class average: 2.91
class average in previous years: S02=2.51, F01=2.74 (just for reference...courses not taught by me)
I guess you lot are either smarter or worked harder.
Well done to you all, it is a tough course.  Good luck with whatever comes ahead.  I really enjoyed teaching you, S. Summary of exam class averages (before extra credit makeups):
midterm 1: 61.5%
midterm 2: 58%
midterm 3: 79%
midterm 4: 58.2%
final:          56.9%
 

FOUND: Hat and gloves were left in the exam room last (Tuesday) night.  If they are yours please pick them up from the Undergrad office, 1312 BPS.

(12/14/02) PROBLEM WITH HOMEWORK 10 SCORES HAS BEEN FIXED AND SPREADSHEET REPOSTED.  PLEASE RECHECK IT: reposted homework scores

Scores (Please contact me asap with problems/questions): Exams |Quizzes |Homeworks

Review grades: Please check back Monday evening or Tuesday (of finals week) for a link to a spreadsheet containing everyones homework, midterm exam and quiz scores.  The scores in this spreadsheet will be used to calculate your grades.  If you have a question about any of the scores please let me know as soon as possible so we can check into it and make corrections.  Note, I have to post final grades on Friday of finals week.  Sometime after this I will link a spreadsheet to the web-page containing everyone's grades.

Review session:  Simon will host a review session on Sunday December 8th at 8pm in the Biomedical Physical Sciences Building.  Meet at room 1410.  Depending on numbers we will either have it in there or in another classroom in the building.  NOTE: ONLY ONE DOOR TO THE BUILDING IS OPEN AT THIS TIME....I am reliably told that the open door is at the main entrance at the north of the building; however, I was under the impression from previous visits that it was the main entrance at the South of the building....please try both places till you find it!

Final Exam: Will take place on Tuesday December 10th, 5:45-7:45, in room 1410 BPS (the normal classroom).  Note that there will be an extra-credit makeup for the final exam that opens after the final and closes on Thursday of finals week (2-days after the exam) at midnight.

****************************************************************************************

How am I doing in this course?
After the first exam is a good time to reasses your own performance in the course.  Use the following as a guide (note, I will assess your actual grade by doing the calculations more accurately according to the syllabus at the end of the semester )

a) The points have been assigned to homework/exam questions roughly with the weight they carry towards your final grade. The total number of points available from all homeworks and exams together is roughly 720.  The total number of points available from homeworks alone is 180.  Here is what you need to get the grade you want:
 

Grade	4.0	3.5	3.0	2.5	2.0	1.5	1.0	0.0
required %	92	84	76	68	61	54	47	0
required points	663	605	548	490	440	389	339	0

b) To estimate how you are doing: 1) estimate your total points from homework.  For many of you who do every question this will be 175-180 points.  Call this value H.
                                                   2) estimate your exam contributions.  Get your exam score (in percentage) from CAPA. Assuming you will perform the same on all the exams, apply this percentage to the total points available from exams (540). Call this value E.
                                                   3) Add H and E and compare it to the table above to get a projection of your grade.

Here is an example:
What average do you need on your exams (after extra credit) to get a specific grade?  Assume you can get all 180 points from the homeworks by doing all of them completely. The rest of the points you will have to get from exams (and extra credits).  The number of points you need for a certain grade are shown above. For example, to get a 2.0 you will need 440-180=260 points out of 540 possible exam points which is 48% (you will have to average 48% on all your exams); for a 3.5 you will need a further 605-180=425 points out of a possible 540 exam points so you will need to average 79% on the exams (after extra credit), and so on.

Note:
i)  don't forget to factor in the opportunities for extra credit which you can add to these point totals (extra-credit exam, quizzes)
ii) Don't forget that his is just a projection and not a very accurate exercise.  For example, we don't know if this was a particularly hard or easy exam until we see results from more exams and this can bias the result.
BUT: if you are not on course for the grade you want, do something about it now before it is too late.  The course is high-paced and it won't slow down, even if you are having trouble understanding.  You must take steps to stay on track with study and seeking help from TA's in the helproom, textbook, tutor, class attendance if this is a problem,  etc..  I would be happy to see individuals and give advice about study habits. Also, please ask questions in class and after class.  In general,  I will also be in the helproom 3-5pm on Wednesdays.
iii) Here is an example to make it more clear.  Let's say you do all of all the homeworks => H=180.  On this exam you get 60% but make this up to 70% with the extra credit.  In that case your estimate of E will be 0.7*540=378 and your projected point total will be 378+180=558 giving you a projected grade of 3.0.