Quiz and Exam Schedule

During the semester, there will be five 25-minute quizzes, a mid-term exam and a final exam:

Quizzes

All of the quizzes will be given during Friday class sessions, on 2 Sept., 23 Sept., 4 Nov., 18 Nov. and 2 Dec.

Each quiz will cover the class material presented since the previous quiz (or mid-term exam). The lowest quiz score will be dropped in calculating the final grade.

Mid-term exam

There will be one mid-term exam, on Friday, 7 October. This exam will cover all of the material previously presented in class.

Final exam

A final, cumulative, exam will be given during the regularly-scheduled 2-hour exam period: 8:00 AM, Friday, 12 December. This exam will be cumulative, covering everything from the semester.

The schedule for quizzes and the mid-term exam is subject to change. The date of the final exam is not!

Sample Quizzes and Exams

The best preparation for the quizzes and exams are the homework assignments, together with careful review of the class material. For further practice problems, this page has links to the quizzes and exams from the last two times the course was taught, Spring Semester 2011 and Fall Semester 2015, in pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format.

Quizzes

Mid-term Exam

  • 2011, 2015
  • On the mid-term exam, a list of basic equations covered during the first part of the course will be provided. These equations can be downloaded here. Please be sure to read the introductory comments.

Final Exam

  • 2011, 2015
  • As with the mid-term exam, the final exam will include a list of basic equations covered during the course. These equations can be downloaded here. Please be sure to read the introductory comments.

As you will see from the previous quizzes and exams, the questions are intended to test your ability to apply what you have done in class to new, but related, situations. This year's quizzes will be similar in spirit but different in detail.

The exact topics covered by the individual quizzes and exams will reflect the lecture material, which varies a bit from year to year. In particular, in previous years the class has included some computer programming with the Python language, which will not be included this year.

For full credit, questions must be answered clearly and completely. But, a short answer is often better than a long one! All of the work for calculations must be shown, and correct units must be included in answers.

Answers to these quizzes are not provided here. The best way to use these quizzes, by far, is to first sit down with one of them by yourself and try hard to work the problems. After you have given the problems serious thought and done as much as you can on your own, then compare your results with those of other students. Also feel free to ask the TA or the instructor for help.