EXAMS

• For each exam, each student should bring a #2 pencil,a calculator for numerical calculation (Graphing calculators are permitted; cell phones, PDAs and computers are NOT permitted) and a picture ID.
• All baseball caps or brimmed hats must be removed or turned backwards; remove caps or hats that cover ears.
• Headphones and unauthorized earpieces must be removed during exams.
• All exam questions are multiple choice. Exam questions will be both numeric and conceptual, e.g. true/false, less than/greater than equal to, ranking, direction of vector, etc. Midterm exam 2 will have one modified* problem taken directly from mid-term exam 1. Midterm exam 3 will have one modified* problem from midterm exam 1 and one modified problem from midterm exam 2. These modified* problems could be multi-part.
• Our three midterm exams are on Thursday evenings: Feb. 13, Mar. 19 and Apr. 9 at 7:45PM (location TBA). An alternate session will be offered for class conflicts only. If you have a class scheduling conflict, you will need to provide documentation of the conflict (a screenshot of your official class schedule). If the conflict is work related, you should make arrangements with your employer to get this time off.
• Our final exam is Wednesday, April 29 at 8PM and its location will be announced later in the semester when after we have been assigned a room. The alternate final for students having University approved conflicts (three final on the same day or another final scheduled at this time) is 7:45AM on Tuesday, April 28. Documentation is required and must be received prior to Friday, March 13 or you will have to take the final at its scheduled time.

Off-campus Proctored Exams

• If you are living or traveling far from the MSU campus at the time of the 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 will not be accommodated and you will have to take the exam on the MSU campus. Click here for deadlines and details for arranging off-campus exams.

Midterm Exams

• There will be three fifty-minute midterm exams. The exams are closed book, but you may use one(and only one) 8-1/2 x 11 inch or smaller sheet of original, hand-written notes and equations (you may use both sides of the sheet). Note sheets will be checked during each exam. using any notes other than the original, handwritten notes described will result in an undroppable penalty grade of zero on the exam.
• There are no makeup 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
• The midterm exams 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. Only students taking the original exam will have access to the correction exam. 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.
  • Midterm Exam 1 will be based on material covered in the required text, the online lectures and homework from:
    • Electric Forces and Fields
    • Electric Potential, Voltage and Capacitance
    • Current, resistance and DC Circuits
  • Midterm Exam 2 will be based on material covered in the required text, the online lectures and homework from:
    • Magnetism
    • Electromagnetic Induction
    • AC Circuits and Electromagnetic Waves
    • Plus one modified* question from exam 1
  • Midterm Exam 3 will be based on material covered in the required text, the online lectures and homework from:
    • Geometric Optics and Optical Instruments
    • Wave Optics
    • Plus one modified* question from exam 1
    • Plus one modified* question from exam 2

Final Exam

• There is no correction exam associated with the final exam.
• There will be one cumulative 2 - hour final exam. The exam is closed book, but you may use two 8-1/2 x 11 inch or smaller sheets of hand-written notes and equations (you may use both sides of the sheets). The notes must be original and written directly on the sheets of paper (i.e. no print outs). The final exam will not be dropped -- it is University policy that students missing a final exam will receive a grade of 0 for the course.
• Roughly 30% of the points on the final exam will be based on material covered in the required text, the online lectures and homework from:
  • Relativity
  • Modern Physics/Quantum Physics
  • Atomic Physics
  • Nuclear Physics
• The remaining 70% of the material on the final exam will come from the material covered prior in the course prior to mid term exam 3. This part will be based on material covered in the required text, the online lectures, exams and homework. These topics are outlined in the midterm section above.
• Grading scales for exams will not be altered unless there was mis-wording or an error.
• The alternate final exam time is for students having three verified final exams on the scheduled date or for students having a verified final exam at the same time as our scheduled (common) final exam time. You must notify me, with documentation prior to the deadline in the calendar section of the syllabus to be eligible for the alternate final exam session. All official final exam dates/times for all MSU courses were available prior to the start of the semester. Not taking the time to check your final schedule prior to the deadline is not a valid reason for attending the alternate session.
• Missing the final exam: 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."

*-- Modified could mean that if the original problem gave x and asked for y, the modified problem might give y and ask for x. For conceptual problems, modified could mean covering the same concept.

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Last updated: December 1, 22019