Physics 3320 Exam Information

EXAM INFORMATION: This page will contains information about the mid-term and final exams, including dates, times and locations. We will post here the histogram of scores for each exam. Individual scores and solutions will be provided via the D2L system at learn.colorado.edu.

3320 exams can include anything we have assigned in the readings (text and lecture notes), will have a mix of (mostly) homework-style calculations and (some) concept-test style questions. (Note that all concept tests, including a few extras we didn't get to in class, are available from the concept test link on the home page. )

See our "course learning goals" page for a pretty detailed list of topical areas that I think summarize what we've been up to this term.

Here is the "purple crib sheet" which will be available to you during the exam. IN ADDITION, you can bring a one page (one side!) hand-written crib sheet of your own per exam (so, two sides for exam 2, 3 sides for the final). (You can also bring the "Plasma Formulary" handbook I handed out in class if you've been using that, but it won't be any help if you haven't been using it, everything you need is on the purple crib sheet)

Here is the detailed grade information page (explaining how we compute course grades)

Time and location	Material covered	Histogram of Scores
Exam 1 Th Feb 28, 7:30-9:15 In our regular room	Stay tuned - this is still tentative and may change! Ch. 1, 2, (and 3.1 and 3.2, but these will not be heavily emphasized. Focus on 2!) All material from lecture, text, and homeworks 1-7 is fair game. Expect a mix of quantitative (homework-style) and qualitative problems. Explaining your work (BRIEFLY but clearly) will be valued!
Exam 2 Th Apr 4, 7:30-9:15 PM	All the above, plus the new stuff: Chapter 3 and 4 will be the central emphasis of this exam. Any material covered up through Homework 10 (due just before Spring break) is fair game
Final exam Wed May 8, 7:30-10 PM	Expect a little more than half on new material (Chapter 5 -Ch 6) and the other half cumulative.

It was a higher average than either of the other exams, nicely done!
If you want to look at your final exam, visit me in my office (just email first to be sure I'm here)

Here is the more important histogram, total course score (as computed in our Grade info link)

Almost 2/3 of the class got A's and B's. Great work this semester, I appreciate your hard efforts in this course!

Old info: Final Exam: You can now have 3 "sides" of crib sheets (so, one additional side after the last midterm). As before, I'll provide a few formulas on the front of the exam, and a "purple cribsheet" for you. The final is a mix of new stuff and old stuff. See the course goals link for more details. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Similar to exam #1, just a couple of points lower. 4 people beat 100% with extra credit!
Over 20% of the class got a score of 90 or higher. Great!
Over 40% of the class got a score of 79 or higher. (Median was 72%, half did better than that)
If you are unhappy with your performance, I encourage you to visit Prof. Pollock (or Bethany) in office hours, or schedule a private office hour if you prefer. We're here to help!

IMPORTANT: Your grade in this course comes from many things, not just the exams. Below is a histogram of "total course grade so far", weighting the two exams as though they represent ALL exams (i.e. assuming your final exam is comparable to your average exam). The distribution looks really good!

22% of the class has a cumulative course score of 89 or higher (which, recall, guarantees you're in the A/A- range, I never curve "down") Great!
More than half of the class has a cumulative course score of 78 or higher. (B- or higher)

Exam 2 info: Please see the course goals webpage, you'll see pretty detailed content goals towards the bottom. We are covering up through (and including) everything we did in Chapter 4. (Note: We skipped 4.1.3, 4.4.3, and 4.4.4. They're interesting, and useful, but we'll be fine without them...Read them if you're interested!) _________________________________________________

Exam 1: Please see the course goals webpage, you'll see pretty detailed content goals towards the bottom. We are covering up through (and including) the method of images. (The method of "separation of variables" will be on the next midterm, not this one... ) But the exam will emphasize the earlier material, so focus on Ch. 1 and 2 (especially 2!)

20% of the class got a score of 90 or higher. Great!
40% of the class got a score of 80 or higher. (Median was 75.5, half did better than that)
80% scored above 60.
If you scored below 60 (or otherwise are unhappy with your performance), I encourage you to visit Prof. Pollock (or Bethany) in office hours, or schedule a private office hour if you prefer. We're here to help!