HOW TO STUDY ASTRONOMY a useful way to approach your studies

HOW TO WRITE A PAPER (TERM OR OTHERWISE)*

*(Above links Courtesy of Dr. M. Seeds)

ONLINE Resources for your Textbook

Be sure to use your STUDENT ACCESS KIT  to register online with "Mastering Astronomy"  website for the following tutorials.

LINK FOLLOWS: 

Mastering Astronomy

   When you get there be  sure to pick the BENNET... 5th edition link! and the name of the online course your instructor provided.u shout the following:

 On the left panel is the link to the "STUDY AREA" is contains the following information and links.

Self-Study Area information you will see is

You are in the self-study area. Your work here is confidential and does not report to your instructor's grade book. To complete instructor-ASSIGNMENT activities, please click on the top left button: "ASSIGNMENT List."  In the ASSIGNMENT that follow some of these are mentioned specifically. However, using these links can help significantly in your study of Astronomy so use them as often as possible. Preferably, before you do the ASSIGNMENT that are graded AS pointed out as part of the Homework Assignments that follow!

• Chapter Summaries
• Quizzes
• Tutorials
• Interactive Figures
• Glossary
• Flashcards
• Movies

To get the most out of the study area it is suggested AFTER YOU READ THE the material assigned in an assignment (SEE BELOW FOR HINTS ON DOING THIS), you do  the following by first picking the chapter you are working on, then using the above links found on Mastering Astronomy :

1. Go over the Chapter Summary (also found in the text)

2.  Find the Interactive Figures for the chapter you are working on and run them.

3. Watch the recommended movie if any in the assignment below.

4. Do the recommended Tutorials found in the assignment below

5. There are three types of quizzes in the Quizzes section do them all!

6. If you still feel week you may find the Flashcards section of the Study area very useful.

7. Now do the required Homework as listed in the assignment.

EXAMS YOU WILL  GET, WILL IN THE MOST PART, BE BASED ON THE MATERIAL ABOVE WITH SOME EXTRA MATERIAL FROM YOU INSTRUCTORS LECTURES.

GENERAL INFORMATION TO MAXIMIZE YOUR LEARNING THE HOME WORK ASSIGNMENTS: 

1. Be sure to read and study in the beginning of the text the section entitled "How to succeed in your Astronomy Course".

2. For all reading ASSIGNMENTS:

   A. Look over the "Learning Goals" at the chapters beginning to understand the objectives of the ASSIGNMENT.

 B. Each section of a chapter begins with a question: Try to understand this question to grasp the contents of what is to follow.

C. Study all Figures in a chapter. Special extra large figures(2 pages) called "COSMIC CONTEXT" are especially important since they are broad in scope and should be carefully studied.

D. You are responsible for all parts of a Chapter like the inserts within a reading ASSIGNMENT ("Special Topics", "Common Misconception", "Think About it", and especially the "Summary of Key Concepts" which reviews the key concepts of a chapter, knowing these is important for exams).

Exception to this are the "Mathematical Insight" inserts.  You are responsible to only the specifically mentioned ones in an ASSIGNMENT.  

E. Before you get to the actual questions in an assignment, to maximize your understanding of the material, follow the advice above for the self study area. At a minimum Run the Interactive Tutorials  that are listed in an assignment that are found on the "MEDIA EXPLORATION" section at the end of a chapter. These are  Tutorials on "Key Concepts" and specific topics listed   in the assignment ( SEE NOTE BELOW). Tutorials are found on the "Mastering Astronomy Website" (reached via the kit in your textbook package).  

(NOTE: ONLY do the "Supplementary Tutorial Exercises"  as specified in the outline below on the MEDIA EXPLORATION section of the chapter,  if you are having difficulty with ASSIGNMENT to get further insight into a topic).

F. It is recommended that you do the tasks ,  with the   "Voyager: SkyGazer" CD-ROM that comes with the text, outlined in the MEDIA EXPLORATION section at the end of a chapter.  You are reminded in each assignment by the code ES (Exploring the Sky) to do so.