Course Announcements
« PHYS172 Spring 2012
Final PHYS 172 grade cutoffs decided
Fri 04May2012 3:46PMThe final grade cutoffs for PHYS 172 this semester are set 1.2% below the cutoffs published in the syllabus, universally, for all grades. So the cutoffs are
93.8% or more: A+
87.8% or more: A
no A- grade is given
83.8% or more: B+
80.8% or more: B
77.8% or more: B-
73.8% or more: C+
70.8% or more: C
67.8% or more: C-
63.8% or more: D+
60.8% or more: D
57.8% or more: D-
below 57.8%: F
IMPORTANT - Final Exam announcements (location, eqn sheet, etc)
Wed 25Apr2012 2:44AMA detailed email has been sent to you regarding the PHYS 172 Final Exam. Please read that email carefully. Below are a few highlights:
Final Exam time: Tuesday May 1, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: Lambert (LAMB) F101 or Wetherill (WTHR) 200
You must go to the location assigned to you. Check the "Seat Assignment" entry on CHIP.
Also:
* You must bring your Purdue ID to the exam (make sure to have it)
* Arrive 20 minutes early
* Report any exam conflicts immediately in Rm 144 (also email the coordinator)
Format & material:
* Comprehensive exam (covers all material of this semester)
* 20 multiple choice questions only (total 20 * 5 = 100 points)
* Equation sheet will be provided, also posted online in Exams folder
Exam 3 scores on CHIP (both parts)
Sun 22Apr2012 10:29PMScores for Exam 3 are on CHIP for both multiple-choice and hand-graded parts.
Exam 3 Seat Assigments on CHIP - new seats!
Tue 10Apr2012 3:56PMSeat assignments for Exam 3 have been uploaded to CHIP. Check under score/data type "Seat Assignment". Your seat is not the same as on Exam 1 or Exam2.
As before, the seat value shows the floor, row, and seat in format FLOOR-ROW-SEAT. We are using the main floor and the first balcony only. For example, MAIN_FLOOR-GG-102 means Main Floor, Row GG, Seat 102; while 1ST_BALCONY-U-201 means First Balcony, Row U, Seat 201. Make sure to write down your seat information and bring it with you to the exam.
If you are on the main floor, please note that there are double-letter and single-letter rows. So Row GG and Row G are not the same. Check out the Elliott Hall seating map in the Exam folder (you may need to zoom in to read seat numbers).
Please note that during the exam TAs and instructors can tell you to move to another seat - anytime, for any reason.
In the unlikely event that we assigned you a non-existent seat, and you realize this before the exam, please email the course coordinator. If you discover it only at the exam, let a TA know immediately.
Practice Exam 3 solutions posted (both parts now)
Sun 08Apr2012 11:18PMSolutions for Practice Exam 3 have been posted for both multiple choice and handgraded parts.
Practice Exam 3 hand-graded part posted.
Sun 08Apr2012 12:43AMThe hand-graded part of Practice Exam 3 has been posted.
Practice Exam 3 posted.
Fri 06Apr2012 11:22PMMultiple choice part of Practice Exam 3 has been posted.
Please be aware that it is impossible to cover the material in 10 problems, therefore, the problems on the real exam can be quite different. Make sure to review all the relevant material - Lectures 1-21, Homeworks 1-21, Recitations 1-12, Labs 1-12, with special focus on material that was not tested on Exams 1 and 2 (Lectures 16-21, Homeworks 16-21, Recitations 9-12, Labs 9-12).
The actual exam will have only 10 multiple-choice problems - but the more practice, the better.
Grade projections
Mon 12Mar2012 6:42PMMany of you are asking about grade projections. You should be able to do these based on your scores on CHIP and WebAssign, using the weights published in the syllabus.
In short,
1) you first should compute percentages SCORE / MAX_SCORE * 100% for each course component (midterms, homework, labs, recitations, clickers, final), where MAX_SCORE is the maximum score achievable for whatever has been graded so far (e.g., if you are computing the percentage for labs, and you have scores for five labs with maximum 8 points each, then MAX_SCORE = 40).
2) The next step is to take a weighted sum of the percentages using the weights published in the syllabus:
GRADE = MIDTERMS * 0.3 + FINAL * 0.2
+ (LABS + HOMEWORKS + RECITATIONS) * 0.15
+ CLICKERS * 0.05
and check against the cutoffs published in the syllabus. Note, the cutoffs will be reduced by 1-2% because Exams 1 & 2 were somewhat more difficult this year.
In the formula above you will need an estimate for your percentage on the final. You can try using the same number as for midterms.
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Keep in mind that this projection is only an estimate that assumes that your performance stays the same on average for the remainder of the semester as what it has been so far. There is significant uncertainty involved because there are two more exams (Exam 3 and Final).
Exam 2 average: 60.6% (multiple choice part).
Mon 12Mar2012 6:26PMThe multiple-choice part of Exam 2 has been graded - the average is 60.6%. Check out your answers on CHIP.
Results for the handgraded portion will only be available on Tuesday March 27.
Exam 2 seat assignments on CHIP (new seats!).
Sun 04Mar2012 10:13PMSeat assignments for Exam 2 have been uploaded to CHIP. Check under score/data type "Seat Assignment". Your seat is not the same as on Exam 1.
As before, the seat value shows the floor, row, and seat in format FLOOR-ROW-SEAT. We are using the main floor and the first balcony only. For example, MAIN_FLOOR-GG-102 means Main Floor, Row GG, Seat 102; while 1ST_BALCONY-U-201 means First Balcony, Row U, Seat 201. Make sure to write down your seat information and bring it with you to the exam.
If you are on the main floor, please note that there are double-letter and single-letter rows. So Row GG and Row G are not the same. Check out the Elliott Hall seating map in the Exam folder (you may need to zoom in to read seat numbers).
Please note that during the exam TAs and instructors can tell you to move to another seat - anytime, for any reason.
In the unlikely event that we assigned you a non-existent seat, and you realize this before the exam, please email the course coordinator. If you discover it only at the exam, let a TA know immediately.
Practice Exam 2 Solutions posted
Sun 04Mar2012 7:28PMSolutions to both parts of Practice Exam 2 have been posted.
Practice Exam 2, Problem 9 - correction
Sun 04Mar2012 5:49PMThe vertical axis 'y' in Problem 9 should point DOWNWARDS. Corrected problem has been posted.
Practice Exam 2, handgraded part - posted
Sat 03Mar2012 12:45AMThe handgraded portion of Practice Exam 2 has been posted.
Practice Exam 2 posted (multiple-choice part & equation sheet)
Thu 01Mar2012 7:19PMThe multiple-choice part of Practice Exam 2 has been posted.
Please be aware that it is impossible to cover the material in 10 problems, therefore, the problems on the real exam can be quite different. Make sure to review all the relevant material - Lectures 1-15, Homeworks 1-15, Recitations 1-8, Labs 1-8, with special focus on material that was not tested on Exam 1 (Lectures 9-15, Homeworks 9-15, Recitations 5-8, Labs 5-8).
Note, the actual exam will have only 10 multiple-choice problems - but the more practice, the better.
Viewing your Exam 1 answers on CHIP.
Thu 01Mar2012 3:54PMWe would like to remind you that on CHIP you can see your answers on the multiple-choice part of Exam 1. On the CHIP main page click the link 'Homework/EXAM', then at the top of the new page it brings up click on 'EXAM1'.
CHIP can show what you answered to each problem on the exam. Also, you can try answering questions again to see whether you can get them correctly now (your Exam 1 scores will be unchanged).
Exam 1 seat assignments on CHIP.
Tue 07Feb2012 2:18PMSeat assignments for Exam 1 have been uploaded to CHIP. Check under score/data type "Seat Assignment".
The seat value shows the floor, row, and seat in format FLOOR-ROW-SEAT. We are using the main floor and the first balcony only. For example, MAIN_FLOOR-GG-102 means Main Floor, Row GG, Seat 102; while 1ST_BALCONY-U-201 means First Balcony, Row U, Seat 201. Make sure to write down your seat information and bring it with you to the exam.
If you are on the main floor, please note that there are double-letter and single-letter rows. So Row GG and Row G are not the same. Check out the Elliott Hall seating map in the Exam folder (you may need to zoom in to read seat numbers).
Please note that during the exam TAs and instructors can tell you to move to another seat - anytime, for any reason.
In the unlikely event that we assigned you a non-existent seat, and you realize this before the exam, please email the course coordinator. If you discover it only at the exam, let a TA know immediately.
Practice Exam 1 - Problem 10 solution corrected.
Mon 06Feb2012 9:00PMSolution to Problem 10 on Practice Exam 1 has been corrected.
Practice Exam 1 Solutions posted.
Sun 05Feb2012 6:43PMSolutions for the multiple choice and handgraded problems of Practice Exam 1 have been posted (single PDF file).
Practice Exam 1 posted.
Thu 02Feb2012 7:42PMPractice Exam 1 has been posted (check under Exams). Solutions will be posted by next Monday.
Please be advised that the practice exam only serves to give you some idea about what the real exam is like. There is no guarantee that Exam 1 next Wednesday (Feb 8) will have the same type of problems because it is impossible to cover all the material with just a dozen or so problems. Therefore, the practice exam should NOT be your sole preparation for Exam 1. Make sure to review Lectures 1-8, Homeworks 1-8, Recitations 1-4, and Labs 1-4.
Note, the practice exam has 11 multiple choice questions, but the real exam will have only 10.
End of announcements for posted lecture slides, recitation problems, Problem of the Week and solutions.
Tue 24Jan2012 3:52PMThere will be no further announcements for posted lecture slides, recitation problems, Problem of the Week and solutions. The pattern should be evident now - slides are posted at least a few days before lecture, recitation problems by end of the previous week, while Problem of the Week and solutions by the beginning of each week.
Problem of the Week 3, and solutions to Problem of the Week 2 posted.
Mon 23Jan2012 1:09AMProblem of the Week 3 and solutions to Problem of the Week 2 have been uploaded in PDF format.
Lectures 5 & 6 and Recitation 3 posted.
Fri 20Jan2012 6:03PMPDF slides for Lectures 5-6 and Recitation 3 have been posted.
Lecture 4 posted.
Mon 16Jan2012 11:54PMPDF slides for Lecture 4 have been posted.
Lecture 3, Recitation 2, Problem of the Week 2 posted.
Thu 12Jan2012 9:33PMPDF slides for Lecture 3, problems for Recitation 2, and Problem of the Week 2 have all been uploaded.
Note, recitation problems are posted in advance so that you can prepare for your recitation session. You do *not* have to print your own copy.
The first problem of the week is also out. The numbering reflects that this problem is for Week 2. Solutions will be posted at the end of Week 2 (Sunday Jan 22 or Monday Jan 23).
Lectures 1 & 2 uploaded. Problem of the week starts with week 2.
Mon 09Jan2012 7:57PMPDF slides for lectures 1 and 2 have been uploaded. The first Problem of the Week will be posted next week.
Welcome! Check syllabus, schedule, and recitation #1.
Thu 05Jan2012 6:52PMWelcome! Please read the syllabus, schedule, and the Week 1 recitation problem. There are important registration activities you must do (see syllabus). First homework is due by midnight Thursday Jan 12.