December 4
PHY231C Exam Notice (2 of 2) Coverage, practice problems and studying
Dear PHY 231C student,
The final exam is cumulative and covers everything in the course. It will be
based on the assigned readings, the online lectures, and the
homework. Some of the problems will be conceptual in nature and some will have
numerical answers. There are 100 possible points on the exam and a total of 30
responses on this exam.
To further assist you in focusing your studies, here is a rough
breakdown of what will be on the exam:
1D motion: 9 points
2D motion: 8 points
Force: 13 points
Energy and work: 4 points
Momentum: 7 points
Oscillations: 5 points
Rotation: 10 points
Gravitation (NOT ON EXAM): 0 points
Solids and fluids: 10 points
Waves and sound (NOT ON EXAM): 0 points
Temperature and Ideal gases: 13 points
Heat: 13 points
Thermodynamics: 8 points
In general, and across all topics you are responsible for knowing units.
A copy of the exam's cover page is visible in the exam folder in Lon-Capa. Some
useful information is included on the cover page.
Here are some study suggestions: review the readings, online lectures and the
homework problems; make a good sheet of notes for the exam.
There are practice exam problems available in the Practice Exams folder. There
are three sub-folders with problems and solutions. One contains every midterm
exam problem I gave in this course during the academic year 2016-2017; the
second contains every problem I gave in this course during the 2017-2018
academic year; the third contains every midterm exam problem I gave during this
past academic year (2018-2019). So, there are six full semesters worth of exam
problems that I assigned for in this course on midterm exams available to you.
The problems themselves are coded in lon-capa in exam mode with no due date and
correct/incorrect feedback disabled. This way, you can return to these problems
later to try them again without having the correct response highlighted from an
earlier correct attempt. There is a sub-folder within each practice exam
folder with the same questions, but correct/incorrect feedback enabled so you
may attempt these problems and get immediate feedback as to whether your
response was correct or incorrect.
The solutions to these problems take on one of three forms:
1. A new online lecture if a very similar problem is not already present in the
course material.
2. A reference to where to find the solution to a very similar problem in the
online material.
3. A reference to where to find the solution to a very similar problem in the
required text.
When attempting these problems, use a draft of your exam note sheet and then
modify it as needed based on what you thought you were missing or what your
thought would be useful to have included.
Richard Hallstein
PHY231C Exam Notice (1 of 2) is at 8PM on Thursday, 12/12 in CEM 138
Dear PHY 231C student,
The final exam will be on Thursday, December 12 at 8 PM in room 138 Chemistry.Some streets in and around the campus are closed for construction, so you shouldallow extra time to get to the exam location. The exam will be handed out promptly at 8:00 PM; students arriving after 8:00 PMwill not be permitted to enter the room until after the students who arrivedpromptly have started the exam.
The exam is closed book, but you may use two 8-1/2 inch x 11 inch or smallersheets of original HAND-WRITTEN notes and equations; your note sheet will bechecked at least once during the exam. You may use both sides of your notesheets. If you show up to the exam with a set of notes that are not originaland handwritten, you will have to take the exam without notes. In general, onthis exam and the final exam, the questions will be in the order material wascovered in the course; this should help you organize your note sheet.You should bring a few sharpened number 2 pencils, your student ID (or driver'slicense) and a calculator (graphing calculators are OK). However, the use ofcell phones, PDAs, Apple watches, tablets, computers or any similar devices forany reason is NOT permitted. If you have any of these devices out, you willreceive a penalty grade of zero on the exam.
Pencils and calculators will NOT be provided. Also as a courtesy to your fellow students, you should turn off your stored away cell phone before entering the room.When taking the exam, all baseball caps or brimmed hats must be removed orturned backward. Furthermore, all caps or hats covering the ears must be removed.When you enter the room, sit in the row assigned to you based on your last name(seating assignments will be displayed on the screen at the front of the room). The exam and scantron sheets will be handed out once all students arriving promptlyare in their assigned rows. DO NOT open the exam until you are told to do so byan instructor. You can, however, complete the student information section ofyour answer sheet. Make sure you include your student ID number and your nameon the answer sheet. Make certain that your exam has your name and picture onthe cover sheet. If it does not, you have the wrong exam. When you arefinished with the exam return both your answer sheet and your exam to an instructor.You will have two hours to complete the exam.
Richard Hallstein
November 29
PHY 231C courtesy reminder: post-course concept test with PARTICIPATION bonus is due 12/8
Dear PHY 231C student,
The post-course concept test is due Sunday, December 8 at 11:59 PM. This item is now available for you to complete.
This item comes with participation credit ONLY for students giving a serious effort (see below) on the test.
In short, absolutely NO correctness credit is attached to this assessment.
You were notified about its availability at the semester's start and details are in the syllabus. As such, no extensions will be given.
A similar pre-course concept test was offered at the beginning of
the semester(this also include a participation bonus). I encourage you to
complete this post-course item, as in addition to the bonus outlined below,
they will be used to help make future versions of this course and its
traditional equivalent.
Bonus for concept test:
Concept tests:
Do neither: no bonus
Do only 1(pre or post): 1 point added to the final exam score
Do both(pre and post): 3 points bonus added to the final exam score
The final exam has 100 points and is weighted at 35% of the final grade. Doing
both of these items(pre and post) will add 3 points for a maximum possible score
of 103 (out of 100). Even if you did not fully participate in the pre-course
version, fully participating in the post-course version will add 1 point to
your final exam score.
The extra credit for the concept test is for participants only
and NOT for correctness. However, in the case of the concept tests a
serious effort must be given to get the credit. As such, simple submission
patterns (like AAA..., or BBB...) or rapidly clicking on any response throughout
the concept test are not considered serious efforts and no bonus will be given.
https://web.pa.msu.edu/courses/2019fall/PHY231C/Bonus/Bonus.htm
As was the case with each of the pre-course version, credit is awarded outside
of lon-capa and this credit will be confirmed to you via a final score summary,
including your final grade after our final exam has been scored. You can find
confirmation of the status of the pre-course versions at the end of the score
summary/grade projections sent to you after each of our midterm exams.
Richard Hallstein
November 11
PHY 231C (courtesy message 3 of 3) Exam Note sheet must be original and handwritten
Dear PHY 231C student,
I'm sending this as a separate message for emphasis. Your note sheet for this (and all) exam(s) must be handwritten and original (no copies or printouts).
This is stated both in the syllabus and in the exam announcement. The use of
any other type of notes (i.e. not handwritten) is cheating. Any student using
any notes on an exam that are not handwritten will receive a penalty grade of zero on the exam.
Penalty grades cannot be used as a dropped exam.
Your note sheet will be checked at least once during the exam.
Richard Hallstein
PHY 231C (courtesy message 2 of 3) Exam 2 exam coverage
Dear PHY 231C students,
In preparation for this week's 11/14 exam, I wanted to give you some additional
information. First, if you have not done so, you should review the study
suggestions in the syllabus:
https://web.pa.msu.edu/courses/2019fall/PHY231C/Study/Study.htm
I'll reiterate one point in this forum. In general, all of our exams will be organized in the order the material is covered in class. This will help you in both organizing a good set of handwritten notes and with recall when taking the exam. One caveat to this organization style, sometimes the most challenging question on an exam is early on the exam. If you're stuck on such a question, make an educated guess and move on (don't use all your time on one question).
The practice exam problems for the third exam are now available. You can find
details in the syllabus here:
https://web.pa.msu.edu/courses/2019fall/PHY231C/Study/Study.htm
For next week's exam, here is how points are distributed:
Question on exam cover: Our scheduled final exam is: in CEM 138 on Thursday, 12/12 at 8PM: 1 point
Gravitation: 11 points
Solids (focus on Young's Modulus): 5 points
Fluids: 14 points
Waves and sound (focus on sound): 13 points
question from exams 1 and 2: 6 points
On this and all exams, you are also responsible for units and common metric conversions for all topics.
Richard Hallstein
PHY 231C Exam 3 courtesy notice (1 of 3): 11/14 at 7:45PM in CEM 138
Dear PHY 231C students,
The second exam will be on Thursday, November 14 from 7:45 PM until 8:35 PM in Chemistry (CEM) room 138. The exam will be handed out promptly at 7:45 PM; students arriving after 7:45 PM will not be permitted to enter the room until after the students who arrived promptly have started the exam.
The exam will concentrate on everything covered after exam 2 through and including online lecture 11 (homework set 8). It will be based on the readings, the online lectures, and the homework.Some of the problems will be conceptual in nature and some will have numerical answers. There are a total of 15 separate responses on the exam. There are 50 possible points on the exam.
The exam is closed book, but you may use one 8-1/2 inch x 11 inches or smaller sheet of original HAND-WRITTEN notes and equations. You may use both sides of your note sheet. Your note sheet will be checked at least once during the exam. Any notes other than described in the syllabus and restated here will be considered a violation of the university's policy on academic integrity. As such, a non-droppable penalty grade of zero for the exam will be given and an official report of academic dishonesty will be filed with the university.You should bring a few sharpened number 2 pencils, your student ID (or driver'slicense) and a calculator (graphing calculators are OK). However, the use of cell phones, PDAs or computers for any reason is NOT permitted. Pencils and calculators will NOT be provided. Also as a courtesy to your fellow students, you should turn off all cell phones and pagers before entering the room. When taking the exam, all baseball caps or brimmed hats must be removed or turned backward. Furthermore, all caps or hats covering the ears must be removed.When you enter the room, sit in the row assigned to you based on your last name (seating assignments will be displayed on the screen at the front of the room).DO NOT open the exam until you are told to do so by an instructor. However, once the answer sheets are handed out complete the student information section of your answer sheet. Make sure you include your student ID number and your name on the answer sheet. Make certain that your exam has your name and picture on the cover sheet -- if it does not, you have the wrong exam! When you are finished with the exam return both your answer sheet and your exam to an instructor or a TA.
You will have fifty minutes to complete the exam.
The whole exam will be assigned again in the same form as a homework assignment as a Correction Exam. The Correction Exam is optional. If you don't touch it, you will NOT lose any points from your in-class exam. If your performance is better on the Correction Exam than on the in-class exam, then 30 percent of this positive difference will be added to your in-class exam score as a bonus.The best strategy is to solve the Correction Exam perfectly to maximize your gain. The Correction Exam will be available in the morning on Friday, November 15 and will be due on Tuesday, November 19 at 11:59 PM.Some useful information is included on the cover page. The cover page for the exam will contain the same information as is displayed on the practice exam's cover page. The two sets of practice exams were outlined in an email sent earlier today.
Note: the exam cover page is for all of the mid-term exams and not all of the useful information listed on it is applicable to this exam.
The due date for Homework set 9 is Tuesday, November 26 at 11:59 PM.
Richard Hallstein
October 20
PHY 231C (courtesy message 3 of 3) Exam Note sheet must be original and handwritten
Dear PHY 231C student,
I'm sending this as a separate message for emphasis. Your note sheet for this (and all) exam(s) must be handwritten and original (no copies or printouts).
This is stated both in the syllabus and in the exam announcement. The use of
any other type of notes (i.e. not handwritten) is cheating. Any student using
any notes on an exam that are not handwritten will receive a penalty grade of zero on the exam.
Penalty grades cannot be used as a dropped exam.
Your note sheet will be checked at least once during the exam.
Richard Hallstein
PHY 231C (courtesy message 2 of 3) Exam 2 exam coverage
Dear PHY 231C students,
In preparation for this week's 10/24 exam, I wanted to give you some additional
information. First, if you have not done so, you should review the study
suggestions in the syllabus:
https://web.pa.msu.edu/courses/2019fall/PHY231C/Study/Study.htm
I'll reiterate one point in this forum. In general, all of our exams will be organized in the order the material is covered in class. This will help you in both organizing a good set of handwritten notes and with recall when taking the exam. One caveat to this organization style, sometimes the most challenging question on an exam is early on the exam. If you're stuck on such a question, make an educated guess and move on (don't use all your time on one question).
The practice exam problems for the second exam are now available. You can find
details in the syllabus here:
https://web.pa.msu.edu/courses/2019fall/PHY231C/Study/Study.htm
For next week's exam, here is how points are distributed:
Question on exam cover: Students may use two and only two sheets of original
handwritten notes on our FINAL exam. Each of these two sheets must be 8.5inches
by 11inches or smaller. Students may use both sides of these sheets. No other
notes are permitted. Is this true? The answer is YES and it is the only
available response: 1 point
energy: 10 points
momentum: 11 points
oscillations: 13 points
rotation: 11 points
question from exam 1: 4 points
On this and all exams, you are also responsible for units and common metric conversions for all topics.
Richard Hallstein
Exam 2 Courtesy notice 1 of 3 (7:45PM on 10/24 in CEM 138)
Dear PHY 231C students,
The second exam will be on Thursday, October 24 from 7:45PM until 8:35PM in Chemistry (CEM) room 138. The exam will be handed out promptly at 7:45PM; students arriving after 7:45PM will not be permitted to enter the room until after the students who arrived promptly have started the exam.
The exam will concentrate on everything covered after exam 1 through and including online lecture 8b (homework set 6). It will be based on the readings, the online lectures, and the homework.
Some of the problems will be conceptual in nature and some will have numerical answers. There are a total of 16 separate responses on the exam. There are 50 possible points on the exam.
The exam is closed book, but you may use one 8-1/2 inch x 11 inch or smaller sheet of original HAND-WRITTEN notes and equations. You may use both sides of your note sheet. Your note sheet will be checked at least once during the exam.
Any notes other than described in the syllabus and restated here will be considered a violation of the university's policy on academic integrity. As such, a non-droppable penalty grade of zero for the exam will be given and an official report of academic dishonesty will be filed with the university.
You should bring a few sharpened number 2 pencils, your student ID (or driver's
license) and a calculator (graphing calculators are OK). However, the use of cell phones, PDAs or computers for any reason is NOT permitted. Pencils and calculators will NOT be provided. Also as a courtesy to your fellow students, you should turn off all cell phones and pagers before entering the room. When taking the exam, all baseball caps or brimmed hats must be removed or turned backward. Furthermore, all caps or hats covering the ears must be removed.
When you enter the room, sit in the row assigned to you based on your last name (seating assignments will be displayed on the screen at the front of the room).
DO NOT open the exam until you are told to do so by an instructor. However, once the answer sheets are handed out complete the student information section of your answer sheet. Make sure you include your student ID number and your name on the answer sheet. Make certain that your exam has your name and picture on the cover sheet -- if it does not, you have the wrong exam! When you are finished with the exam return both your answer sheet and your exam to an instructor or a TA.
You will have fifty minutes to complete the exam.
The whole exam will be assigned again in the same form as a homework assignment as a Correction Exam. The Correction Exam is optional. If you don't touch it, you will NOT lose any points from your in-class exam. If your performance is better on the Correction Exam than on the in-class exam, then 30 percent of this positive difference will be added to your in-class exam score as a bonus.
The best strategy is to solve the Correction Exam perfectly to maximize your gain. The Correction Exam will be available in the morning on Friday, October 25 and will be due on Tuesday, October 29 at 11:59 PM.
Some useful information is included on the cover page. The cover page for the exam will contain the same information as is displayed on the practice exam's cover page. The two sets of practice exams were outlined in an email sent earlier today.
Note: the exam cover page is for all of the mid-term exams and not all of the useful information listed on it is applicable to this exam.
The due date for Homework set 7 is Tuesday, November 5 at 11:59PM. This set is a long set, so you should get started on it early.
Richard Hallstein
September 27
Dear PHY 231C student,
You can now view your midterm exam and your score in Lon-Capa. To see your
score, select: "View current problem status and grading information" from the
main menu. Next to MIDTERM 1 you will see your total points out of 50.
To review your version of the exam in Lon-Capa, click on Course Contents. Then
open the folder labeled EXAMS. The midterm is inside a second folder labeled
MIDTERM 1. You can view an individual problem on the exam, including your
response and the correct response by clicking on the problem (some problems you
can only see your response by clicking on the "Previous Tries" link at the
bottom of the problem's page).
You can prepare a printout of your version of the exam using the "print" option
in the upper right-hand corner of your screen; this option is visible when one
of the problems on the exam is opened/visible on your screen and selecting this
will allow you to create a pdf of your version of the exam. This will show you
how many points each problem was worth. On the original exam, you receive credit
for every correct response.
I encourage you to complete the correction exam available now as a homework
assignment. Doing so can improve your score on this exam; details are in the
message sent to you last week and in the syllabus.
It is your overall score on both the correction exam and original exam which
determines your bonus added to your original score; so complete all problems on
the correction exam (not just the ones you answered incorrectly on the exam you
took with me or a proctor)!
If a correction exam score is higher than your original score, then 30% of the
difference between the correction exam score and your original exam score will
be added to your original score as a bonus. For example, if your score on
today's exam is 40/50 and the correction exam score is 50/50, then 0.3*(50-40)=3
points will be added to today's score for an exam total of 43 points. So, 43/50
will be used as the midterm exam score for final grade calculation purposes. If
the correction exam is equal to or lower than your original score, then the
original score will be used for final grade calculation.
The correction exam is a different randomization than the original exam. So,
just like everyone receives different given values on homework problems, your
correction exam and your original exam will differ slightly.
The correction exam is due tomorrow, TUESDAY, Oct. 1 at 11:59 PM.
If your exam correction exam or your exam score are not showing up, try exiting
Lon-Capa, shutting down all windows of your internet browser and then re-logging
into Lon-Capa.
Richard Hallstein
September 17
Exam 1 courtesy notice 3 of 3 (note sheet details)
Dear PHY 231C student,
I'm sending this as a separate message for emphasis. Your note sheet for this
(and all) exam(s) must be handwritten and original (no copies or printouts).
This is stated both in the syllabus and in the exam announcement. The use of
any other type of notes (i.e. not handwritten) is cheating. Any student using
any notes on an exam that are not handwritten will receive a penalty grade of
zero on the exam.
Penalty grades cannot be used as a dropped exam.
Your note sheet will be checked at least once during the exam.
Richard Hallstein
Exam 1 courtesy notice 2 of 3 (coverage and studying)
Dear PHY 231C students,
In preparation for next week's 9/26 exam, I wanted to give you some additional
information. First, if you have not done so, you should review the study
suggestions in the syllabus:
https://web.pa.msu.edu/courses/2019fall/PHY231C/Study/Study.htm
I'll reiterate one point in this forum. In general, all of our exams will be
organized in the order the material is covered in class. This will help you in
both organizing a good set of handwritten notes and with recall when taking the
exam. One caveat to this organization style, sometimes the most challenging
question on an exam is early on the exam. If you're stuck on such a question,
make an educated guess and move on (don't use all your time on one question).
The practice exam problems for the first exam are now available. You can find
details in the syllabus here:
https://web.pa.msu.edu/courses/2019fall/PHY231C/Study/Study.htm
For next week's exam, here is how points are distributed:
Question on exam cover: Students may use one and only one sheet of original
handwritten notes on each of our MIDTERM exams. This single sheet must be
8.5inches by 11inches or smaller. Students may use both sides of this sheet. No
other notes are permitted. Is this true? The answer is YES and it is the only
available response: 1 point
1D motion: 18 points
2D motion: 14 points
Force: 17 points
On this and all exams, you are also responsible for units and common metric
conversions for all topics.
Richard Hallstein
Exam 1 Courtesy notice 1 of 3 (7:45PM on 9/26 in CEM 138)
Dear PHY 231C students,
The first exam will be on Thursday, September 26 from 7:45PM until 8:35PM in
Chemistry (CEM) room 138. The exam will be handed out promptly at 7:45PM;
students arriving after 7:45PM will not be permitted to enter the room until
after the students who arrived promptly have started the exam.
The exam will cover everything through and including online lecture 4 (homework
set 3). It will be based on the readings, the online lectures, and the homework.
Some of the problems will be conceptual in nature and some will have numerical
answers. There are a total of 17 separate responses on the exam. There are 50
possible points on the exam.
The exam is closed book, but you may use one 8-1/2 inch x 11 inch or smaller
sheet of original HAND-WRITTEN notes and equations. You may use both sides of
your note sheet. Your note sheet will be checked at least once during the exam.
Any notes other than described in the syllabus and restated here will be
considered a violation of the university's policy on academic integrity. As
such, a non-droppable penalty grade of zero for the exam will be given and an
official report of academic dishonesty will be filed with the university.
You should bring a few sharpened number 2 pencils, your student ID (or driver's
license) and a calculator (graphing calculators are OK). However, the use of
cell phones, PDAs or computers for any reason is NOT permitted. Pencils and
calculators will NOT be provided. Also as a courtesy to your fellow students,
you should turn off all cell phones and pagers before entering the room. When
taking the exam, all baseball caps or brimmed hats must be removed or turned
backward. Furthermore, all caps or hats covering the ears must be removed.
When you enter the room, sit in the row assigned to you based on your last name
(seating assignments will be displayed on the screen at the front of the room).
DO NOT open the exam until you are told to do so by an instructor. However, once
the answer sheets are handed out complete the student information section of
your answer sheet. Make sure you include your student ID number and your name on
the answer sheet. Make certain that your exam has your name and picture on the
cover sheet -- if it does not, you have the wrong exam! When you are finished
with the exam return both your answer sheet and your exam to an instructor or a TA.
You will have fifty minutes to complete the exam.
The whole exam will be assigned again in the same form as a homework assignment
as a Correction Exam. The Correction Exam is optional. If you don't touch it,
you will NOT lose any points from your in-class exam. If your performance is
better on the Correction Exam than on the in-class exam, then 30 percent of this
positive difference will be added to your in-class exam score as a bonus.
The best strategy is to solve the Correction Exam perfectly to maximize your
gain. The Correction Exam will be available in the morning on Friday,
September 27 and will be due on Tuesday, October 1 at 11:59 PM.
Some useful information is included on the cover page. The cover page for the
exam will contain the same information as is displayed on the practice exam's
cover page. The two sets of practice exams were outlined in an email sent
earlier today.
Note: the exam cover page is for all of the mid-term exams and not all of the
useful information listed on it is applicable to this exam.
The due date for Homework set 4 is Tuesday, October 8 at 11:59PM. This set is
a long set, so you should get started on it early.
Richard Hallstein
September 3
Dear PHY 231C student,
Starting this Friday, Sept 6, the help room will be staffed with PHY 231/231C specific TAs during the following hours:
Mondays 1PM-9PM
Tuesdays: 1PM-9PM
Fridays: 10Am-noon and 2PM-4PM
The help room is in 1248BPS.
Richard Hallstein
August 28
PHY 231C is now available (message 1 of 6)
Dear PHY 231C student,
Welcome to the fall semester of PHY 231C – the course is now open and available.
You are receiving this message because you are enrolled in PHY 231C section 730 or section 731. Please read this message and the five subsequent messages carefully; they contain a significant amount of important information about the course. A copy of each is posted in the announcement section of the syllabus. I am sending these as separate messages to make it a bit easier for you to find specific information within an otherwise very long single message. The topics of these other five messages are: readings, online lectures and bonus homework questions; regular homework questions; exams, alternate exams and practice exam problems; extra credit and optional not for credit times; course contact information, discussion board and the physics help room.
The required text book is Rex & Wolfson: Essential College Physics, Volume 1. It is sold at the MSU bookstore, at SBS on Grand River and at many online retailers. This class will use LON-CAPA. LON-CAPA is a computerized homework and exam management system developed right here at MSU. We will NOT use d2L whatsoever in this course. Since this is an online class, you are not required to purchase an i-clicker.
Please visit www.loncapa.msu.edu and log in using your MSU Net ID and password. Select the "PHY 231C, Fall 2019 " class. The first item on the top is the syllabus. You can also review the syllabus without logging in to Lon-Capa here: https://web.pa.msu.edu/courses/2019fall/PHY231C/
Read *all* sections of it carefully. This is the official syllabus of the class and contains information like important dates (exams & homework), bonus point opportunities, homework information, exam information, grading, etc.
This is the only message(1 of 6) you will receive from us via the Registrar’s office mail system for this course. A copy of this message, as well as all future course messages will be sent to you via Lon-Capa’s mail system as critical messages.
To make certain you see these critical course messages, they will continue to pop up while you are in Lon-Capa until you move them to your Lon-Capa inbox. So, after reading the message, simply click the move to inbox button at the bottom of the message.
I hope you have a great semester both here and in your other courses,
Richard Hallstein hallstei@msu.edu
BPS 1253, (517) 884-5509
PHY 231C Readings, online lectures and bonus homework problems (message 2 of 6)
Dear PHY 231C student,
The assigned readings from our required text are outlined in the calendar section of the syllabus. All of the online lectures and the associated homework sets are now available in Lon-Capa. The Online Lectures folder contains the lectures specifically designed for this online course; they are in the form of narrated PowerPoint presentations with example problems and demonstrations. Embedded within the online lecture folders are extra credit bonus homework questions. These questions are optional and can only help your score in the course. Most of these questions relate, at least in part to the assigned reading and/or the online lecture immediately preceding the question. These questions are programmed in exam mode (multiple choice) with correct/incorrect feedback disabled; the correct answer will be available after the due date. The discussion board on these bonus questions is disabled. No hints or solutions will be provided for these extra credit bonus problems.
A reliable high speed internet connection is required, as is a computer with the ability to view flash video. The computer will need a current, supported operating system and a browser running HTML5 to use all the options available in the online lectures.
Richard Hallstein hallstei@msu.edu
BPS 1253, (517) 884-5509
PHY 231C regular homework problems (message 3 of 6)
Dear PHY 231C student,
There are weekly homework sets that are due on Tuesdays at 11:59PM. The first homework set is due Tuesday, September 10 at 11:59PM. Since all homework questions for the course are currently available, you can work ahead if you know you’ll have a busy week. You should not wait until the last minute to do the assigned homework -- extensions on homework will not be granted.
Richard Hallstein hallstei@msu.edu
BPS 1253, (517) 884-5509
PHY 231C exams and practice exam problems (message 4 of 6)
Dear PHY 231C student,
There will be three midterm exams and one final exam for this course. The midterm exams are scheduled as follows:
Midterm 1: Thursday, September 26 at 7:45PM Location: Chemistry(CEM) 138
Midterm 2: Thursday, October 24 at 7:45PM Location: Chemistry(CEM) 138
Midterm 3: Thursday, November 14 at 7:45PM Location: Chemistry(CEM) 138
Final exam: Thursday, December 12 13 at 8PM Location: TBA
An alternate exam time will be provided for University approved reasons only and prior to our scheduled exam. An alternate session will be offered for verified MSU class conflicts. If you have a class scheduling conflict, you will need to provide documentation of the conflict (a screenshot of your official class schedule – not the bar graph version, rather the version showing actual start and end times) and I will arrange an alternate time for the exam earlier in the day (possibly as early as 6:30AM). If the conflict is work related, you have plenty of notice and you should make arrangements with your employer to get this time off – no alternate will be provided. If you have a class conflict with any of our midterm exams, you will need to provide documentation of your schedule well in advance of the exam so alternate accommodations can be made. In order to make arrangements for the semester, I will need this information no later than Monday, September 16. If, you have a University approved conflict for the final exam (three FINAL exams on the same day or another exam at the same time), you will need to provide documentation of the conflict no later than Friday, October 26. Since the dates and times of *all* final exams for *all* classes are currently available, requests and conflict documentation received after this date will not be honored. The alternate final exam will be at 7:45AM on Wednesday, December 11. Again, you should know the times and dates of all your exams now, so there is no reason to delay notifying us of conflicts.
There are no makeup midterm exams. However, if you miss a midterm exam for any reason, you will be allowed to drop this exam and the midterm portion of your final grade will be based on the other two midterm exams. Only one midterm exam will be dropped. If you take all three midterms, your lowest midterm exam score will be dropped when calculating your final grade. The dropped midterm exam accounts for *all* unforeseen occurrences such as, illnesses, accidents, family emergencies, etc.
In the case of missing the final exam, the MSU policy is: "A student absent from a final examination without a satisfactory explanation will receive a grade of 0.0 on the numerical system, NC on the CR-NC system, or N in the case of a course authorized for grading on the P-N system. Students unable to take a final examination because of illness or other reason over which they have no control should notify the associate deans of their colleges immediately."
If you are living or traveling far from the MSU campus at the time of an exam, beyond a reasonable commuting distance, or if you are traveling with an MSU-sponsored program, you may be able to arrange a proctored off-campus exam. Arrangements must be made well in advance of the exam -- requests made after the deadline posted in the syllabus will not be accommodated and you will have to take the exam at MSU. For arrangement details and arrangement deadlines, see the link in the exam section of the syllabus.
In Lon-Capa, there is a folder with practice exam problems. There are three sets of practice problems these contain exam problems given in this course in each of the two preceding academic years. The first includes every single problem from midterm exams given in Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 in this course; the second includes every single problem given on midterm exams in Fall 2017 and Spring 2018 in this course; the third includes every single problem given on midterm exams in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 in this course. These problems are coded in Lon-Capa and appear in exam mode for zero credit (no due date is set and correct/incorrect feedback is disabled to allow you to return to the problem later). A second set of the same problems is included with feedback enabled, so you can see if you answer these questions correctly. The solutions to these problems take on one of three forms:
1. A reference to a very similar problem in the required text.
2. A reference to a similar problem worked out in the online lectures.
3. A video solution.
You are encouraged to use these to help prepare for the exams. Try solving the problems first before watching the solutions. Even if you answer the questions correctly, you may find some additional useful information in the solution.
Richard Hallstein hallstei@msu.edu
BPS 1253, (517) 884-5509
PHY 231C Extra credit and not for credit items (message 5 of 6)
Dear PHY 231C student,
The practice exam problems provided are to help you in preparing for our exams and are not for credit. Details are outlined in message 4 of 6 on exams and practice exams.
The only bonus or extra credit opportunities offered in this course are as follows:
There is one optional pre-course extra credit/bonus point opportunity currently available for completion – it includes a participation bonus. It is a timed pre-course concept test. It should be completed by 11:59PM on Friday, September 6. A similar post course concept test will be offered over the weekend preceding our final exam (this also include a participation bonus). I encourage you to complete them, as in addition to the bonus outlined below, they will be used to help us to improve future versions of this course and its traditional equivalent.
Bonuses for concept tests:
Concept tests:
Do neither: no bonus
Do only 1(pre or post): 1 point added to final exam score
Do both (pre and post): 3 points bonus added to final exam score
The final exam has 100 points and is weighted at 35% of the final grade. Doing both of these items will add 3 points for a maximum possible score of 103 (out of 100).
The extra credit for the concept tests are for participation only and not for correctness. However, a serious effort must be given to get the credit. As such, simple submission patterns (like AAA..., or BBB...) or rapidly clicking on any response throughout the concept test are not considered serious efforts and no bonus will be given.
There are bonus questions in the online lecture folders. You should be able to answer these after completing the assigned reading from the required text and watching the online lectures. These bonus questions are programmed to look like exam questions, as such, they are all multiple choice. In addition, some of these bonus questions are questions used on previous exams for this course and its traditional equivalent. Lon-Capa's feedback option is disabled, so unlike regular homework problems, Lon-Capa will not tell you if you have the correct answer until after the due date. In addition, the discussion board on these questions has been disabled. These questions are meant for you to work out yourself after having read the assigned reading and watched the online lectures. All points earned here will be added to your total homework points as a homework bonus (so, homework scores over 100% are possible). Hints and/or solutions to the bonus questions will not be provided for these bonus homework questions at any time, even after the due date.
The midterm exam will have a correction exam assigned as a homework assignment in Lon-Capa. 30% of the positive difference between the correction exam and the in-class exam will be added to your in-class exam score as bonus. As such, the correction exam homework assignment can only add points to your midterm exam score. The correction exam will be available at noon on the day after the scheduled exam and will be due at the regular homework due date/time the following week.
No other bonus or extra credit opportunities will be offered.
Richard Hallstein hallstei@msu.edu
BPS 1253, (517) 884-5509
PHY 231C course contact info, discussion board and help room (message 6 of 6)
Dear PHY 231C student,
If you have an administrative question about the course, please send it to: hallstei@msu.edu. Under no circumstances should requests for assistance on homework and/or explanations of the online lectures be sent via email. Such requests will likely go unanswered. With over five hundred students in the course and the second semester course, it is simply impossible to answer all potential homework questions individually via email. Instead, use the post discussion option available on all lectures and on all regular homework problems. This option also allows all to benefit from all such questions and subsequent responses. These response could come from course staff or other students.
You are encouraged to use the discussion board inside LON-CAPA. If you don't understand a problem or you need help, just click on the "Post discussion" link and post your question. Try to make your post as well articulated as possible; be specific in your request – statements like “help” or “I don’t understand” do not give us any idea about what is giving you difficulty. Again, do not use email for help on the homework questions. More likely than not, others will have the same question, and unlike email everyone can then benefit from your question and the subsequent response(s). If you know the answer to a fellow student’s question, just post your answer. Please refrain from simply posting a formula without any context or discussion. Quite often, the person posting such a formula understands where it came from and would be able to find a similar relationship when encountered on say, an exam. Whereas, those using such a formula without understanding where it came from are quite often lost when encountering the similar question on an exam.
You are encouraged to come to the Strosacker help room with your questions. Our Teaching Assistants will be more than happy to assist you in finding your way to the answers to our homework questions. However, they are instructed not to simply solve these problems for you. Starting Tuesday, 9/3 the Strosacker help room is in 1248 BPS and is usually open from 9:00AM to 9:00PM Monday through Thursday and 9:00AM-6:00PM on Fridays. You are welcome to go to the help room during any of its open hours, but there will be designated times when TAs specifically assigned to PHY231/231C will be available. I will send you an email when regular help room hours begin and when the 231/231C specific hours are set.
Richard Hallstein hallstei@msu.edu
BPS 1253, (517) 884-5509
Last updated: August 5, 2019