20130507

Online reading assignment: runaway planets, jovian planets, and dwarf planets (oh my!) (SLO campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2013
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

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.

The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on runaway planets (Venus and Mars), jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune), and dwarf planets (and the International Astronomy Union classification scheme).

Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe something you found interesting from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally interesting for you.
"It was interesting to see what classified a planet as a planet or non-planet--bring Pluto back."

"Everything."

"I found the two types of volcanoes on Venus and Mars interesting because in some ways they are similar to Earth's but then they also have very big differences than the ones on Earth."

"Reading about Venus and Mars was interesting. You always hear about these two planets, since they're the closest, but I never really knew too much about them . I didn't know the stripes on Jupiter and Saturn were clouds."

"How the mass of the planet affects greenhouse gases, I didn't know much about greenhouse gases to start."

"Venus was once very similar to the conditions of earth but being closer to the sun, its water evaporated and it became a lot warmer from a stronger greenhouse effect also adding to its dense atmosphere."

"I liked seeing the Mars video and how each frame was a sol from the actual rover cam--that's way cool."

"I found Venus interesting because I assumed that Venus was a cold planet but it's actually hot."
Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.
"Why is Pluto not a planet?"

"Why does the interior of Neptune appear to be a higher temperature then Uranus, when it is roughly the same size, composition, but farther away from the sun?"

"I don't know what information I should be specifically looking out for about each planet."

"How do they know exactly how the surface of Venus looks like when the atmosphere doesn't allow things through?"

"Nothing really stood out to be confusing most concepts seemed to be straightforward. Keeping all the planets in order and not confusing on with an other may be a challenge though."
Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"I've been overstressed and busy, I apologize that school has had to become a second on the list. But it is only temporary. You're a great teacher, I have and still think that." (Word.)

"Will the essay questions on the final be the same ones from our previous two midterms?" (No.)

"Are our three lowest quiz grades already dropped from our point values for the summary in this class?" (Out of the eight quizzes this semester, you keep your five highest scores, and drop your lowest three scores. Since you've only taken six quizzes so far, you kept your five highest scores so far, and dropped your one lowest quiz score so far.)

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