Questions/Comments on the Exams
Wed, Apr 23, 9:35 a.m. - when will the exam be graded?
I'm late replying to this, so you already know the answer!
Wed, Apr 16, 2:35 p.m. - will we have to evaluate difficult integrals on the exam when doing probability problems? for example knowing that the integral of sin^2(x) is (1-cos(2x))/2?
Any integral that is more difficult than a power, sine, cosine, or exponential will be provided. So we would provide the integral of $\sin^2(x)$.
Thu, Apr 10, 2:15 p.m. - When can we get the 3*5 card?
They're available now on the table outside the physics and astronomy office, Olin 153.
Wed, Apr 9, 6:34 p.m. - When is the review session for test 3?
It will be next Tuesday, April 15 at 8:00 pm.
Wed, Mar 26, 11:50 a.m. - More true/false on exams please!
We actually don't like to use true/false or multiple choice problems much. One reason is that it lowers the exam average. For example, on this exam, the true/false problem had the lowest average of all the problems. And the reason that they lower the average is because there aren't any possibilities for partial credit.
But some questions just are best written as true/false or multiple choice, so sometimes we use them.
Thu, Mar 20, 11:28 p.m. - When will the test score comes out?
We anticipate having them completed by Tuesday afternoon.
Wed, Mar 19, 11:20 p.m. - Hello, If the exam ask question such as question 2 of previous exam 2, are we expected to know that organic molecules have bond energies in range of 4-10eV?
First, apologies that I didn't answer this earlier. As to your question: yes and no. What you are expected to know is (1) that photon energies depend on the wavelength, and how to calculate the photon energy, (2) that matter interacts with light one photon at a time, and (3) that because of this, some EM waves have enough photon energy to change chemical bonds while other EM waves do not.
If you're comfortable with those concepts, you can read question #2 and realize first that 400 nm is the more energetic photons of visible light, and calculate that energy:
$E_\text{ph} = \frac{hc}{\lambda} = \frac{1240\,\text{eV$\cdot$nm}}{400\,\text{nm}} = 3.1\,\text{eV}$
So according to the wording of the problem, that must be a safe amount of photon energy. Then the shorter wavelength ultraviolet light will have higher energy photons, so somewhere above 3 eV must be where chemical bonds are being altered.
You could get that far without having a number in mind for the energy of chemical bonds.
Sun, Mar 16, 4:52 p.m. - Will there be a review session on the coming Tuesday?
Yes, at 8:30 pm in Olin 268.
Wed, Mar 5, 3:24 p.m. - When will the 3 * 5 card provide since the test 2 coming after the spring break?
Thanks for asking. We put the 3x5 cards out yesterday.
Tue, Feb 18, 3:41 p.m. - Are the next exams as challenging as the first exam?
The honest answer is that we don't know. Sometimes an exam turns out to have a higher than usual average for us and sometimes it will have a lower than usual average. This first midterm had a slightly lower average than typical for us, which is why we take into account the exam difficulty at the end of the semester when assigning grades.
To answer it another way: many students have told us at the end of the semester that the E&M unit was the most difficult. But of course that's an individual experience and not everyone will feel the same way.
Sat, Feb 15, 7:42 p.m. - Hey! I am wondering when the exam grade will come out?
We anticipate finishing the grading by Tuesday afternoon.
Wed, Feb 12, 12:26 a.m. - Will there be a few extra office hours since the exams come?
Yes, I added a Thursday morning office hour since we don't have lecture tomorrow morning. Please come by!
Also, you can take advantage of the Wednesday evening help session tonight from 8-10 pm in Olin 264.
Tue, Feb 11, 6:05 p.m. - Will there be lab questions on the exam?
No. There will be no lab questions on the Exams.