EXAMS

• Both the midterm and final exams are open note and open book. Access to course material in Lon-Capa will be restricted during the exam. The time, length and level of difficulty of the questions will be similar to what has been given in previous semesters and summers. You will not have time to frantically use google/chegg or similar sites for answers; doing so will almost certainly cause you to run out of time.
• How should you prepare?
  • Review the study suggestions.
  • Put togther a good, well organized set of notes (1 sheet for the midterms and 2 sheets for the final). Organize your notes in the order we cover the material -- this helps with recall and is also the order of problems on the exams.
  • Use your notes to try practice exam problems and revise them as needed. These problems will give you a good feel for the level of difficulty of probles we ask on the exam.
  • After each homework set, put together a small note set dedicated to just that material -- this will make putting together an exam note sheet easier to do.
  • All exams will start at 5PM EDT -- arrange your schedule accordingly
  • An alternate version of the exam given at an aternate time on the date of the exam will be available for direct MSU class conflicts only -- documentation will be required and must be received 2 weeks prior to the first exam.
• Exam day:
  • Have a working calculator with extra batteries for calculations -- preferably the same one used when doing the homework problems.
  • Have some blank sheets of paper for working out problems.
  • Close down all windows/tabs on your computer with no other Lon-Capa windows/tabs.
    • Having additional windows/tabs open can cause access errors (i.e. this item cannot be displayed) -- no accommodations will be made for such preventable errors.
    • After closing everything dow, start with a fresh log in about a half hour prior to the start of the exam.

• Exam questions will include both numeric and conceptual, e.g. true/false, less than/greater than equal to, ranking, direction of vector, etc.
• They will be based on material from the assigned readings, online lectures and associated homework sets.
• The time limit on the midterm exams are 50 minutes plus an additional 10 miutes for Lon-Capa submissions.
• The final exam is cumulative. It will be 100 minutes plus an additional 20 minutes for Lon-Capa submissions.
• It is University policy that students missing a final exam will receive a grade of 0 for the course.
• The format of the exam will be multiple choice and it will be given in Lon-Capa.
• Exam problem submission will work just like the bonus homework questions and like the practice exam problems.

• 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. Only students taking the original exam will have access to the correction exam. The correction exam will be available on the on the next business day after the midterm -- see the list of dates in the calendar section of this syllabus)
• There is no correction exam associated with the final exam.

• Missing an exam: A make-up midterm exam will only be given for University approved reasons and documentation is required i.e. in the case of illness, a note from your doctor. Missing an exam due to travel and choosing to enroll in this accelerated course is not an approved reason for alternate accommodations. A vacation, for example, is not an approved reason. Students travelling, should enroll in the video proctor section to take the exam, while away from MSU via video proctor (if you are in the video proctor section, you will take both exams online via video proctor). 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." As is the case with the midterm exam, a vacation or oversleeping are not considered approved reasons for missing the final exam.

Exam Coverage

• 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 final exam will not have a correction assignment associated with it.
  • Midterm Exam will be based on material covered in the required text, the online lectures and homework from:
    • Math review
    • 1-D motion/kinematics
    • 2-D motion/kinematics
    • Force and Newton's Laws of Motion
    • Work and energy
    • Momentum
  • Midterm Exam 2 will be based on material covered in the required text, the online lectures and homework in the entire course, specifically from:
    • Oscillations and Rotational kinematics
    • Rotational motion and static equilibrium
    • Orbits and Gravity
    • Solids and Fluids
    • Waves and Sound
  • Final Exam will be based on material covered in the required text, the online lectures and homework in the entire course, specifically from:
    • Everything covered in the course material for the midterm exams, PLUS:
    • Ideal gases and temperature
    • Heat
    • Thermodynamics

Physics 231C Home

Last updated: April 13, 2020