Course Info » Exam Info

Exam Information

 

- There is more detailed grade information here.

- There is a detailed "learning goals" page here. This can be very helpful for studying/preparing for exams!

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There will be three midterms and a final:

 

**NEW** FINAL EXAM ROOM INFORMATION: See our usual lab sections link if you only know your lab time (to figure out what section and/or TA you have. You will need to know your section number and TA name at the exam!)

NEW: Those who used to go to RAMY for midterms, you should instead go to Duane G1B20 (That is NOT our regular classroom, it is the similarly shaped room immediately to the right of ours (as you are entering) Be careful not to go into G1B30, thanks!
Go here for the final if and ONLY if you are in lab sections 108 or 110 (TA: Andrew Spott), or 102 or 103 (TA: Shane Rightley)

NEW: Those who used to go to G125 for midterms, you should instead go to Duane G1B30 (This IS our regular classroom!) This is for people in lab sections 107 or 109 (TA: Thomas Gray):

NO CHANGE: Once again go to Room G1B30 (our regular classroom, same place) if you are in sections 101 or 112 (TA: Robert Ariniello), or 104 or 111 (TA: Nicholas Kellaris), 105 or 106 (52 students, TA: Prasanth Prahladan

(If you have arranged through Academic Serivces for any special accomodations, please check with Prof. Calkins for time and room numbers)

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Final Exam information:

Here is the grade distribution from the final

 

The average was very high, 75% median (half scored above that) Nicely done!

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(ROOM LOCATIONS ARE DIFFERENT for about half the class! See above for NEW location information!)

The final will be the same format as regular midterms (although slightly longer, perhaps 35 q's or so).
Expect roughly half the final to be earlier ("cumulative") material, and roughly half on new material since the 3rd midterm (which means geometrical and physical optics, light and mirrors and lenses and slits!)

Bring a calculator, you might need it on a couple of problems. You can as usual bring your own one page crib sheet (front and back, hand-written) Here is a (draft of) the formula page we will provide on the exam.

 

We have no extra practice exams this time, since you already have the three old midterms and all our old practice tests for all the cumulative material! There *will* be two practice opportunities in lab the final week - one will not be posted, it's a conceptual post-test that will help serve as practice and review of older material. You will do that one on your own - but your performance on it willl NOT count towards your lab grade) Then, there will ALSO be a practice test in the style of previous weeks - focusing on the newer material, which will be available ahead of time on the usual lab website, which you can work on in groups and talk through. Answers to *that* lab practice exam will be posted on D2L after everyone has had a chance to take their lab

As usual, see our detailed "learning goals" page for more details about what is covered on the final.

 

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EXAM 3 results:

Exam 3 has been graded, please see D2L for your score.

The class average was 75%, with a median of 80% (Half scored above that)

That's a very high exam 3 score, congrats and well done yet again to the class!

 

If your score is lower than you were expecting, please see this link for some thoughts and suggestions (and feel free to meet with Prof. Calkins, Pollock, or your TA)

 

Next is the much more important histogram: "estimated total course scores" (which factors in CAPA, Written HW, and Lab too)

At this stage, we assume your final exam will be identical to your average for Exams 1-3, as our "best estimation".
(So right now Exams are more heavily weighted in your total score than they will be in the end.)

See this link for our detailed information about how we assign grades. (It's also in the "Course Info -> Grade info" tab)

At this point over 1/3 of the class presently has a total score over 90%, A (or A-) range, awesome!

Over 3/4 of the class are so far above 79% (A or B range), also great.

Over 95% of the class have total scores over 68% (i.e, clearly passing). Heck yeah.

If you are one of those who have a total estimated score below 68%, PLEASE SEE DR. CALKINS OR DR. POLLOCK RIGHT AWAY! Make an appointment, or just find us after class or in our office hours. Do it now don't delay! If you want to pass the course, now is the last reasonable time to make adjustments. Wishful thinking, promises to yourself, good intentions are all great, but they will not have the kind of impact on your grade that a solid, detailed study plan will have. Don't delay - we are here to help, really!
We can still help you study for the midterm. If you wait till the last week, we will be very sympathetic but there will be essentially nothing more we can do to help at that point.

 

Take ownership of your learning and success: help us help you!

 

Older EXAM 3 information:

CRIB SHEET INFORMATION (see syllabus, this is slightly different than in Phys 2010):

Same as previous exam: you are allowed to bring a single 8.5" x 11" formula sheet to the exam. You can write anything you want on your formula sheet (both sides!) but you must write it by hand - no photocopying, typing or sharing allowed. Calculators with scientific notation are allowed and sometimes needed. (Of course, no phones, internet access, "electronic crib sheets", etc!) (Last term you had "one side per exam". This time, you have 2 sides, but no more, for all exams. It should be plenty - the point is not to write down everything, but to decide what is important!)

In addition, the back of page 1 of the exam ALSO has a few formulas, that's "our" crib sheet that we give you.
For your information. I provide our cribsheet for exam 3 here (So, no need to copy any of THAT information onto your own cribsheet!)

Exam 3 will cover everything we have done in class, homeworks, labs, and reading assignments up through the end of Chapter 22 (I had earlier said that Chapter 23.1 & 2 is fair game, but we decided to shift that material back to the final) The exam is cumulative (so important ideas from earlier in the semester may be included). Still, I would say Exam 3 focuses more on new material (so, e.g. "forces on wires due to magnetism, will definitely be featured on Exam 3, along with Faraday's law, Lenz' law, electromagnetic waves (speed of light and idea of spectrum, intensity of light, and maybe a basic question about reflection from mirrors)

Expect all multiple choice questions, like Exams 1 and 2.

Questions will be a mix of qualitative, conceptual, and also computational questions. Bring a calculator for the latter.

 

- Here is an old practice exam. (Answer key is posted on D2L) As usual, don't rush to look at the answers - you won't have an answer key during the exam!

- There will ALSO be a (different) practice exam to do in lab the week of the exam. (It is posted on the lab pagen) Answers to that will also be posted on D2L close to the exam date. But, of course you can and should also talk with your TA during lab time to check yourself!!

- Giancoli ALSO has practice questions if you like - take a look at our "Course Resources -> Textbook" link to find those . You will need to sign up on Mastering Physics, log in, and go to the "Study Area" button. From there, scroll on the bar near the top to find the right chapter, then look for the Practice Questions link.

- At the end of each chapter of Giancoli there are some good questions. In the 7th edition he added some "Misconceptual" question which I think are very helpful. If you don't have that edition, here is a link to scans of those pages.
If you don't have that edition, here is a link to scans of those pages.

- There is a detailed "learning goals" page here. Please visit it - it goes through the highlights of both chapters.

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EXAM 2 results:

Exam 2 has been graded, please see D2L for your score.

The class average was 81%, with a median of 84% (Half scored above that)

That's an extremely high score, congrats and well done to the class!

 

If your score is lower than you were expecting, please see this link for some thoughts and suggestions (and feel free to meet with Prof. Calkins, Pollock, or your TA to see how to do better next time)

 

Next is the much more important histogram: "estimated total course scores" (which factors in CAPA, Written HW, and Lab too)

At this early stage, we assume your future exams will be identical to your average for Exams 1 and 2, as our "best estimation".
(So right now Exams 1&2 are more heavily weighted in your total score than they will be in the end.)

See this link for our detailed information about how we assign grades. (It's also in the "Course Info -> Grade info" tab)

At this point ~40% of the class presently have a total score over 90%, A (or A-) range, awesome!

Over 3/4 of the class are so far above 79% (A or B range), also great.

Over 95% of the class have total scores over 68% (i.e, clearly passing). Heck yeah.

If you are in the 5% who have a total estimated score below 68%, PLEASE SEE DR. CALKINS OR DR. POLLOCK RIGHT AWAY! Make an appointment, or just find us after class or in our office hours. Do it this week, before (or worst case right after) spring break, don't delay! If you want to pass the course, now is the time to make adjustments. Wishful thinking, promises to yourself, good intentions are all great, but they will not have the kind of impact on your grade that a solid, detailed study plan will have. Don't delay - we are here to help, really!
If you wait till the end of the term, we will be very sympathetic but there will be nothing we can do to help at that point.

 

Take ownership of your learning and success: help us help you!

__________________________________________________

EXAM 2 Information:

CRIB SHEET INFORMATION (see syllabus, this is slightly different than in Phys 2010):

Same as previous exam: you are allowed to bring a single 8.5" x 11" formula sheet to the exam. You can write anything you want on your formula sheet (both sides!) but you must write it by hand - no photocopying, typing or sharing allowed. Calculators with scientific notation are allowed and sometimes needed. (Of course, no phones, internet access, "electronic crib sheets", etc!) (Last term you had "one side per exam". This time, you have 2 sides, but no more, for all exams. It should be plenty - the point is not to write down everything, but to decide what is important!)

In addition, the back of page 1 of the exam ALSO has a few formulas, that's "our" crib sheet that we give you.
For your information, I provide our cribsheet for exam 2 here (So, no need to copy any of THAT information onto your own cribsheet!)

Exam 2 will cover everything we have done in class, homeworks, labs, and reading assignments up through *part* of Chapter 20. (Chapter 20.1-5 is fair game, particularly the pattern of B-fields, superposition of B-fields, and the "right hand rule" for forces on currents and moving charges) The exam is cumulative (so important ideas from earlier in the semester may be included). Still, I would say Exam 2 focuses more on new material (so, e.g. "stored energy in capacitors" and the properties of capacitors, which didn't appear on Exam 1, will definitely be featured on Exam 2, along with current, ohm's law, resistivity, electric power, and lots of circuit questions)

Expect all multiple choice questions, like Exam 1.

Questions will be a mix of qualitative, conceptual, and also computational questions. Bring a calculator for the latter (possibly just a wee bit more of this than on Exam 1)

 

-Here is an old practice exam. (Answer key will be posted on D2L, closer to the exam date) Even when it's there, don't rush to look at the answers - you won't have an answer key during the exam!)

- There will ALSO be a (different) practice exam to do in lab the week of the exam. (It will be posted on the lab page, soon) Answers to that will also be posted on D2L close to the exam date. But, of course you can and should also talk with your TA during lab time to check yourself!!

- Giancoli ALSO has practice questions if you like - take a look at our "Course Resources -> Textbook" link to find those . You will need to sign up on Mastering Physics, log in, and go to the "Study Area" button. From there, scroll on the bar near the top to find the right chapter, then look for the Practice Questions link.

- At the end of each chapter of Giancoli there are some good questions. In the 7th edition he added some "Misconceptual" question which I think are very helpful. If you don't have that edition, here is a link to scans of those pages.
If you don't have that edition, here is a link to scans of those pages.

- There is a detailed "learning goals" page here. Please visit it - it goes through the highlights of both chapters.

__________________________________________________
EXAM 1 Results:

Exam 1 has been graded, please see D2L for your score.

The class average was 77%, with a median of 79% (Half scored above that)

That's a very nice high score, congrats and well done to the class!

 

 

If your score is lower than you were expecting, please see this link for some thoughts and suggestions (and feel free to meet with Prof. Calkins, Pollock, or your TA to see how to do better next time)

 

Next is the much more important histogram: "estimated total course scores" (which factors in CAPA, Written HW, and Lab too)

At this early stage, we assume your future exams will be identical to your own Exam 1, as our "best estimation".
(So right now Exam 1 is more heavily weighted in your total score than it will be in the end.)

See this link for our detailed information about how we assign grades. (It's also in the "Course Info -> Grade info" tab)

At this point over 1/3 of the class presently have a total score over 90%, A (or A-) range, awesome!

About 3/4 of the class are so far above 79% (A or B range), also great.

Over 90% of the class have total scores over 68% (i.e, clearly passing). Heck yeah.

If you are in the 10% who have a total estimated score below 68%, PLEASE SEE DR. CALKINS OR DR. POLLOCK RIGHT AWAY! Make an appointment, or just find us after class or in our office hours. Do it this week, don't delay! If you want to pass the course, now is the time to make adjustments. Wishful thinking, promises to yourself, good intentions are all great, but they will not have the kind of impact on your grade that a solid, detailed study plan will have. Don't delay - we are here to help, really.!
If you wait till the end of the term, we will be very sympathetic but there will be nothing more we can do to help at that point.
Take ownership of your learning, help us help you!

______________________________

EXAM 1 Study Information:

 

CRIB SHEET INFORMATION (see syllabus, this is slightly different than in Phys 2010):

You are allowed to bring a single 8.5" x 11" formula sheet to the exam. You can write anything you want on your formula sheet (both sides!) but you must write it by hand - no photocopying, typing or sharing allowed. Calculators with scientific notation are allowed and sometimes needed. (Of course, no phones, internet access, "electronic crib sheets", etc!) (Last term you had "one side per exam". This time, you have 2 sides, but no more, for all exams. It should be plenty - the point is not to write down everything, but to decide what is important!)

In addition, the back of page 1 of the exam ALSO has a few formulas, that's "our" crib sheet that we give you.
For your information, here is our our cribsheet for Exam 1 that we will provide you. (So, no need to copy any of THAT information onto your own cribsheet!)

Exam 1 will cover everything we have done in class, homeworks, labs, and reading assignments up through the end of Chapter 17.

Expect all multiple choice questions (on the order of 20-25, we'll see)

Again (see above) here is the cribsheet *we* will provide for you for this 1st exam.
You can also bring one page (both sides) of your own notes.

Questions will be a mix of qualitative, conceptual, and also computational questions. Bring a calculator for the latter

 

- Here is an old sample exam (Answer key is posted on D2L, but don't rush to look at the answers - you won't have an answer key during the exam!) NOTE: The old exam is shorter than ours will be (expect 25 questions) and the old practice exam has some "written questions" (which ours will not). Still, it'll give you some ideas.

- There will ALSO be a (different) practice exam to do in lab the week of the exam. Answers to that are also posted on D2L. But, of course you can and should also talk with your TA during lab time to check yourself!!

- Giancoli ALSO has practice questions if you like - take a look at our "Course Resources -> Textbook" link to find those.(You will need to sign up on Mastering Physics, log in, and go to the "Study Area" button. From there, scroll on the bar near the top to find Chapter 16 or 17, then look for the Practice Questions link.

- There is a detailed "learning goals" page here. Please visit it - it goes through the highlights of both chapters.

You will get your exam back in lab the week after the exam. Bubble sheets always take priority over what you wrote on the exam, so please don't ask Prof. Calkins to change your grade based on what you have circled on the exam if it does not agree with your bubble sheet. The scanner is quite good, but if you are convinced, after looking at the D2L solutions, that the scanner mis-read your sheet, contact Prof. Calkins. He can dig out your bubble sheet and look it over.

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Consider "power posing" before your next exam!