 50% to your final grade.
Each on-line study quiz will require you to be
computer-connected to the myCourses
website,
best through a McGill wireless or LAN connection or via McGill
VPN, during a period of 15 minutes, anytime, within the 24-hour
time window which starts the Friday morning at 0h00, remaining
open until midnight that day. You need only log-on within that
accessibility window to access your 15-minute quiz. The Faculty
requires time extension so you should have at least 35 minutes
to complete the 15-minute quiz. Each quiz will comprise 30
multiple-choice, true-false or ordering questions. You should
try the practice quiz a few times in order to learn how to use
the system. Note:
An
online
quiz will
not be re-opened for those who miss a quiz during
the 24-hour time windows for any reason at all (including severe
illness, dogs that have eaten your computer – anything!).
There are, however, 6 opportunities to take quizzes and you only
need 4 completed for a full term-work grade. If you have
continuing technical problems while trying to do the online
quizzes, submit a term paper instead on March
30;
it will be preferentially counted toward the term work. Use the
practice quiz as often as you like in familiarizing yourself
with the procedures.
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Final
exam will
be served online and scheduled. The final exam contributes 50%
to your final grade. Note
, you can no-longer write a final exam for 100% of your grade:
Do the quizzes or write a term paper! You
must write the final exam to receive a grade in the course. If
you know that you cannot sit the exam, you should withdraw from
the course now.
-
This
year's online final format: The
format of the final exam is not yet set. The form will depend on
whether or not the Faculty of Science will allow for a 2-hour
exam in 48-hour availability window. They may require a 3-hour
exam with a 72-hour availability window. Whatever the Faculty's
requirements are, the exam will use multiple-choice, true-false
and matching questions mixed, with either 10 or 15 written
response questions according to the exam length. As
exams have an extended time limit (4.5 for a 2-hour exam and 6.5
for a 3-hour exam) you should have lots of time to complete the
final. It should be easily possible to complete the exam in the
prescribed 2 or 3 hours and it may be open to your for 48 or 72
hours.
-
On
final grading... Class average final grades during
past years have fallen into a range of high B to low B+,
about 75%. In order to achieve this average, grades may
be fairly curved but only upward if necessary. Given the online
format and the extended time allowed according to McGill rules
for online exams, it is not expected that any upgrading will be
necessary. The course expectations are not extremely high in the
sense that this course traditionally offers somewhat higher
average grades than many in-program courses. However, the
grading is strict, fixed and absolutely non-negotiable.
Typically, in past years, more than 25% of students have
received a full A grade and another 20% an A-
grade. Almost nobody fails the course if they do the
required tasks – term paper or 4 study quizzes + final --
though several students have managed to get D
grades. Note that a D grade obtains a Fail
if the course is taken Pass/Fail;
it is not a technical failure if not. In 2018, 72
of 155 students who completed the course received A
or A- grades. Last year with the much extended
times offered for online exams, exceptionally, about 75% of
students received A or A- grades.
Students
who can and who fear for their grade are encouraged to consider
taking the course on a Pass/Fail basis if their program so
permits. You should note, however, that a D grade according to
the normal grading scheme would qualify as a Fail on the
Pass/Fail basis. In defense against a D-Fail, you should note on
your final exam that you are taking the course Pass/Fail if you
are.
You
normally have to register for the course as being Pass/Fail
before the Add/Drop deadline late in January but this past year,
you could opt for the Pass/Fail option after receiving your
course grade.
- Textbooks...
No textbook is required for the successful completion of this
course. The course Noteset suffices but, should you be
interested in having a good reference for the course, I suggest,
first of all, The Cosmic Perspective
(Bennett et al.). Alternatively, you might consider The
Solar System (Seeds and Blackman)
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- Cosmic
Perspective
ISBN:
9780134874364,
0134874366
Format:
Paperback, eBook
Publisher: Pearson Education
Pub.
Date: Jan.
2020
Edition
Number: 9
Online
edition from VitalSource
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- The
Solar System
ISBN:
9781305804562, 1305804562
ISBN-10:
1305120760
Paperback,eBook
Publisher:
Brooks Cole
9 edition (January, 2016)
Online
edition from VitalSource
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- The
Cosmic Perspective has been ordered; it should be
available in paperback at the McGill bookstore and at Paragraph
Books on McGill College in its latest Edition 9. Editions 4
through 8 used in term courses at McGill recently and used
copies might be available... The
Solar System has not been ordered for the class.
While the information about the Universe, Solar System and
Planets is continually being updated, used earlier editions of
these texts are still useful references for the course. Neither
is “required”. The Online editions may well serve
you.
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Help/Questions
regarding course -- “on-line office hours”:
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“Office
hours” are
on-line. I can usually respond to your questions within a day.
Please use the following address for course-related e-mail as
this will separate course e-mail from my normal clutter:
terrestrial.planets@gmail.com
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"Desperate?...
Call me! I am available for desperate calls.”
-
Olivia
Jensen
F.D. Adams #130D
tel: office: 514 398-3587 home:
450 224-2721
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Following
each online class, I shall remain available for ½ hour to
answer pressing questions. Also, the last 10 minutes of each
class will be reserved for open questions from the class --
please feel free to remind me when the clock ticks to 17h15. I
encourage you to e-mail your question to me during the evening
preceding the class. I will choose to answer one of these
questions before opening to questions from class. I would prefer
that you contact me via terrestrial.planets@gmail.com
rather
than asking the TAs for clarification of course materials but as
you may have some need of advice or help from them, their e-mail
address links are here:
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TAs:
Audrey, Ben,
Chen, Debarati,
Justin
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Web
links: Olivia
Jensen will maintain a listing of links to the various Worldwide
Web sites she might mention in this course on the “News
and highlights” course
page. You might also look to the “Websites”
page.
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Course
URLs:
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http://132.206.152.32/~olivia/TP/2021-Winter/
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http://132.206.152.12/~olivia/TP/2021-Winter/
Not
updated daily....
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The
fine print ( read this carefully !):
McGill
University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students
must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating,
plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student
Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see
www.mcgill.ca/integrity
and
Rights
and responsibilities at a glance for more information).
In
accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’
Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in
English or in French any written work that is to be graded.
L'université
McGill attache une haute importance à l’honnêteté
académique. Il incombe par conséquent à tous
les étudiants de comprendre ce que l'on entend par
tricherie, plagiat et autres infractions académiques,
ainsi que les conséquences que peuvent avoir de telles
actions, selon le Code de conduite de l'étudiant et des
procédures disciplinaires (pour de plus amples
renseignements, veuillez consulter le site
www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/
).
Conformément
à la Charte des droits de l’étudiant de
l’Université McGill, chaque étudiant a le
droit de soumettre en français ou en anglais tout travail
écrit devant être noté.
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- The
Lecture Series
First
lecture (January 7 online): Course outline, introduction
of self and screening of short videos:
1.
Harvard
Commencement – a
film that should bring you to feel that you are already as
knowledgeable about seasons
as
Harvard graduates: A
private universe.
An explanation of seasons
and Earth's orbit.
More: Do you know that the shortest day of the year does not
include both the latest sunrise and earliest sunset? The cycles
of the Sun and Moon.
Do you know how
to tell time and read a calendar?
Also here!
This interesting (and correct) video was produced by the Vsauce
guys.
2.
Cosmic
Collisions – a
NASA/AMNH film. I usually play an authorized copy of this video
at the start of class but this year, I cannot offer you an online
version. Otherwise, you might look for this video on the web...
but note, several different videos with this title are published
on YouTube;
they are mostly interesting and relevant but I have not been able
to find this particular video in the group. This is the trailer
to the AMNH film
and the only reference I could find on YouTube.
3.
As today's lecture concludes, I suggent you start the video
entitled Different
Worlds (BBC
series The Planets) in class; BBC sometimes pulls this video from
all the internet sites that I can find. As of the beginning of
this course, it is accessible.
4.
For home, a mystical ride through the Universe: The
known universe by AMNH.
January
12 to April 13 (25 classes): (Note, the order is
followed -- it is the same ordering as in the course noteset --
but each listed topic does not correspond to a single or whole
lecture.)
Creation
hypotheses, the age of Earth (and the Solar System)
Suggested
online videos: The
Big Bang to the Present Day,
The
Big Bang ,
The
Expanding Universe on
YouTube. The concept of distance is complicated: see Faster
Than The Speed Of Light (1): The Universe - Created Out Of
Nothing? and
Faster
Than The Speed Of Light (2): The Expanding Universe
on
YouTube for an attempt at an explanation of the “origin,
age and size
” of
the Universe. You might look into the Cassiopea
Project (on-line
Science education) which served the first video in the list
preceding.
How
do we “ know”
the
“ age
of the Universe ”?
Hubble
constant and age of the Universe
Stellar
evolution – A cute cartoon: The
Largest Stars; Stephensen
2-18
The
condensation of the solar nebula – formation of the Solar
System. Suggested online video: The
Expanding Universe (The Planets) in
6 parts on YouTube; you may access them now with search string [
1of6 The expanding universe the planets ] Some of this video is
dated in its information... (e.g. a 12 billion year age for the
Universe) but for the most part, the story holds.
Early
thermal evolution and differentiation of Earth and the
terrestrial planets
The
present Solar System (a quick tour of the planetary system);
Exoplanets.
Asteroids,
comets, meteorites and the recently discovered and now visited
Kuiper objects
Hazards
– cometary and asteroid impacts on Earth
Orbital
dynamics – Kepler's Laws
Study
week March 1-5 lectures cancelled
Most
of the Universe is Missing – A BBC Video
(Is
Newtonian gravity the problem or is there a lot of unseen dark
matter?). A precis of the transcript of this BBC Horizon program
is linked here
.
This video will be shown in its entirety in class.
Dynamics
of the solar-planetary system: orbits, rotations, spin-orbit
coupling. The moon, tides (body and ocean) and the history of
Earth's rotation
Rotational
dynamics, precession, nutation and wobble
Physical
properties of the terrestrial planets: isostasy, gravity field,
density distribution, thermal regime, etc.
Planetary
magnetism: evidence for a fluid core and the self-excited
geodynamo
Tectonics,
the effect of heat flow, thermal conduction and convection on
Earth and other planets and moons
Seismology
and the structure of Earth's interior, the Moon's interior, Mars
interior?
Overview
of the geological and geophysical differences among the
terrestrial planets
A
review tour of the planets and moons of the Solar System and
beyond.
Current
space missions – a review of what is happening now.... a
web tour and discussion...
Astrogeology,
mineralogy and surface condition of the terrestrial planets and
moons of the giants. What can we infer about the interiors of
the hard-surfaced bodies of the Solar System from surface
features... The search for life elsewhere in the Solar System
Finishing
on April 15(?) with
another video: Video
2 of The Planets Series – Terra Firma (BBC/A&E)
If
still available online this video should be a useful overview
preceding the final exam...
The
final exam: Not yet scheduled – I have no influence
whatever on the scheduling.
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