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 eclipses, and an preliminary overview of the history of astronomy.
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.
"How people from back in ancient time knew about the stars and sky, from just watching the sky. I would have never known all this things on my own."
"In Aristotle's time, people used the first principle reasoning, rather than the scientific method. In our time, every argument made has to be supported by evidence, rather than by faith."
"How past astronomers came up with theories, and how they went about testing those theories, contributing to the study of astronomy today."
How you can tell whether a full moon is going to be eclipsed by looking at the top and bottom edges of it. Now every time there is a full moon I'll be sure to look for it. And I can't wait to learn more about the 'shadow zones' that will be quite interesting."
"It was interesting to read about early astronomers and how they thought that Earth was the center of the universe. I personally found this interesting because if I was an early astronomer I would have thought the same thing."
"I find the lunar eclipse interesting. It is amazing that something that looks so 'clear' can turn a copper red color when we see it. Also, that the sun that is something so far away can reflect off of another object and then actually light up Earth at night."
"I thought your method of categorization of these historically significant astronomers was a clever device to remember their contributions."
"I found it interesting to know that a lunar eclipse is red. I've never seen one before so I had no idea Earth cast a red shadow from the light of the sun passing through the atmosphere."
Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.
"That objects in Earth's orbit are forever falling at high speeds, but are always just missing Earth."
"I'm 80% there on the lunar, solar, partial, total, annular terms. But I'm pretty sure I'll get it if/when you explain it in class, and when we call out the names as a class."
"The explanation of why we don't have solar/lunar eclipses every new/full moon. I will probably go back and read about it again to get a better understanding."
"Can you please explain the phases of the moon in regards to eclipses? Thanks."
"I'm still a little hazy on what an annular eclipse is."
"Why is Aristotle still being looked at if most of his work has been disproven? Wouldn't it be more helpful to look at more current astronomers?"
Match the phase of the moon during these eclipse types. (Only correct responses shown.)
Total solar eclipse: new moon [77%]
Partial solar eclipse: new moon [77%]
Annular solar eclipse: new moon [81%]
Total lunar eclipse: full moon [92%]
Partial lunar eclipse: full moon [81%]
Place these astronomers in chronological order of their historical contribution to astronomy. (Only correct responses shown.)
Aristotle [89%]
Ptolemy [81%]
Copernicus [85%]
Tycho [81%]
Kepler [73%]
Galileo [69%]
Newton [81%]
Match these terms with their descriptions. (Only correct responses shown.)
Ideas accepted as truth without further examination: first principles [85%]
Predictions that could be tested by observations: hypotheses [84%]
Universal statements of cause and effect: rational laws [92%]
Describe phenomena without explaining why it occurs: empirical laws [80%]
Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"I'm really enjoying having so much of the class done online. It's comfortable do this all on my own time and in my own space."
"It's interesting that the moon is roughly the same apparent size as the sun, as viewed from Earth. Also interesting to imagine thousands of years ago when the moon was apparently larger and there were no annular eclipses; every time the moon passed in front of the sun it would have been blocked out entirely."
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