AstronomyCurriculum

Assessment Instructions: Problem Set 04 — Atmospheres and Escape

Inputs to Inspect

Student submission, this problem set, the solution key, the corresponding lecture slides/notes, and the referenced dataset(s) under materials/ASTR350/data/.

Grading Standard

Award credit for correct method and units first, then for the specific numeric result. A student who shows correct reasoning with a small arithmetic slip should receive most of the available credit; a student with a correct-looking number but no visible derivation steps should not. Because this is a 300-level quantitative exoplanets/astrobiology course, full marks require a genuine derivation wherever the problem set asks for one, and a genuinely reasoned (not merely asserted) interpretation wherever the problem asks for scientific judgment (e.g., biosignature false-positive reasoning, habitability assessment).

Problem-Level Criteria

• Problem 1: verify the inverse proportionality (not direct proportionality) between signal amplitude and g is stated correctly.
• Problem 2: verify Earth’s Jeans parameter is computed with correct units and compared correctly (larger lambda = less escape).
• Problem 3: verify the inverse-scaling arithmetic and an appropriately hedged (not overconfident) conclusion.
• Problem 4: verify the connection to the radius valley is explicit, not just a restatement of the escape-parameter formula.

Resubmission Policy

Students may resubmit within one week of receiving feedback. A resubmission must show a corrected derivation, not only a corrected final number, and should reference the specific feedback comment it addresses. Regrade to a maximum of 90% of the original point value unless the error was a grading mistake.

Common Errors to Flag

• Reversing the direction of the lambda-versus-escape relationship (larger lambda means less, not more, escape).
• Treating a single constant-rate mass-loss timescale as a precise prediction rather than an order-of-magnitude, likely-conservative estimate.