The scenario of the optimal examination is the following: You start with drawing one of the 6 questions given below. Then you start (there is no preparation time after you draw the question) with presenting the essence of the area of the question you draw. You should plan for your presentation to take about 15 minutes. Optimally, you present both the dept and the width, i.e. you present what you consider the most relevant for the area of the question, and you spent also some time on deriving and/or describing one or more equations you find the most central for the question. In this way you will demonstrate both that you have understood the main points of the question you draw, and that you are able to manipulate some mathematics relevant and on the right level of the course. Remember that you should plan that all this should be presented in 15 minutes. This means that it is not possible for you to go into very detailed calculations, and it is not possible to talk about everything within the question you picked. It is part of the examination that you demonstrate that you are able to decide what are the most relevant aspects of the question which can be presented within 15 minutes, and that you are able to leave out irellevant details from your presentation. After the time of your own presentation I will typically ask you a few questions about the other parts of the pensum, in order to give you the possibility to also talk about other sides of the science the course covers. Typically, this will take another 15 minutes.
A few warnings about what you should not do during an oral exam: It is not a good strategy to start in one end of the pensum of the question you draw and then talk about as much as you manage within the given time, and then say that you also know the rest; part of the exercise is to demonstrate that you have understood pensum enough that you can cover essential sides of it in 15 minutes. It is also not a good strategy to start with saying "so what do you want to hear about", etc. And maybe most important of all: try to convince yourself that it is a pleasureable opportunity that you now have the right to talk uninterrupted for 15 minutes (it is not so often one gets this right!). We like to hear what you have to say, I am curious to hear what precisely you find most interesting and relevant regarding the question you draw, and we will not interrupt you if you have a plan of what you want to tell. I understand that in some countries it is not coustom to have oral exam, so if you have never been for a oral exam before, then I strongly recommend you that you take a moment to talk with some of your fellow students more familiar with the system, in order to make your self familiar with how an oral exam usually takes place.
The exam pensum consists of:
(1): Lecture notes on Astrobiology by Uffe Gråe Jørgensen:
part I (p.1-76, about Big Bang, nucleosyntheses, and stars),
part II (p.1-58,"the formation of the solar system"),
part III (p.1-25, "Exoplanets -- planets around other stars than the Sun"),
part IV (p.1-46, "Life on Earth"),
part V (27 pages in total, including p.1-15 and some extras, "Life on Earth and beyond"),
(2): F.H.Shu, "The Physical Universe -- and Introduction to Astronomy", Oxford 1982,
p.498-527 ("The nature of Life on Earth").
The 6 questions and the corresponding pensum (i.e., recommended pages to read connected to each of the questions), are:
| (1): Nucleosynthesis in Big Bang and in high-mass stars, including supernovas: | Notes part I, page 1 - 19 + page 39 - 58. |
| (2): Evolution of, and nucleosynthesis in, low-mass stars: | Notes part I, page 19-38 + page 58-76 |
| (3): The formation of the solar system: | Notes part II, page 1-58. |
| (4): Planets around other stars than the Sun: | Notes part III, page 1-23. |
| (5): The formation and evolution of life on Earth and beyond: | Notes part IV, page 1-46. F.H.Shu, "The Physical Universe -- and Introduction to Astronomy", Oxford 1982, p.498-527. Notes part V, 26 pages (page 1-15 + two articles from Scientific American). |
| (6): The formation and evolution of life on Earth and beyond: | Notes part IV, page 1-46. F.H.Shu, "The Physical Universe -- and Introduction to Astronomy", Oxford 1982, p.498-527. Notes part V, 26 pages (page 1-15 + two articles from Scientific American). |
Tuesday, November 1:
(1) Per B. Jespersen
(2) Stephan M. V. Nielsen
(3) Claus Nielsen
(4) Mai Winstrup
(5) Anahi Caldu Primo
(6) Felipe Bracho
(7) Casper Nygaard
(8) Mikkel T. B. Nielsen
(9) Riia S. C. Hörkka
(10) Rolf J. Pedersen
(11) Kristian G. Woller
(12) Iben Møller-Hansen
(13) Leif S. Pedersen
(14) Andreas T. Höglund
Thursday, November 3:
(1) Philip R. Bidstrup
(2) Erling Johnsen
(3) Jon H. Gudmundsson
(4) Lene Geert-Jorgensen
(5) Martin P. Haspang
(6) Katja Suess
(7) Desiree D. M. Ferreira
(8) Christina Henriksen
(9) Maha M. Jassim
(10) Camilla J. Hansen
(11) Rasmus Bjørk
(12) Johan J. Bjerrum-Bohr
(13) Kasper K. Nielsen
(14) Anders Thorseth
The order of the names on the list is the order of the examination. In total, including evaluation and everything else, we expect approximately 45 minutes per student. You can use this as a guideline for which time you can expect your examination to take place. However, remember that it is your responsiblity to be there when it is your turn, and formally you are obliged to be there from 9:15. We don't expect (and don't recommed either) that you all come at 9:15, but when you plan when to arrive, please take into consderation that some of the students on the list above may decide in the last moment not to come. We will usually take about half an hour of lunch break around 1pm. The list is prepared according to the wishes I have got from you; please inform me as soon as possible if I have scheduled you at a time which is inconvinient for you, or if I have forgot anyone or if you see anything else which could be a mistake.
Eksaminanten trækker et af 6 spørgsmål. På forhnd vil der for hvert spørgsmål være angivet den del af pensum som jeg anser for mest relevant for hvert af spørgsmålene (se ovenfor). Optimalt vil eksimananten indlede ved at give en ca 15 minuters oversigt over det trukkede spørgsmål. Herefter vil jeg stille nogle spørgsmål bredt gennem hele pensummet (dvs. i de områder som dækkes af de andre spørgsmål). Hele eksiminationen vil typisk vare godt 30 minutter. Det bør i videst mulig omfang tilstræbes at præsentere både breden og dybden af det spørgsmål man har trukket; dvs at man inden for de ca 15 minutter optimalt både skal forklare hvad der er essensen af det område spørgsmålet dækker, og præsentere og forklare nogle af de centrale ligninger og udledninger.