Astronomy 102:
Solar System Astronomy

Fall Semester 2009

Hints for using Mastering Astronomy

This class uses Mastering Astronomy as its homework management system. This system is well regarded by other professors, although it is known to be a bit troublesome to get set up, so here are a couple of hints to help you get started.

Getting Your Account Set up with Mastering Astronomy

• Make sure you have a compatible browser and that Javascript and Cookies in that browser are set up right [This should not be an issue for most of you if your computer was purchased in the last 2 years]
  • A list of the minimum system requirements is available here.
  • Instructions on turning on Javascript are available here.
  • Instructions for making sure your cookies are set up right is here.
    
    
• Make sure you have Flash 8 or higher installed!
  • Please confirm that you have Flash version 8 or higher installed on your computer by going to http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/ (Click "About" in the Flash box to see which version you have installed). Earlier versions of Flash let you run through the tutorials but then fail to submit the grade to the gradebook. If you have an earlier version of Flash, you can download the upgrade on that page (you only need Flash, not Shockwave)
    
    Once you have downloaded the upgrade, confirm your system has upgraded by going back to the above page. According the Mastering Astronomy tech support there is a problem for some Windows users where "there can be a problem with updating the Flash player" when any of the following conditions hold:
    • There is an incorrect registry setting on the system.
    • The Windows Update temporary folder has been corrupted.
    • The proxy settings are incorrect.
    • You are using a version of Windows XP that is an older version, with many updates to service pack 1.0, rather than a clean service pack 2.0 installation. In this case, you may also have difficulty updating Windows itself.
      
      If you are having trouble getting Flash to install, feel free to contact Mastering Astronomy tech support at , they can hopefully help you with this issue.
      
      
• First thing you need to do is log out!
  • Make sure that after you create your Mastering Astronomy login, you immediately log out by hitting the "log out" button. If you don't do this, attempts to add a course will fail.
    
    
• Click "Save" to add the class!
  • When you add a course, use your Dragon ID as your Student ID and your course ID is ******** .
  • Be sure to click on the "Save" key when adding the class, do not simply hit "return" or "enter" as unlike most web forms, this one won't behave as expected if you do that.

Actually Doing Homework on Mastering Astronomy

• Some hints on doing tutorial exercises for credit: Because the tutorials were imported from the previous website for the textbook, they are not quite as transparent or straightforward to use when they are assigned for credit. Here are some hints direct from the Mastering Astronomy Help:
  • "Tutorials that are in assignments are graded. Students may work these tutorials only once. Therefore, students who want to maximize their grade should practice the tutorials in the self-study area before doing them 'for real' in the assignments."
  • "Students must submit their work in these tutorial questions twice, once within the tutorial itself and once for credit in MasteringAstronomy."
    • Leave the tutorial by clicking on the S button at the bottom right of the tutorial page. This saves the work that you have done so far. The tutorial will quit and you will be back in the problem.
    • The " Results" page will show you how much of the tutorial you have completed and ask you whether you want to submit your results and quit out of the tutorial, or continue with the tutorial. You should see your current score on the tutorial. If you believe you have finished the tutorial completely, Click on the Submit button below the answer box to submit your results to MasteringAstronomy.
  • IF YOU WANT TO PAUSE YOUR WORK ON A TUTORIAL: If you you need to stop working on a tutorial, do so by hitting the "S" button and saving your work, then quit the turotial. Only hit the "submit" button on the "results" page when you are completely done.
• More details about working with tutorials for credit is here.
  
  
• Many problems are straight from the Ends of Chapters in your Textbook. Any problem that is named something like "Problem 1.41" is an end of chapter problem straight from the textbook (in this case, its Problem 41 from the end of Chapter 1). The numbers may change a bit from the online version, but you can always try to do the problem from the book before tackling it for credit online where you may feel under more pressure to complete the problem.
  
  
• A hint on Ranking Tasks: Sometimes when you are ranking items in a problem, the correct answer will include two items with the same ran. To show this in your answer on the webpage, drag one item on top of another and they will then appear 'stacked' on top of one another, with the same 'rank'.
  
  
• If you answering a numerical question, please take heed of the following hints:
  • The units the software is expecting you to use will be written on the right hand side of the answer box. Do not enter the units with your answer.
  • Never enter commas for "thousands" spacing (e.g. – If you mean 1 thousand, enter "1000", not "1,000").
  • How the heck does this Math Palette work?: Instructions are now available online here at MasteringHelp.com.