I'm thinking of taking this course as one of my electives in second year, but I was wondering, is there any physics involved, such as calculations or concepts from 1B03 or 1BB3? Physics is definitely not my strongest subject and I'm trying to avoid anything to do with it. But the course description for ASTRON 2B03 seems pretty cool

It used to be Science 2B03 and from the looks of the course outline for 2010 it doesnt look like it needs any physics...
http://www.physics.mcmaster. ca/?pa...line_2010.html
...maybe some planetary stuff but we didnt do any of that in B03 anyways so im guessing theyre gonna teach it to you fresh if they include any planetary motion physics

This class has ZERO mathematics you are responsible for. I took it last year. There is (simple) math on some of the slides, but Dr. Parker also would put pictures of teddy bears on the same slides and direct your attention to them if the math got too scary.

What do you do in tutorials? Would it be a good idea to have a tutorial right before lecture?

Every week of class, a certian question is put forward, for instance:

-Should the government continue to fund space missions

Or sometimes, more "fun" topics with room for more creativity, like

-What problems (scientific or philosophical) are there with the concept of an infinite universe?

Essentially, the tutorial is a place to discuss the topic at hand. You're broken into groups of ~5, where you discuss the topic amongst your group and present your ideas to the class. Very easy stuff. There is also 1 presentation you do, and the topic list is HUUUUGE.

The tutorials are MANDATORY, so show up to them. They are definitely not hard though.

So do tutorial concepts relate to the lecture concepts we would be discussing at that time? Or is just random topics?

For example, in Psych 1XX3, I wouldn't want my tutorials to be at the beginning of the week because that would mean I would have to watch the lectures really early so I could participate

For the most part, the tutorials are pretty self contained. To be honest, I skipped a lot of class but never had any problems for the tutorials I showed up to. If you know anything about physics, or if you are interested in astronomy, this is a *very* easy course.

So long as you show up to the tutorials, stay engaged with the course material, and write your journals *ON TIME*, you will get a 12.

Originally Posted by Freak705

For the most part, the tutorials are pretty self contained. To be honest, I skipped a lot of class but never had any problems for the tutorials I showed up to. If you know anything about physics, or if you are interested in astronomy, this is a *very* easy course.

So long as you show up to the tutorials, stay engaged with the course material, and write your journals *ON TIME*, you will get a 12.

I hate physics. Will that be a problem?

the only downside about this course is that the majority of the tutorial marks are subjective...try choosing a course where it isnt so subjective

Originally Posted by Awesomeness

the only downside about this course is that the majority of the tutorial marks are subjective...try choosing a course where it isnt so subjective

How is it subjective?

the journals, the presentation, your participation, your poster....when I took it, the prof realized that this was/is a bird course and so everyone did really bad in tutorials (avg. was a high 60) my TA told us that he had set avg. he had to meet for each component of the tutorial....i worked really hard on my poster and only got a 76% but the tests are easy, so that compensates.

Originally Posted by Awesomeness

the journals, the presentation, your participation, your poster....when I took it, the prof realized that this was/is a bird course and so everyone did really bad in tutorials (avg. was a high 60) my TA told us that he had set avg. he had to meet for each component of the tutorial....i worked really hard on my poster and only got a 76% but the tests are easy, so that compensates.

So is it hard to get a 12 then?

as with every course you will have to put the effort into it...im sure there are other electives where you dont have much "busy" work though