Detailed grading information:

(Specific exam (studying) details are available here.)

Grading in Phys 3320 will be based on two midterm exams, a final exam, and homework. In addition there will be very minor "extra credit" from in-class use of clickers and occasional on-line participation. The percentages are listed in the table:

Exam 1

Thurs Sep 22, 7:30-9:30 PM

MUEN E0046

16% of course grade

Exam 2

Wed (!) Nov 2, 7:30-9:30 PM

Same

18%

Final Exam

Th Dec 15, 1:30-4 PM

Our classroom (I think)

30%

Homework

Due Friday at start of class

  

30%
Preflights Due Mon by noon  
6%

Clickers (and online participation, including piazza participation): These activities are pure extra credit: they REDUCE total midterm weights up to 10% of exam total (i.e. 6.4% of your grade) Extra credit can only help, and never hurt you. But, look at the formula - they are weighted by your "lost exam points", it's not just simple additive extra credit. (If you got 100% on your exams, there is no impact of the extra credit points... presumably because you didn't need it :-) But, to be clear, they are not making up for lost homework points.)

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

[64 - (extra_credit)*6.4) ] * (appropriately weighted ave exam score) + (extra_credit)*6.4 + 30*(homework) + 6*(preflight participation) 

If you prefer, you can regroup this to separate out the extra credit:

[64 * (appropriately weighted ave exam score) + 30*(homework) + 6*(preflight participation) 
+ (extra_credit) * 6.4 * (1-appropriately weighted ave exam score)

So that last term is the "bonus" from clickers. (It is zero if your exams 1 and 2 were both 100%!)
It cannot be negative, and it cannot bring your score above 100% .
The most it could be would be (with 100% clicker points, and 0's on exams, not a good situation to be in)
is 6.4 out of 100 points. In practice it ranges from typically 0-3 points.

 

The various definitions are:

weighted Ave exam score = (.16*exam1 + .18*exam2 + .3*final exam)/(.64)

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

extra_credit = computed by clicker points.

preflight score is determined by your participation in the weekly preflight homework (these are not "graded" for corrections, 100% for any honest effort).

 Letter grades in this course are set below (but may be curved to your advantage if our exams turn out too hard)

90-100 = A's   (including A-'s)

79-90  = B's   (including B-'s and B+'s)

68-79   = C's    (including C-'s and C+'s)

55-68   = D's  (including D-'s and D+'s )

< 55     = F

Exact +/- cutoffs will be set later. If everyone in the class gets 91% overall, I 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 will require explanations, you will need to show and explain your work. These are evening exams - you cannot miss these days! 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. 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. You have 2.5 hours for it.

Written homework is due weekly, at the start of class on Fridays. 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.
Online (preflight) homework is due weekly, on Monday Mornings (noon). These are meant to be low stress (but you still need to do them!) We will grade for participation and effort, but not for "correctness". Some weeks, these homeworks will require going through a derivation in the text and answering questions about it, or answering "puzzlers", or just letting us know what questions you have about the reading.

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 1 additional point 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!