Exams and grading, TAM 203, Fall 2004

The prelims and final exam are closed book, no notes, no calculators. Prelims are designed for completion in 90 minutes but will allow extra time to reduce time pressure.

Prelim and Final exam study advice: try to do assigned homework problems from beginning to end with no help from book, notes, solutions, people, etc. All yourself without looking up even one thing. Explain, at least outloud to yourself, every step. This includes computer problems (ok if you have to use "help" online once or twice).Then try other problems like the assigned homework problems.

Prelims Schedule

Prelim 1: Tuesday 28-Sep-04, 7:30-9:00 PM Upson B17. Three questions. Covers through homework 5. (Prelim1, Solns)
Prelim 2:
Tuesday 26-Oct-04, 7:30-9:00 PM Upson B17. Three questions. Comprehensive through homework 9. (Prelim2,  Solns)
Prelim 3:
Tuesday 23-Nov-04, 7:30-9:00 PM Phillips 101. Three questions. Comprehensive through homework 13. (Prelim3,  Solns)
Early makeup for those with conflicts:
4:30 PM, same day, with prior permission.You must stay in the exam room from 4:30 until 7:30, bring food (we will give you a note excusing you for lateness to your next test). Thurston 201.
Makeup prelim:
For students who missed both a prelim its early makeup, there will be a comprehensive makeup exam on Monday Dec 6 from noon -1:30+ with prior written permission. Thurston 204. makeup (no solns available)

Final Exam (comprehensive). Friday, December 17 12:00 - 2:30PM. Phillips 219. The final exam will have 5 questions. On average they will be as long or a little shorter than the problems on the prelims. No extra time. Most categories below will be represented in at least one of the final exam problems. final exam,   "solutions" .

1) A car or bike accelerating or breaking with front-wheel, rear-wheel or all-wheel drive on level ground or going uphill or downhill or traveling on level ground, or something very similar to this.
2) A problem very similar to a problem already on a prelim.
3) A problem very similar to a homework problem.
4) A problem that needs a Matlab solution. 
5) A problem that requires analytic solution of a simple ODE from this set: first or second order constant coefficient ODE with a right-hand-side of zero (a constant, linear in time, an exponential in time or a sine-wave in time).
6) A text problem that was not assigned.
7) A sample problem in the book.
8) Something related to one of the labs.

Final grade: After rescaling to a common median, the lowest two scores from the 9 prelim questions will be dropped; together the best 7 prelim question scores count for about 40% of your grade. The homeworks (dropping the lowest homework grade) will count as about 10%; if you accurately copy the posted solutions (and cite them appropriately) you will get 9%; inaccurate or sloppy copying gets a lower score, copying without citing gets an academic integrity violation, creative improvements (with citation) give a highter score. The final exam counts about 35%, and the labs about 15%. TAs can add a few points for good section, office hour, or bonus project performance. One bonus point (1%) for completing a course evaluation form. The median student will get a B, closer to B- or B+ depending on overall class performance.


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