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Exams and Grading



Midterm Exams:


Three midterm tests will be given at the dates and times shown in the syllabus. The tests will be administered during regular class time. The tests will consist of multiple choice questions.

Important: No makeup midterm exams will be given. Missed exams receive a grade of zero unless an excused absence is granted by the professor before the exam. In the unusual circumstance that an exam is excused, the remaining exams will be averaged to form the midterm exam score for final grading. This is only allowed to happen once.

Exam policy: The use of calculators is permitted for performing numerical calculations. The exams are closed book, closed notes. Either an equation sheet will be provided with each exam or you will be allowed to bring in one sheet of equations but not both. This will be decided on the first day of class or soon thereafter.  No additional electronic or internet resources, etc. are allowed to be used.  here.


Final Exam Schedule:


See the syllabus for exam times.  Midterm exams will be given in Rm 205 of Physics.


Grading:


Final grades will be determined by the following (approximate) distributions:

Final Exam 35%
Three Midterm Exams 40%
MP Homework
12%
Discussion Quiz
10%
(iClickers) 3%


iClickers:


iClicker responses to questions given during lecture will be graded according to the following rules. The specific format for scored iClicker questions will be explained by your instructor.

Each correct answer will be awarded 2 points, while an incorrect response will be awarded 1 point to encourage participation. The contribution to the final course score will be taken as 3% times the ratio of the total clicker points accumulated over the course of the semester to 75% of the total clicker points available, but to a maximum of 3%.

Example: Assume an average of 4 questions are asked in each of the 25 lectures, for a total of 200 Lecture Quiz points possible over the semester. An iClicker point total of 150 or more would lead to full credit for the Lecture Quiz portion of the grade (3%), while a point total of 100 would translate to a contribution of 100/150*3% = 2.0%.

Problems with Clickers. We will not consider giving credit or changing individual students' clicker grades when any of the following happens: forgotten or stolen clicker, ineffective or somehow not working clicker, weak batteries, or other occurances thought to result in your response not being recorded electonically. We account for these missed opportunities by giving you free misses as discussed in the previous paragraph. This is important. No allowances will be given to students who, for whatever reason, do not use their clicker in class.
It is your responsibility to bring the clicker to every class and maybe even to have extra batteries. If you lose your clicker, you should obtain a new one ASAP, register it, and give your new transmitter number to your professor.  No credit will be granted in the mean time.



Policy on using someone else's transmitter. It will be considered an honor offense to use another student's transmitter in class. Any student who sees another student use two transmitters, for example, should challenge the student and report it as an honor offense.


MasteringPhysics Homework

MasteringPhysics assignments labeled "Homework" will contribute the the Homework score for the course grade. Other assignments on MasteringPhysics (such as the "Introduction", Pre-lecture assignments, or Adaptive followups) are presented for practice only, and will not be scored for your course grade.


Email Communications:


If you have exemption/score correction requests for homework on valid excuses, please email the instructor,