Exams and grades in Phys3220, Fa08

Exam info:

When we get close to midterms, some more details will be available here.

Grades

Grading in Phys3220 will be based on two midterm exams, a final exam, and homework. In addition there will be "extra credit" from in-class use of clickers and occasional on-line participation. The percentages are listed in the table:

Exam 1	Th Oct 2 , 7:15-9:15 PM	G2B47	20% of course grade
Exam 2	Th Nov 13, 7:15-9:15 PM	G2B47	20%
Final Exam	Mo Dec 15, 4:30 PM-7 PM	location TBA	30%
Homework	Due Wed at start of class		30%
Clickers	In-lecture, and also occasional on-line participation		Extra credit: up to 10% of exams (i.e. up to 7% of course grade)

Extra credit can only help, and never hurt you. As you accumulate extra credit, it reduces the weighting of your exams below 70%, down to a minimum of 60%, and replaces those percentage points with perfect score. If you got 100% on your exams, there is no change; anything less and you benefit.

Explicitly, your total course points (100 maximum) are computed as follows:

[70 - (extra_credit)*10) ] * (weighted ave exam score) + (extra_credit)*10 + 30*(homework)

where the various defintions are:

weighted Ave exam score = (.2*exam1 + .2*exam2 + .3*final exam)/(.7)

homework score = (your total hw points) / (maximum total possible) after dropping the lowest homework set

extra_credit = computed by a combination (to be determined) of clicker points and pure participation points for online surveys.

Letter grades in this course will be curved, but only to your advantage on top of guaranteed grade cuts. Most likely, each letter range will be extended beyond this table (i.e. in your favor!):

89-100 = A's (including A-'s)

78-89 = B's (including B-'s and B+'s)

66-78 = C's (including C-'s and C+'s)

55-66 = D's (including D-'s and D+'s )

< 55 = F

Exact +/- cutoffs will be set later.

That means even if everyone in the class gets 91% overall, we will happily give everyone A's. (Well, in that particular case, A-, but you get the point!) This is "friendly curving" - the scale can curve in your favor in the end, but it will never curve against you. This is done to encourage collaborative work and a supportive atmosphere - it's not a competition with other students, helping someone else in the class will not harm your grade in any way!

Collaborative work is important, effective, and we encourage it in all parts of the class (except during midterms and the final) It means students working together, discussing ideas and even specific problems. It means asking for help when you need it, and giving help whenever you can. It does NOT mean copying. On any assignment in this course, what you turn in must be, in the end, your own work. Copying an answer from someone without understanding it is NOT collaboration, it's cheating. If you are not sure, feel free to ask the instructors, we are always happy to talk. This course operates on an assumption of trust and respect - if you feel comfortable,what you're doing is probably fine! (and vice-versa: if it feels uncomfortable, it's probably not o.k., and you should talk to us about it! )

Exams

Exams will require explanations, you will need to show and explain your work. These are one hour exams, but you have an hour and a half to do them. Solutions will appear on the web. If you feel your exam was unfairly or incorrectly graded, please talk to me as soon as possible.

You may bring a single sheet of 8.5 in. x 11 in. paper to exams, with your own handwritten notes.

As you have gathered, I am not interested in having people memorize formulas or problem solutions.

Calculators with scientific notation are allowed and sometimes needed. (You will not be allowed to share calculators or crib sheets.)

Please read and follow the CU honor code. Don't use high (or low) technology to try to take advantage of us. We trust you on this, please respect and value that trust!

The final exam will be cumulative (it will cover all material from the course), but it will focus more on new material from the end of the semester. It will be a 2 hr exam, but you have 2.5 hours for it.

Homework is due weekly, at the start of class on Wednesdays. There will not be a homework exam weeks. It is very important that you write up your homeworks yourself. Collaboration is great to help you learn and understand material, but in the end you must write your own solutions in your own words.

Clickers: EVERY class there will be some clicker questions. In general, they count as pure extra credit (see top for details). Unless otherwise announced, you will get 2 pts for clicking in, and you get 2 additional points for getting the correct answer. Your clicker score counts as a bonus (extra credit) In this way, the more clicker points you pile up, the less your exams will weigh. If you miss a day, or get some wrong now and then - no worries. There is NO PENALTY (of any kind) for missing clicker points!

Online Participation : Very often, there will be some sort of web-based participation. It might be a survey, or perhaps just some guiding questions for your reading. We will not grade these based on content, you get full credit for honest participation.