May 8
PHY 231C, section 731 summer session 1 (message 3 of 3): Exams and Practice exam problems
Dear PHY 231C, section 731 summer session 1 student,
There are two exams:
The midterm: 5PM (Eastern Time) on Wednesday, May 27 and 5PM (Eastern Time) is 50 minutes plus an additional 10 minutes for Lon-Capa submissions
The final on Wednesday, June 24 at 5PM(Eastern Time) is 100 minutes plus an additional 20 minutes for Lon-Capa submissions.
An alternate version of each exam will be offered for MSU class conflicts only and documentation of the conflict must be received no later than 5PM on Wednesday, May 20. You should make arrangements to your schedule now for these dates, as alternates will not be provided for any other reasons.
The midterm exam and final exam are traditional, multiple-choice paper and pencil type exams, but taken online in Lon-Capa. They are open book and open note, but access to Lon-Capa will be restricted to the exam itself during the exam. Having any windows or tabs open to parts of lon-capa outside the exam can cause access errors to exam problems. The best solution is to close down all internet browsers on your computer prior to each exam and start with a fresh login. No accommodations will be made for these preventable, self-inflicted errors.
We suggest you put together a good, well-organized set of notes for each exam: one page for the midterm and two pages for the final should suffice. While the exam is open book/open note you will not have time to frantically search through the text or online for similar problems. Doing so will likely cause you to run out of time.
On the Friday following the midterm exam, a correction exam will open up in homework mode. The correction exam is completed online just like all of the regular homework assignments. This correction assignment allows you to do the same exam again with a different randomization for your assigned values. 30% of the positive difference between your correction exam score and your original exam score is added to your original score as a bonus. The correction exam can only help your score on the exam; do nothing and your original score stays as-is.
There is folder in Lon-Capa with four sets of practice exam problems and solutions to the problems. One set of practice problems include every single problem from midterm exams given in this past academic year (Fall 2019 and Spring 2020); the next set of practice problems incudes every single midterm problem given in this course in the 2018-2019 academic year, the next set of practice exam problems includes every single problem from midterm exams given in the 2017-2018 academic year (Fall 2017 and Spring 2018) of this course; the last set of practice problems include every single problem from midterm exams given in the academic year Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 of 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 for future study). A second folder with each practice exam problem is available for you with correct/incorrect feedback enabled – so you can get immediate feedback as to the correctness of your response. 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, as you may find some additional useful information in the solution.
For convenience, here is a link to the syllabus:
https://web.pa.msu.edu/courses/2020summer/PHY231C/half/half.htm
Richard Hallstein
PHY 231C, section 731 summer session 1 (message 2 of 3): Extra credit/bonus point opportunities
Dear PHY 231C student,
Students will, at times ask at the end of the semester about doing extra work to get a higher grade. In this class, there are plenty of extra credit opportunities offered throughout the session and we encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities. The time to start accumulating this extra credit is now (not at the end of the session, as then it is too late). These bonus opportunities have limited windows of availability and strict due dates. Other than what is outlined below, no other extra credit will be given. Please take advantage of each of these opportunities, as they can significantly help your final grade in the course. Much of this is in the bonus point section of the syllabus.
Here are all of the bonus point/extra credit opportunities available in the course:
Concept tests: The pre-course version is available now and due on Sunday, May 17; the post class version will be available on June 15 and will be due on Sunday, June 21
(before the final exam). Here are the details:
Concept tests: An assessment meant to determine student understanding of
mechanics concepts. The department offers this to help improve future versions
of this course and its traditional equivalent. The pre-course version will be
available from the start of the session and is due on May 17 and the post course
version will be available from June 15 and will be due on June 21. A
participation bonus of 1 point added to your final exam score will be given to
all students who seriously attempt* each of these items. Participation bonuses
are as follows: Pre-course +1 point on final exam; Post-course version +1 point
on final exam; any student making a serious* attempt on both will receive an
additional 1 point bonus on their final exam score (for a total of +3 points
added). *- 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. This will be checked. Completing all of these as described will add 3% to your final exam score or 1.2% to your final average
Available now and due with associated homework assignments throughout the
session. There are about 250 regular homework problems and about 50 additional
bonus homework problems. Homework is weighted at 30%, so attempting these bonus
problems could add 6% to your final average. Here are the details:
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.
Correction assignment for the midterm exam done as a homework assignment
can increase your midterm score and thus, you final average. It will be
available from on Friday, 5/29 and is due on Tuesday, 6/2 along with homework set
5. Here are the correction assignment details:
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 (or proctored) 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.
No other extra credit will be offered or given in this course.
Richard Hallstein(Lead Instructor), hallstein@pa.msu.edu
Andrea Chaney, chaneyan@msu.edu
PHY 231C, section 731 summer session 1 is now available (1 of 3)
Dear PHY 231C student,
Welcome to the first summer session of PHY 231C.
You are receiving this message because you are enrolled in the first summer session of PHY 231C section 731. All online course material will be delivered using Lon-Capa. You can log in using your MSUnet ID and password (same as your email) here: https://loncapa.msu.edu/
I realize this message is long, but you should read it carefully and in detail as it is part of the syllabus and it is copied in the announcement section of the syllabus for your reference. You will also receive two additional emails today. One is an email specific to our exams and practice exam problems. The other is an outline of all available extra credit (bonus points) available to you in this course.
We will cover all material usually covered in a fifteen week course in a little over six weeks. This course runs only in the first summer session starting on May 11 and ending with the final exam on June 24. In general, there are two homework sets due each week. Every week during the session will require a significant online time commitment with a reliable high speed internet connection. Extensions of the homework due dates will not be given. If you feel the pace of this class is too fast, section 733 is a full summer version of the course and its pace is comparable to that of the class in the Fall/Spring. However, if you enroll in the full summer version, you cannot take the second semester course 232C in the second summer session.
The required text book is Rex & Wolfson: Essential College Physics, Volume 1.
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 or the Mastering Physics add-on to the textbook in this course. Since this is an online class, you are not required to purchase an i-clicker.
Whenever you finish using Lon-CAPA you should *ALWAYS* log out. Staying logged in for an extended period of time will prevent you from seeing any new material added to the course i.e. correction exam, exam results, practice exam problems. In addition, leaving Lon-Capa idle for a long time can cause access errors (i.e. getting a message when trying to answer a problem stating the system is not available). No extensions will be given for such preventable errors.
Please visit www.loncapa.msu.edu and log in using your MSU Net ID and password.
Select the "PHY 231C, FIRST Summer Session 2020" 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/2020summer/PHY231C/half/half.htm Read all sections of it carefully. This is the official syllabus of the class.
The next item is a folder containing the lectures for the course. The Online Lecture folder contains the lectures specifically designed for this online course; they are in the form of narrated PowerPoint presentations with example problems and some lecture demonstrations. A high speed internet connection is required. All of the online lectures for the course are currently available.
Embedded within the online lectures are 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. In addition, hints and/or solutions to these extra credit bonus questions will not be provided.
The next folder will contain the homework for the course. There are homework sets that are due, in general every Tuesday at 5PM and Thursday at 5PM. The first homework set is due FRIDAY, May 15th at 5PM (this is the only set due on a Friday). All homework sets are currently available, so if you know you have a conflict at some point in the semester, you can work ahead. Additionally, you should not wait until the last minute to do the assigned homework -- extensions on homework will not be granted.
There are no face to face meetings this summer, but there will be help available via the discussion board included with each resource in Lon-Capa. Our Learning Assistants are more than happy to answer your questions. Starting May 11, the virtual help via discussion board will be open for this course. Hours:
Mondays: 11AM-6PM
Tuesdays: 9AM-5PM
Wednesdays: 9AM-1PM
Thursdays: 9AM-noon and 1PM-5PM
You are also encouraged to use this resource inside LON-CAPA. While, the discussion forum will be actively monitored during these hours, you can post questions or answer questions at any time. If you don't understand a problem or you need help, just click on the "Post discussion" link and post your question. Please do not send questions about the homework via email – the discussion board should always be used for this purpose. There are over four hundred students enrolled in these sections, and while we do not mind answering questions there simply are not enough hours in the week to individually do this. So, instead please use the post discussion option -- more of us will see it sooner using this option and you will consequently get a more rapid response. More likely than not, others will have the same question and unlike email, everyone can then benefit from your question and subsequent response(s). If you know the answer to a question, just post your answer. Don't forget: The best way to learn is to teach.
Working and understanding the homework problems is a very important part of understanding the material. While, you can likely find a quick, easy formula derived by someone else in the class or by someone online, which will yield the solution to a homework problem, going straight for this type of solution will not help you learn the material. If you are faced with a similar problem that does not use the same end formula, that quick and easy homework solution will be of little help. However, if you understand the underlying concepts and the process that went in to finding that end formula, that similar problem should not be difficult to solve. Rather than using a quick and easy formula that someone else put the work into finding, a better course to follow is attempting to work the problems yourself after completing the assigned readings and watching the online lectures. Only after an honest attempt at the problems should you seek further assistance. Yes, this is more work, but my belief in the importance of working through the homework yourself to your success in the course is both emphasized and rewarded by its relative weight in determining your final grade.
To reiterate, two additional emails will follow this one. Please read them both promptly.
Richard Hallstein(Lead Instructor), hallstein@pa.msu.edu
Andrea Chaney, chaneyan@msu.edu
Last updated: March 2, 2020