Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
100310-confusingwordlehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/waiferx/4455582701/
Originally uploaded by Waifer X
Wordle.net tag cloud for confusing topics covered in Midterm 1, generated by responses from Astronomy 210 students at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1826513/Untitled).
Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.
List at least three words describing confusing subjects covered in class (up through this midterm). (Graded for completion.)
[Responses have been edited to consolidate related common subjects.]
Student responses
Sections 30674, 30676
eclipses
astronomers, telescopes, startofclassjokes:P
astronomers
eclipses, astronomers, spectra
starwheels, horizon, eclipses
telescopes, moonphases, eclipses
telescopes, wavelength, starwheels
everything
H-Rdiagram, parsecs, Kirchoffslaws, Wienslaw, Newtonslaws,
sun, energy, light
astronomers
starwheels, moonphases
stars, light, sound
telescopes
moon, starwheels, asolutemagnitude
dazed, distorted, befuddled
Kirchhoffslaws, planetarymotion, moonphases
astronomers, astronomers, moonphases
moonphases, absolutemagnitude, apparentmagnitude
moonphases, retrograde, astronomers
nothing
moonphases
planetarymotion
confusing, nauseating, gaseous
eclipses, telescopes, mooonphases
telescopes
moonphases, Kirchofflaws, spectra
telescopes
moonphases, spectra, telescopes
astronomers, heliocentrism, geocentrism
absences, information, complex
Copernicus, Ptolemy, astronomers
frustrating, flustering, fuzzyonthebrain
electromagnetispectrum, telescopes, refractors, reflectors
planetarymotion
axis, turbulence, waxing
sun, stars, planetarymotion
emission, absorption
telescopes, planetarymotion, scientists
Keplerslaws
retrograde, prograde, astronomers
prograde, retrograde, starwheels
nothing
starwheels, geocentrism, heliocentrism, quantummechanics
stars
moonphases, starwheels, light
everything
nothing
moonphases, UV
planetarymotion
astronomers, history
prograde, retrograde, planetarymotion
waxing, waning, tilt
blackholes, eclipses, stars
retrograde, telescopes, planetarymotion
prograde, retrograde, starwheels
magnifyingpower, resolvingpower, lightgatheringpower
boring, stupid, dumb
everything
odd, strange, unrealistic
electromagneticspectrum, stellarstructure, fusion
absolutemagnitude, photosphere, continuousspectra, moonphases
cycles, aliens, electrons
moonphases, spectra
astronomers, history
fustrated, angry, pissed
astronomers, eclipses, telescopes
retrograde, prograde
astronomers, moonphases
telescopes, electromagneticspectrum
eclipses, astronomers, telescopes
eclipses, starwheels, telescopes
astronomers, Tycho, Kepler
bread, stars, annoyed
telescopes, moonphases, eclipses
eclipses, geocentrism, planetarymotion
spectra, retrograde
everything
Copernicus, planets
moonphases
astronomers
distances, starwheels, calculations
astronomers
sun, astronomers
moonphases, light, planetarymotions
Describe your most confusing subject, and briefly explain why this subject confused you. (Graded for completion.)
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"lunar and solar eclise dont know what kind of eclipse it is showing"
"Telescopes, I chose this because it was the one day i missed and i never read the chapter :("
"Many different names for solar system models."
"I get confused by ecllispes and how to tell where the earth is in relation to the moon to make certain partial and total lunar adn solar ecllipses"
"The most confusing subject was the astronomers. I always get them mixed up!"
"moon cycles- could not fully get what the moons looked like in their different stages and t times of the night."
"i got confused about the resolving power and light gathering power."
"all of it"
"Right now, its trying to wrap my head around the H-R graph because there are so many different angles to consider...its tricky!"
"Learning about light spectrums was really confusing. It was hard remembering what spectrum fit into which catagory."
"the readings were too dry"
"I am having a difficult time understanding how to know when and where a star will be somewhere in the sky according to the 4 week cycle... I need clarification, and then to practice this."
"they r all also =ly confusing"
"Which kind of telescope will be better and cheaper and where to put it? are confusing questions."
"The moon phases!!!!! I memorized the times and shades of the moon phases but still continue to freeze and choke when it gets to that section of any test. I want to almost think of them working backwards to the way they actually work."
"I think the 10 parsec is the most confusing subject to me so far. I get the concept, but not the 'which planet is closer if you move them 10 parsec away'."
"determining position of earth, sun, and inner planets as seen from looking above because it was hard to visualize and i needed more practice"
"remembering all the astronomers"
"The moon phases because figuring out the rising and setting times just took me a while to grasp."
"The diagram confused me and I had to try and wrap my brain around it, but eventually I noticed things and they were clarified."
"Moon phases by far, I still have trouble understanding how each phase occurs."
"Placement of planets and why they don't appear in the night at certain times."
"I don't understand how you can tell what a moon will look like if it rises on (x) day at (y) time. It just doesn't make sense. I understand it when we're learning about it in class, and then once we leave it runs away. :("
"a lot of stuff is confusing.."
"If the focal length is the length of the tube, twice the length or 3 times the length."
"telescopes questions were hard for me to figure like 'which would be the best situation' i didn't think the book went into much detail"
"The telescope section because i didn't understood even after i read the chapter."
"Moon phases, just never understood how it works"
"telescopes, it was hard to get the powers down to match the right aspects of the telescope"
"The telescope powers is the subject I found most confusing because there was so much overlap in what affected them. The diameter was related to the area but affected different powers. The focal length of the tube is related to the diameter of the eyepiece but also affected different powers. It was confusing in answering the multiple choice questions because of the overlap."
"trying to learn about the astronomers because there isn't much logic to it just memorizing"
"Probably telescopes and their construction. i was absent that day and never fully got caught up on it (my fault)"
"the astronomers because they arent to interesting to me so its hard to study them and understand there principles"
"The most confusing subject for me was the telescopes. They were confusing because I could not get straight what part of the telescope did a certain function."
"The moon phases and times was the most confusing to me up until a few days before the final. I spent some time comparing answers from previous questions and gained an understanding of how to determine the different phases and the rise and set times on my own which I think helped me to remember it much easier. I think that it was confusing because it was really explained in the book, there were just diagrams to look at and I had missed the class where we went over it."
"knowing where the planets are in prograde and retrograde. I am really bad with direction."
"the phases of the moon, cause they all look so similar"
"Astronomy because its hard to understand a lot of the info."
"emission and absorption light is very abstract to me. I need it to be more tangible. naaa mean??"
"scientists because it is so confusing to keep them all straight especially the ones who had invalid illogical theories."
"wait i dont get it. in general? i guess math"
"retrograde confused me when I had to apply it to problems."
"Spectrum's because the heat factor confused me."
"See #8. [I'm having a hard time thinking of confusing subjects.]"
"The most confusing subject would have to be math, because math is not very interesting to me and it doesn't really relate to my major."
"The makeup of stars (most likely since I wasn't there...)"
"The moon phases especially the difference between the first and third phases, my book was one of ones with a typo."
"I felt like the first few classes everything was explained and I could follow along. Then the classes started to give to much information and it was hard to keep up"
"The historical aspects of five key astronmers. I believe the relationship of the interaction ideas and the their discoveries is more complex than presented by the book."
"Moon Phases, for some reason I just did not understand them."
"Planet location in the sky because it wasn't reviewed enough in class"
"I was confused about telescopes because i was not at class the night you lectured on them."
"It's hard to remember what each of the different astronomers did during there life time."
"The most confusing subject would have to be all subjects that concern you to think about the time and date and cardinal positions on a compass."
"both waxing and waning because i get confused on how they look in pictures."
"black holes cause you didnt say anything about it"
"timing of overhead planetary and moon alignment"
"Spectrum's because the heat factor confused me."
"Telescopes were my most confusing subject because I wasn't sure exactly how to calculate the 3 basics for it."
"the most confusing subject involves the cycle of the moon because i dont understand when the moon is highest where."
"too many to name :("
"Planetary motion, I missed the class lecture regarding the subject."
"I am having a really hard time understanding everything with the wavelengths. I don't really understand the difference between all of them."
"All stars are absorption spectrum, but the photosphere is continuous, seems kind of weird to me.
math because i dont like math"
"probably different types of light spectrums, i get confused on why some are emission"
"My most confusing subject was the functions of telescopes"
"pizza, twinkies, those are my favorite snack"
"Just remembering all the astronomers and what they did was the most time consuming subject."
"On the mid-term the first question regarding the star wheel. i couldnt find anytime that corresponded with the question being asked. i ended up guessing on it and felt like it was going to be a esay 4 pts"
"the moon phases, i still dont get it. there just to confusing"
"i don't quite understand telescope and the lens"
"astronomer because there was a lot of material to remember"
"english, i don't understand why its so hard for my teacher to give me a good grade on my papers"
"On the early astronomers, who proposed the idea of heliocentrism vs. who proved it and how. I think i missed those two questions on the midterm."
"astronomy because it is"
"The most confusing subject for me was the phases of the moon. I was confused mostly over the rising and setting times of the moon depending on the current phase in its orbit around Earth. I feel like we should have spent more time covering the moon and its phases."
"The model of the different types of eclipse were difficult because I missed that lesson and had trouble understanding the two different types."
"so far this class has not been very confusing to me maybe its because i watched carl sagan's 'cosmos' series like 50 times"
"The telescope...stuff, was the most confusing to me."
"planetary motion"
"help me more with the phases"
"thea astronomers, because i didnt read the section and i dont care who discoered epicycles"
"The calculations are tough, because I'm not the best at math and we don't go over it too often."
"the astronomers, because i kept getting them confused"
"i'm just smart so i know all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"The lunar phases, It was hard to remember which order the different phases went in and when they rise or set."
No comments:
Post a Comment