Astronomy in-class activity: planet-hunting

Astronomy 210 In-class activity 6 v.14.08.27, fall semester 2014
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students find their assigned groups of three to four students, and work cooperatively on an in-class activity worksheet to determine where in the sky each naked-eye planet will be observed on a given date (here, September 3, 2014).



Previous posts:

• Astronomy in-class activity: planet-hunting
  spring semester 2014 (February 6, 2014).
• Astronomy in-class activity: planet-hunting
  fall semester 2013 (September 5, 2013).
• Astronomy in-class activity: planet-hunting
  spring semester 2013 (February 6, 2013).
• Astronomy in-class activity: planet-hunting
  fall semester 2012 (September 6, 2012).
• Astronomy in-class activity: planet-hunting
  spring semester 2012 (February 2, 2012).
Astronomy in-class activity: planet-hunting
fall semester 2011 (September 1, 2011).
• Astronomy in-class activity: planet-hunting
  spring semester 2011 (February 2, 2011).
• Astronomy in-class activity: planet-hunting
  fall semester 2010 (September 2, 2010).
• Astronomy in-class activity: planet-hunting
  spring semester 2010 (February 4, 2010).

Online reading assignment: flipped classroom, motions and cycles (SLO campus)

Astronomy 210, spring semester 2014
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 Earth's rotation/precession/revolution/tilt, the moon's motions and cycles, and watching two video presentations on the flipped class: "What Is the Flipped Class?" and "How the Flipped Classroom Works."

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.

"I never realized that the moon waxed from right to left. I don't know why that had never occured to me before, but I always thought it went the other way!"

"How the north star is always changing. It's interesting because I've always been told that Polaris is the north star. Technically, it is for our lifetime."

Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.

"I think I found visualizing how everything rotates and revolves around each other and there different positions to be kind of hard. I would love to see some kind of visualization or video that could tie in everything. Thinking of a celestial sphere, but also we are rotating and revolving and precession and those take different times and speeds gets kind of jumbled in my head."

"The waxing, waning, crescent and gibbous moon phases are confusing. The definitions totally make sense and I understand them, but when it came to looking at pictures and trying to figure out which one was each picture, it became confusing to distinguish which moon was which. I could use some review in class on the different moons and what they look like and how to distinguish them from each other if there is time."

What date would Virgo be just above the east horizon, as seen by an observer at 11 PM in San Luis Obispo, CA? (Ignore daylight saving time.)

February 20.	**************** [16]
April 25.	* [1]
July 4.	[0]
August 20.	***** [5]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	*** [3]

Match these cycles with their approximate duration.
(Only correct responses shown.)

Earth's rotation: 24 hours [96%]
Earth's revolution: one year [88%]
Earth's precession: 26,000 years [92%]
The moon's revolution: one month [84%]

Place these moon phases in chronological order in their cycle (starting with new moon).
(Only correct responses shown, in unscrambled order.)

New moon: first [92%]
Waxing crescent: second [64%]
First quarter: third [68%]
Waxing gibbous: fourth [60%]
Full moon: fifth [88%]
Waning gibbous: sixth [64%]
Third quarter: seventh [64%]
Waning crescent: eighth [60%]

Explain what is different about homework in a flipped class.

"The about homework in a flipped class is that you get a feel for what is going to be talked about in class ahead of time and you can get help from a teacher and class mates instead of sitting through a lecture and trying to apply the knowledge all by yourself."

"It seems that the homework is effectively preparing for the next class's activities rather than just stuffing your brain with information simply to do it again in class. I think that this class program would be good for some types of classes and poor for others (math, for example)."

Describe where/when most student learning occurs in a flipped class.

"Most of the learning happens before class and is expressed during class with helpful guidance."

"In a flipped class, most student learning is happening during class. This is the time where students are participating in activities, interacting with each other, and asking questions."

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.

"I'm really looking forward to this class and all that I can learn! I really enjoy the way the homework is set up as well. When will we receive grades for homework, quizzes and exams? A week after they are due or when you can get to grading them?" (After each quiz, all the points leading up to it will be posted online.)

"I sort of really enjoy the flipped class idea. Makes me feel like I'm coming into class with some more knowledge than I would otherwise."

"I'd like to know what you, the expert thinks of astrology. Do you believe that it holds any weight in your future?" (Let me consult the Magic 8 Ball^TM to answer that.)

"Do you have pets?" (A Miniature Schnauzer, a Pixiebob cat, and a Bengal cat with her own Facebook page.)

Online reading assignment: motion

Physics 205A, fall semester 2014
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 the reading textbook chapters and previewing a flipped class presentation on (constant acceleration) motion.


Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe what you understand from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically demonstrate your level of understanding.

"Velocity is related to displacement, and acceleration indicates a change in velocity. Acceleration does not just mean 'speeding up.' It really means a change in velocity, which can be speeding up or slowing down in any direction."

"What velocity, displacement and magnitude are. I also understand how to calculate all of these terms."

"The section about velocity and instantaneous velocity. Being that I came straight out of calculus its pretty similar to the derivatives we did."

"Average velocity and instantaneous velocity are different. Also average speed and average velocity are different."

Describe what you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically identify the concept(s) that you do not understand.

"Each of the graphs for acceleration, position, and velocity."

"The calculus graphs, areas under the curves, chords, and tangent lines. Basically, I find it hard to look at a graph and understand what exactly it represents."

"The textbook was very confusing when presenting graphical examples and explaining what the terms represented on the graphs. I also don't fully understand when and how to manipulate some of the formulas for constant acceleration."

Mark the level of your expertise in algebraically solving multiple equations for multiple unknowns.

None at all.	** [2]
Slight.	***** [5]
Some.	******************** [20]
A fair amount.	********************* [21]
A lot.	**************** [16]

Mark the level of your exposure to (basic calculus) concepts of derivatives/integrals.

None at all.	***************** [17]
Slight.	************** [14]
Some.	*********** [11]
A fair amount.	******** [8]
A lot.	************** [14]

Briefly describe the difference(s) between a chord slope and a tangent slope on a graph.

"A chord slope is the slope of the line connecting two points. Tangent slope is that line at an instantaneous point."

"Chord slopes are used to find average velocity or average acceleration. Tangent slopes are used to find instantaneous velocity or instantaneous acceleration."

"I am not sure what the difference is between these two slopes, and I could really use a good explanation in the next class."

The __________ gives the displacement of an object.

chord slope of an x(t) graph.	******* [7]
tangent slope of an x(t) graph.	** [2]
chord slope of a vx(t) graph.	** [2]
tangent slope of a vx(t) graph.	** [2]
area under a vx(t) graph.	********************************* [33]
area under an ax(t) graph.	* [1]
(None of the above choices.)	** [2]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	*************** [15]

The chord slope of a v_x(t) graph gives the __________ of an object.

displacement.	** [2]
position.	[0]
change in (instantaneous) velocity.	[0]
(instantaneous) velocity.	***** [5]
average velocity.	******************************* [31]
(instantaneous) acceleration	** [2]
average acceleration.	************* [13]
(None of the above choices.)	[0]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	*********** [11]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.

"Maybe we could review a little bit more on how to read a position, velocity and acceleration graph during class."

"Can you go over notation and graphs from this section?"

"Can we do examples in class using each of the five formulas for constant acceleration so we can take notes on when the appropriate times to use each is?"
(Sure, as time allows.)

"When will the problems given as homework be due?" (They're assigned, but not collected. You are expected to keep up at your own pace, and the online homework reports are meant to track your progress (or lack thereof).)

"Please clarify what you mean by chord and tangent slopes, and if we need to know what these are. Also any equations we need to memorize for the tests." (You do need to know the difference between chord and tangent slopes. You do not need to memorize the constant acceleration motion equations, as they'll be provided to you on the quiz and midterm.)

"Every time I see this box I don't know what to write in it." (You just did.)

Online reading assignment: flipped classroom, motions and cycles (NC campus)

Astronomy 210, fall semester 2014
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 Earth's rotation/precession/revolution/tilt, the moon's motions and cycles, and watching two video presentations on the flipped class: "What Is the Flipped Class?" and "How the Flipped Classroom Works."


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.

"I found Earth's precession interesting because not only is the Earth spinning on an axis, but the axis is wobbling as it spins."

"I am interested in learning about tilt because I've always wondered what the significance of the solstices and equinoxes is, and why they occur when they do."

"I found it interesting that month is like moon (moonth) and that it takes a month for the moon to go through its cycles. I think its cool that they are kind of named after each other."

Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.

"I've never quite understood the orbit of the moon around Earth. I've had people tell me that there is no real pattern for it to follow, but i knew better than that, but I've never been able to figure out what that pattern was."

"How the zodiac signs worked kinda confused me."

"The different phases of the moon confuse me because I've never really paid attention to them. It will take some practice for me to memorize what they look like."

"I did not really understand the zodiac signs. I wasn't able to visualize in the way that I could visualize the other concepts in the section. The change in months and the different alignments of the constellations was just a little more overwhelming than it was clear."

What date would Virgo be just above the east horizon, as seen by an observer at 11 PM in San Luis Obispo, CA? (Ignore daylight saving time.)

February 20.	********************* [21]
April 25.	[0]
July 4.	* [1]
August 20.	*** [3]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	**** [4]

Match these cycles with their approximate duration.
(Only correct responses shown.)

Earth's rotation: 24 hours [100%]
Earth's revolution: one year [93%]
Earth's precession: 26,000 years [97%]
The moon's revolution: one month [89%]

Place these moon phases in chronological order in their cycle (starting with new moon).
(Only correct responses shown, in unscrambled order.)

New moon: first [93%]
Waxing crescent: second [76%]
First quarter: third [83%]
Waxing gibbous: fourth [72%]
Full moon: fifth [83%]
Waning gibbous: sixth [76%]
Third quarter: seventh [79%]
Waning crescent: eighth [72%]

Explain what is different about homework in a flipped class.

"Part of the homework is going over what we will be learning in the next class but viewing presentation slides and videos rather than just looking through the textbook. And the majority of the homework is online rather than writing it out and turning it in."

"Honestly, a 'flipped class' is how many of my classes have been functioning at Cuesta so far and thus it doesn't feel terribly different. Nevertheless, the idea is that homework, unlike lecturing, actually requires a decent amount of critical thinking and thus, often, teacher-student interaction. Therefore, it is best that it takes place with the teacher and student in the same room--and thus the flip is that 'lecture' material the students get themselves, while class time is devoted to work and review."

Describe where/when most student learning occurs in a flipped class.

"The most learning occurs when the student is engaged with other students and the teacher in class."

"In a flipped class, most learning occurs outside of the classroom, where students can review the material beforehand. They will then fortify their knowledge by asking for the help they actually need from the teacher."

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.

"Is there a double moon on August 27, when Mars will appear as big as the moon?" (Bogus. Bogosity. Total bogosity.)

"How important is it to read the textbook if you read and understand the presentation previews? Will there ever be a case that we go over the lecture notes all class if nobody understands it very well? Or should we always expect to work in groups and just use your office hours if we have a bunch of questions?" (It depends on the subject; right now it's more important to understand the visual information in the presentations than read about them in the textbook--other subjects require more textbook reading, while the presentations are just brief outlines. If a lot of people have problems with the textbook reading and/or notes, I'm prepared to allocate time in class to clarify stuff for you.)

"I really like the idea of the flipped classroom and I'm glad to see more and more teachers/professors using it!"

Online reading assignment: speed and velocity

Physics 205A, fall semester 2014
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 the reading textbook chapters and previewing a presentation on displacement, distance traveled, and average/instantaneous speed/velocity.

Selected/edited responses are given below.

Describe what you understand from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically demonstrate your level of understanding.

"Displacement only applies to starting and ending positions. The average speed is always positive, distance traveled over time."

"Average speed is usually larger than the magnitude for average velocity."

Describe what you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview. Your description (2-3 sentences) should specifically identify the concept(s) that you do not understand.

"I don't fully understand how short the displacement must be for instantaneous velocity."

"It seems odd that displacement can be positive or negative."

"Average speed versus average velocity."

Briefly describe how you would walk along a straight, level road such that your distance traveled would be longer than your displacement.

"By walking in the opposite direction of where you plan on going, and then walking towards your destination, you will have walked further than your displacement."

In general, average speed will be __________ the magnitude of average velocity.

less than.	********* [9]
equal.	************* [13]
greater.	******************** [20]
(More than one of the above choices.)	****** [6]
(None of the above choices.)	****** [6]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	****** [6]

An odometer measures an object's:

displacement.	* [1]
distance traveled.	******************************************************** [56]
(instantaneous) velocity.	** [2]
(instantaneous) speed.	[0]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	* [1]

A speedometer measures an object's:

displacement.	[0]
distance traveled.	*** [3]
(instantaneous) velocity.	********** [10]
(instantaneous) speed.	*********************************************** [47]
(Unsure/guessing/lost/help!)	[0]

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.

"Go over, maybe with an example or graph, average speed versus average velocity."

"What is the difference between displacement and distance traveled?"

"Can you go over more stuff in class rather than give us problems to do?"

"If an object starts at a location then ends up back at the starting location afterwards, wouldn't that make the displacement zero?" (Yes.)

"I am feeling overwhelmed by the material in the class already. Where can I go to get help outside of class?" (According to the Student Success Center calendar, physics tutoring is scheduled Monday-Wednesday 2:00-6:00 PM in building 3300.)

Flashcard question: texting/social networking in class (fall semester 2014)

Astronomy 210, Physics 205A, fall semester 2014
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

"I Forgot My Phone"
Charlene deGuzman and Miles Crawford
http://youtu.be/OINa46HeWg8

After showing a short movie depicting the pervasiveness of smartphone use at the start of the semester, students in general physics and introductory astronomy classes at Cuesta College were asked a subjective question regarding their attitudes towards texting and social networking smartphone use in class. This is part of a think-pair-share activity using flashcards to answer syllabus quiz questions.

Texting/social networking is acceptable behavior in class.
(A) Strongly disagree.
(B) Disagree.
(C) Neutral.
(D) Agree.
(E) Strongly agree.

"140820-1256"
Selfie taken to record the results of smartphone use policy.
Photo © by Cuesta College Physical Sciences Division instructor Dr. Patrick M. Len

Student responses
Phyics 205A
Sections 70854, 70855, 73320
(A) : 8 students
(B) : 14 students
(C) : 27 students
(D) : 3 students
(E) : 0 students

Astronomy 210
Section 70160 (NC campus)
(A) : 0 students
(B) : 0 students
(C) : 24 students
(D) : 9 students
(E) : 2 students

Astronomy 210
Section 70158 (SLO campus)
(A) : 1 students
(B) : 4 students
(C) : 21 students
(D) : 14 students
(E) : 0 students

Students were asked to share their responses during the following whole-class discussion, citing examples of legitimate (family obligations, work-related messages, class-related research), as well as disruptive use (ringtones, games, blatant frivolous apps) of smartphones during class. Of note is that the introductory astronomy students are more accepting of smartphones in class than the general physics students.

These responses and student opinions were then used to set the policy, via consensus, regarding texting and social networking during class time.

Previous posts:

Flashcard question: texting/social networking in class (spring semester 2014).

Flashcard question: texting/social networking in class (fall semester 2013).

Flashcard question: texting/social networking in class (fall semester 2011).

FCI pre-test comparison: Cuesta College versus UC-Davis (fall semester 2014)

Students at both Cuesta College (San Luis Obispo, CA) and the University of California at Davis were administered the 30-question Force Concept Inventory (Doug Hestenes, et al.) during the first week of instruction.

	Cuesta College Physics 205A Fall semester 2014	UC-Davis Physics 7B Summer session II 2002
N	73 students*	76 students*
low	2	2
mean	10.1 +/- 5.4	9.1 +/- 4.3
high	29	27

*Excludes students with negative informed consent forms (*.pdf)

Student's t-test of the null hypothesis results in p = 0.18 (t = 1.33, sdev = 4.84, degrees of freedom = 147), thus there is no significant difference between Cuesta College and UC-Davis FCI pre-test scores.

Later this semester (fall 2014), a comparison will be made between Cuesta College and UC-Davis FCI post-tests, along with their pre- to post-test gains.

D. Hestenes, M. Wells, and G. Swackhamer, Arizona State University, "Force Concept Inventory," Phys. Teach. 30, 141-158 (1992).
Development of the FCI, a 30-question survey of basic Newtonian mechanics concepts.

Previous FCI results:

• Cuesta College versus UC-Davis, fall semester 2013 pre-tests and post-tests.
  
• Cuesta College versus UC-Davis, fall semester 2012 pre-tests and post-tests.
  
• Cuesta College versus UC-Davis, fall semester 2011 pre-tests and post-tests.
  
• Cuesta College versus UC-Davis, fall semester 2009 pre-tests and post-tests.
  
• Cuesta College versus UC-Davis, spring semester 2009 pre-tests and post-tests.
  
• Cuesta College versus UC-Davis, fall semester 2008 pre-tests and post-tests.
• Cuesta College versus UC-Davis, spring semester 2008 pre-tests and post-tests.
• Cuesta College versus UC-Davis, fall semester 2007 pre-tests and post-tests.

Physics quiz question: acceleration from velocity graph

Physics 205A Quiz 2, fall semester 2012
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

The v_x(t) graph of an object traveling in a straight line is shown at right. The object starts at x = 0 at t = 0. At t = 6 s, the acceleration is:
(A) −2 m/s².
(B) −1 m/s².
(C) 0 m/s².
(D) +1 m/s².
(E) +2 m/s².

Correct answer (highlight to unhide): (B)

The (instantaneous) acceleration at t = 6 s is the tangent slope of the v_x(t) graph at that instant in time. Since the slope of the v_x(t) graph is unchanged from t = 4 s to 9 s, then the average acceleration (given the chord slope) for that time interval will be identical to the instantaneous acceleration for any instant of time in that interval.

The average acceleration (which will be equal to the instantaneous acceleration) is then given by:

a_av,x = chord slope = ∆v_x/∆t = (−5 m/s)/(+5 s) = −1 m/s².

Sections 70854, 70855
Exam code: quiz02Bo74
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 38 students
(C) : 4 students
(D) : 2 students
(E) : 12 students

Success level: 66%
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.46

Online reading assignment: syllabus quiz, flipped classroom

Physics 205A, fall semester 2014
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students have a bi-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 on unit conversions and dimensional analysis, reading through the course syllabus, and watching two video presentations on the flipped class: "What Is the Flipped Class?" and "How the Flipped Classroom Works."



Selected/edited responses are given below.

Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.

"I have never seen units with negative exponents. Is m^-1 the same as 1/m?" (Yup.)

"Why are there asterisks next to some of the questions on this survey?" (Those are the mandatory questions that must be answered (such as your name) in order to submit your assignment.)

"If we are doing the flipped class style of learning how will we be receiving 'lecture' material? Will it be, as the videos describe, online with video lectures?" (All slides for each lecture will be posted online--not as videos--but with the full narration text that would be included in a video.)

"Are we going to need to be able to memorize all the different conversions before our first test or are we allowed a conversion sheet? Are we supposed to memorize the metric prefixes?" (No--all conversion factors will be given to you; and yes, you do need to memorize all metric prefixes from Giga- (10⁹) to nano- (10^-9).)

"So what's the difference between the physics class at UC-Davis and the one you are teaching here at Cuesta? Are we getting the same education as the students at UC-Davis?" (Yes.)

"I chose to go to UC-Davis after graduating high school and was really excited until I had my first chemistry class with 500 other students. I left after two quarters and have had some of my favorite classes/teachers at community colleges." (Word.)

"Seriously, why do we use this textbook? I feel like it sucks (readability, organization), and there are a ton of physics textbooks out there." (Actually, all physics textbooks suck. Well, maybe some more than others.)

"I think you should have actually rapped Iggie's line about the lesson in physics in the song 'Fancy,' in front of the whole class.

"I probably won't call you P-dog, but I'll try my best." (Try harder.)