EXAM 2:   THURSDAY, Nov. 21 (Week 7)
DURING your regular class period

Students are to take the exam at the scheduled time. Late arrivals or early departures forfeit any lost time.

Per the course policy, students with documented disabilities who require special accomodations should make those arrangements a week in advance as stated in the course policy.

I will provide you with this crib sheet (click here) during the exam. Do NOT bring it with you to the exam.

Also read this for the exam Instructions AND for more helpful info about the exam. You will save some time during the exam by reading the Instructions ahead of time.

• The exam will be during the normal class period.

• Please use the restroom before arriving for the exam. Students should not be leaving and re-entering the examination room during the exam.

• The exam may include anything we've covered between and including Assignments 15 through 25 (see the main page).

• Recall that exams may include basic questions about Maple.

• Bring your calculator, of course.
  Calculators that can store text are NOT allowed.
  For example, the TI-Nspire and HP-Prime are NOT permitted during exams. (No exceptions.)
  It would be wise to have an unopened pack of new batteries with you during exams. (I do not bring a spare calculator.)
  

• Please try NOT to ask me any questions during the exam. Because this is an exam you are expected to understand the wording
  and terminology used in the problem statements. Also, I will not give hints to students who are stuck. Again, this is an exam.

• Phones must be turned off and stowed BEFORE ENTERING THE EXAMINATION ROOM and remain stowed until you have submitted your exam and exited the room. A student with a phone out in the room will be viewed as cheating and will be dealt with according to the course policy.

• Watches must be stowed during the exam. (Yes, watches.)

• If you finish the exam early, stay and check your work and your calculations. Do your answers make sense? Once you submit your exam, you may not have it back.

• Only your calculator and the crib sheet that I provide during the exam are allowed.

• What should we expect the exam to look like?"
  1. A portion of the exam tests your understanding of the concepts. It includes some multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions.
     There are no so-called "trick" questions! Read each problem carefully before answering! One misread word can change the meaning of a question.
     Students who perform poorly on these questions usually did not study the concepts well.

     Recall that exams may include basic questions about Maple. In this case you must print the Maple command precisely so that if I type it into Maple exactly as you wrote it, the command would work.

  2. The second portion has you use the methods we've studied on actual problems. Here you actually do calculations.
     Show all your work and all your formulas used, even if they appear on the crib I provide. Write all quantities (not just the answer) to 6 digits.
     Student who perform poorly on these problems usually neglected to do the assignments properly or correctly.

• "When will we get our exams back?"   Answer:  When I return them. :^)

Students are to take the exam at the scheduled time unless there is a legitimate, unavoidable conflict, in which case other arrangements should be made with the professor well ahead of time.

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Many students who perform poorly on exams in MATH-305 tend to fall into one or more of these groups:

1. Some students work the assigned homework problems (so they know how to use the methods), but they neglect to study concepts (so they score poorly on multiple choice, T/F, and short answer questions).

2. Some students study concepts (so they score well on multiple choice, T/F, and short answer questions), but they neglect to work all the assigned homework problems (so they don't know how to use the methods).

3. Some students rely too much on "studying" from old exams (a useful tool but it isn't really studying). These students tend to do less homework, fail to understand the concepts, and tend to misread the exam questions. Another danger with this practice is that some exam questions may appear identical to those from previous exams, but there could be slight wording differences that change the meaning of the question or problem.

4. Some students simply don't do the homework or do some but not all of it.

5. Some students don't adequately check their work before submitting the exam.

Ask yourself if you fall into one of these groups, and then make changes in your study habits accordingly.
Perhaps you should read the document, Developing Good Study Habits.

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