Exam Advice for PHY 303K/L (in Chiu’s section)
Before
the Exam Starts: Bubble sheet and the individualized exam printout.
- As you sit down, check the bubble sheet on your
table. It should have your name, UTEID and the exam version number pre-printed
and bubbled in. If your UTEID is wrong or mis-bubbled
or your bubble sheet is damaged, tell this to proctors right away; do not
wait until the exam begins. If a proctor gives you a blank bubble sheet to
use instead of a bad pre-printed sheet, you should immediately write and
bubble in your name, your UTEID and the version number of your exam.
- After everyone is seated, a stack of individualized exam
printouts will be passed out. Pick the exam printout which has the same
version number as your bubble sheet. Remember, if the exam version number does
not match bubble sheet version number the exam will not be graded
correctly.
During and after the
Exam
- Keep your student ID with you during the exam –
the proctors may spot-check ID’s to make sure the right students are being
tested.
- It is desirable to organize your scratch paper:
Use only one side to write up your work. Put up to about 5 questions per
page. Put the problem number(s) on the right upper corner of each page.
- Please remember that the scanner and the grading
computer read your bubbles and not your mind – if you don’t bubble in your
answer, it does not count. Use a soft pencil (No. 2 is recommended) to
fill the bubbles and fill them completely. The scanning machine does not
read ink.
- Do not delay bubbling-in
your answers till the last minute of the test, as you may run out of time.
It is best to bubble in each answer as soon as you are done with the
question. And if you later come back to an already answered question and
discover a mistake, use your eraser. Make sure to erase everything
cleanly; otherwise, the scanning machine may still read it.
- If you finish answering all questions before the
exam is over, use your time to check your answers and make sure they are
bubbled in correctly.
- At the end of the exam, bring your bubble sheet to
the proctors’ table. Bring your student ID with you – the proctors may
check to make sure you are indeed the student whose exam you are turning
in.
- Once the proctors announce the exam is over, do
not delay turning your bubble sheet in. If you procrastinate, your exam
will not be collected and you will get a zero score.
- The solutions to the exam problems will be
available on the web – in the same place as the homework solutions –
shortly after the end of the exam. If the system runs smoothly the exam should
be graded in less than a day.
Exam format
- Most exam problems are single-question problems, i.e. one question per
problems.
- All exam questions are in multiple
choice format. Regardless of the level of difficulty
each single-question-problem worth 10 points.
- For multi-question problems, the
default-setting is that each question worth 10 points. (Some instructors
prefer to reduce total number of points assigned to these problems.)
- For multi-question problems, often (but not
always) the questions can be answered out of sequence. So, if you have
difficulty with the first part of a problem, don’t give up; instead, take
a look at the second (or third, etc.) part and see if you can solve it
first.
- Our exam grading policy is that both
wrong answer and no answer are graded with 0 score. If you do not know an
answer, it is to your advantage to guess an answer.
- Make sure you read all possible choices given
for the problem (sometimes a few answers are printed on the next page)
before answering the question.
- If there are 2 or more choices which are
identical, you should call attention to the proctor. And you may proceed
to choose any one of the identical answers. If you suspect that the Quest-system
has graded your exam incorrectly please contact your TA.
- During the exam, you will be given a
copy of the course summary sheet containing basic equations of the course
material you have learned. This summary sheet was handed out on the first
day of class and is available on the homepage of this course. During any exam, questions on these
equations on the course summary
sheet will not be answered. However, at other times your questions
are surprisingly welcome.
- No
crib-note cards will be allowed.
- Programmable calculator
may be used during an exam. However, its memory needs to been cleared
before using it.
- Academic dishonesty
will not be tolerated.
Miscellaneous
Advice
- We reiterate that you are graded by
the number of questions you have answered correctly. For most cases, each
question worth 10 points regardless the level of difficulty. Do not
get stuck and spend too much time on one hard question while many easy questions
remain un-answered. If you think a problem is too hard, move on to the
next problem – or to any other problem you know how to solve. Your best
strategy is to answer all the easy questions first, then go back to the
medium-hard questions and leave the really hard questions for the last
part of your exam.
- On numerical multiple-choice questions, the
correct answer may be slightly (up to 1%) different from your result
because of the round-off errors, and the use of slightly different
constants in the problem. You
should select the answer that is closest to your result. Note that if your
result is nowhere near any of the 10 answers provided on the problem
sheet, then you are probably wrong. If you suspect that the exam problem
is wrong please call attention to the proctor.
- On questions involving multiple choices of
algebraic expressions, first, derive the correct expression, write it on
the scratch paper, then compare it to the expressions
given on the exam sheet. Select the expression that’s algebraically
identical to your answer. If none of the expressions fit, consult with a
proctor. (Maybe you are wrong, but occasionally the problem may be
misstated.)
- Occasionally there may be problems are multi-part;
i.e. involve several related questions. The default-setting is that each
question worth 10 points. Often (but not always) the questions can be
answered out of sequence. So, if you have difficulty with the first part
of a problem, don’t give up; instead, take a look at the second (or third,
etc.) part and see if you can solve it first.
- Some problems may be poorly written (you have
already seen a few on your homework assignments). If you are confused by a
question and are not sure what exactly are you supposed to calculate, ask
a proctor to clarify; do not rush to calculate something wrong.
- If you need the value of a physical
constant (eg., g= 9.8 m/s2) and it’s not given in
the text of the problem, check your formula sheet. If it’s not on the
formula sheet either, ask the proctor to write it on the blackboard, or project
it on the screen.