12X Grading Allocation 2009-10

Grading allocation in the Physics 121-2-3 sequence is based on the number of Student Credit Hours associated with each course component.

Grade weighting:

Midterms (best 2 of 3) 35%

Final Exam 25%

Lab Section 15%

Tutorial Section 10%

Lecture HW 10%

Supplemental 5%

The selection of the best two Midterm Exams is based on the class average and standard deviation for each exam.“Supplemental” may include some credit for use of the clickers (lecture response systems), surveys, supplemental homework, or other items assigned in lecture.

Exam Composition:

Midterms (100 points): ~72% lecture, ~8% lab, ~20% tutorial

Final exam (150 points): ~57% lecture, ~17% lab, ~27% tutorial

(These are average percentages for all three exams, not for individual midterms.)

There will be a page of Lab-related questions on one Midterm Exam and on the Final Exam. There will be one page of tutorial questions on each midterm, and two on the Final Exam. Tutorial pages and lab pages will usually be worth 20-25 points. Lab and tutorial questions may be either multiple choice or hand-graded. Normally 55% of each Midterm and 100% of the Final Exam will be in the form of multiple-choice questions. There will be no makeup exams.

Labs:

The lab section grade will be based on scores for all 8 lab exercises done in class, with a significant portion of the score coming from pre- and post-lab portions completed online. Students who complete fewer than 6 of the 8 labs will receive a grade of 0.0 for the entire 5-credit course.