HOW TO SUCCEED IN YOUR ASTRONOMY COURSE* 

HOW TO USE TEXTBOOK. 

1. BEGIN BY READING THE LEARNING GOALS 

2. SKIM THE CHAPTER , FOCUSING ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS 

3. READ THE CHAPTER NARRATIVE AND TAKE NOTES AS YOU READ 

4. AFTER READING THE CHAPTER, ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER. ANY QUESTION THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW, GO BACK AND REREAD THAT PORTION OF THE CHAPTER. 

5. STUDY THE CHAPTER'S SUMMARY OF KEY CONCEPTS. 

6. LOG ONTO www.MasteringAstronomy.com TO GO THROUGH THE TUTORIALS OR TAKE THE BASIC QUIZZES FOR PRACTICE.  FOR EXTRA CREDIT, BE SURE TO SUBMIT ANSWERS FOR GRADING.

 

THE KEY TO SUCCESS: STUDY TIME 

1. RULE OF THUMB...A STUDENT NEEDS TO STUDY ABOUT 2-3 HOURS PER WEEK FOR EACH UNIT OF CREDIT. FOR THIS COURSE, A THREE UNIT CLASS, YOU NEED TO STUDY ABOUT 6-9 HOURS PER WEEK.  

 

GENERAL STRATEGIES FOR STUDYING  

1. DO NOT MISS CLASS! LISTENING TO LECTURES IS MUCH BETTER THAN TRYING TO READ SOMEONE'S NOTES. 

2. TAKE NOTES AS YOU READ THE CHAPTERS. THIS IS MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE THAN HIGH-LIGHTING OR UNDERLINING. 

3. TAKE  NOTES IN CLASS AS YOUR INSTRUCTOR GOES THROUGH THE CONCEPTS. 

4. WORK WITH FRIENDS IN THE CLASS. BE SURE THAT YOU LEARN WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND DO NOT BECOME DEPENDENT ON THEM. 

5. BUDGET YOUR TIME EFFECTIVELY FOR STUDYING. 

6. TURN IN YOUR HOMEWORK ON THE DAY DUE. WRITE YOUR ANSWERS LEGIBLY IN THE SPACES PROVIDED. 

7.  STUDY TUTORIALS IN MASTERINGASTRONOMY.COM

 

PREPARING FOR EXAMS 

1. STUDY YOUR CLASS NOTES, HOMEWORK, QUIZZES AND TUTORIALS ON WEB SITE.

2. REREAD THOSE PORTIONS OF EACH CHAPTER THAT ARE DIFFICULT FOR YOU. 

3. STUDY INDIVIDUALLY BEFORE JOINING A STUDY GROUP. 

4. GET PLENTY OF REST THE NIGHT BEFORE THE EXAM. 

*TAKEN FROM TEXTBOOK...STARS, GALAXIES & COSMOLOGY BY BENNETT, DONAHUE, SCHNEIDER AND VOIT.