Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit you must achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%.

Late submission of written assessments:

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of '0' will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience technical issues.

For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, portfolios/assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration, and notify the unit convenor to let them know a Special Consideration application has been lodged. 

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted

In this unit, late submissions of Portfolios will be accepted, with the Standard Late Penalty applied.

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through https://connect.mq.edu.au.

Portfolios

Assessment Type ¹: Portfolio Indicative Time on Task ²: 22.5 hours each (45 hours in total) Due: Weeks 8 and 13 Weighting: 25% each (50% in total)

There will be two portfolios through the semester: one for the first half of the course, focused on galaxies; and one for the second half, focused on cosmology. The portfolios will be a combination of written questions and python computer labs; the portfolio questions and python labs will be based on the lecture material, and are designed to deepen students’ understanding of the course content and to help develop problem-solving skills. Each portfolio will be equally weighted. Feedback on submitted work will be provided to each student.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of quantitative and qualitative galaxy morphology from a variety of observational evidence, and relate this to theories of galaxy formation and evolution.
• Demonstrate knowledge of current galaxy formation and evolutionary theories, and the techniques used to simulate these.
• Explain the principal properties of stellar populations, including their evolution with time and metallicity, and how their properties are modelled.
• Calculate the dynamical properties of stellar systems based on analytic gravitational potentials, and use these to make inferences about galaxies.
• Explain the basic qualitative principles of, and observational evidence for, current cosmological models.
• Apply metrics in the context of cosmological models, and understand how observations constrain different components of these models.

Final Exam

Assessment Type ¹: Examination Indicative Time on Task ²: 30 hours Due: Exam Period Weighting: 50%

A final exam held during the University exam period will be used to assess skills and knowledge developed over the entire unit.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of quantitative and qualitative galaxy morphology from a variety of observational evidence, and relate this to theories of galaxy formation and evolution.
• Demonstrate knowledge of current galaxy formation and evolutionary theories, and the techniques used to simulate these.
• Explain the principal properties of stellar populations, including their evolution with time and metallicity, and how their properties are modelled.
• Calculate the dynamical properties of stellar systems based on analytic gravitational potentials, and use these to make inferences about galaxies.
• Explain the basic qualitative principles of, and observational evidence for, current cosmological models.
• Apply metrics in the context of cosmological models, and understand how observations constrain different components of these models.

¹ If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

• the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
• the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

² Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Lectures, Labs and SGTAs will be held in-person, on-campus.

Lectures and SGTAs begin in Week 1, while Labs will begin in Week 2.

Announcements regarding the unit will be made via the ASTR3020 iLearn Announcements Forum, which you will also receive as e-mails. You are expected to check your student e-mails regularly for any updates or additional information about the unit.

Questions of a general nature dealing with the unit -- for example about lectures, SGTAs, labs, assignments, etc. -- can be posted in the iLearn General Discussion Forum. If you have questions relating to your own personal circumstances, please e-mail the lecturers directly:

Daniel Zucker: daniel.zucker@mq.edu.au

Ángel López Sánchez: angel.lopez-sanchez@mq.edu.au

A series of assignments and computer lab reports have been condensed and consolidated into two portfolios, one dealing with material from the first half of the unit (Galaxies), and the second dealing with material from the second half of the unit (Cosmology). In addition, the final examination is no longer a hurdle.