Recent Comments and Frequently Asked Questions on PHY184

Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1999 20:11:34 -0400 (EDT)

Hi - I assume that you are an Engineer or a Scientist. As such, I must insure as instructor that you are capable of reading a graph with a precision of, say, 20%. Not more. The curve and the answer are EXACT.

Having the proper tool for graphics problems, such as a ruler worth $0.10, is part of the task. Knowing how to use it most efficiently (or LEARN how to) is something I expect from you in this class. I may sound picky, but I want you to be a good Engineer/Scientist. If nobody else in the PLC can show you how to get a result fast, I will -- please ask me. I really take my job of teaching basic skills seriously; I realize that this does not bring me extra brownie points in popularity. I just do not want others to look down on you in your future job, saying "one of them guys from MSU again"...

Since this is an important point to me, and since you are surely one of many thinking the same, I will post your question on the web, but will REMOVE YOUR NAME (unless you want to keep it). Please check the URL http://www.pa.msu.edu/~tomanek/PHY184/commentpage.html in a short while.

Thanks for airing your concerns with me -- I hope you can accept my answer.

Cheers,

-- David Tomanek

Hi -

Wonderful idea -- you take charge of getting a concensus, and I am yours!

As the generation of the HTML file with all the combined info is a time-consuming process, I believed that updating the information after every exam is a good compromise.

Please remember -- if you solve all the CAPA homework all the time (I hope you do), then your CAPA HW percentage and the percentage in the course will not be changed. Thus, your projected grade is still correct.

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From nobody@pa.msu.edu Sat Nov  6 08:47:25 1999
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 1999 13:56:32 -0500 (EST)
Subject: PHY184 Web Comment
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When will the grades for Exam 2 be posted??
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Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1999 18:13:42 -0500
Subject: test grades

Prof, Tomanek, you told us in class today that the tests were graded, and
that we could see our scores under XPH184f9.  I have tried to do this, but
the web site is telling me that the CAPA set is not open for access yet,
can you change this so that we can view our scores, please.
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AS of yesterday (Friday) night, the scores were posted both in CAPA and on the list of students, linked to the PHY184 home page. There, you can also see your updated grade projection.

I will make the correct answers of Exam#2 publicly accessible after the due date of CAPA Homework Set#10, the correction set. So, access to these answers on Set#2 itself is blocked at the moment. When I mentioned in class that you can check which problems you answered correctly, I meant the following:

• Log in to CAPA xph184f9 using your CAPA ID for Set#1. (If you forgot it, request it on-line and it will be emailed to you.)
• Click on EXAM SUMMARY. ALL your exams, including Exam #2, will be listed.

Date: Sun, 7 Nov 1999 21:43:26 -0500
Subject: grades.
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Prof. Tomanek,
I do not understand the method in which you have decided on our grades at
the class list page.

Consider capa worth 35%
         exams      30%
         quizzes     5%
         Final      30%

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The formula, listed now in the classlist file on the web, is 0.35(CAPA Homework%) + 0.05(Quiz%) + 0.60(Exam%). This gives the overall percentage that determines the projected grade. You see that exams count for 60% of the grade.

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Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 14:30:10 -0500 (EST)
From: Nobody 
Subject: PHY184 Web Comment
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I'm sure you've probably had several comments about the course
grading. I still don't understand why the supplemental capa isn't
counted with the exams. I though the purpose of them were to give you
a second chance to help improve your exam score. I don't think that
they should be counted with the homework, but with the exam.  When I
took phy 183 that was the way it worked.  Everybody works on the capa
sets , and usually have a lot more time to work on the problems.
However on the exams time is very limited.  What is obvious to you is
not isn't often obvious to us students.  We are all in the process of
trying to learn the material.  In my opinion I think that physics is a
very challenging subject and some peolpe just get right away while
others need to spend a lot of time on it. Given the time everyone can
figure out the problems, that's why I think it is important that
supplemental exam be counted with the exam.
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Yes, you are right, I heard several comments going in this direction. I am generally sympathetic to these comments. Here is what the syllabus says about the "correction sets":

"The Midterm Exams will be followed by CAPA-style correction sets A5, A10, and A14, which will be treated as regular CAPA-style homework."

I am well aware that what I feel is "easy" may not be the same to you. That is why I guarantee the minimum grade for a given overall point percentage on the course; I may still lower the cutoffs, thus improving the grades of many, in the end.

Once the correction set A10 is closed, I am considering the following change that goes in the direction of what you propose. The changed procedure is still consistent with the syllabus. It may increase your overall point percentage and hence your grade. I will only be willing to implement it, however, if absolutely everybody agrees on it. Should a single student in the class disagree with the modification, I will come back to what it was before. Here is how it should work.

• As announced before, the overall percentage is given by 0.35(HW%)+0.05(QZ%)+0.6(EX%). This percentage will determine your grade.
• HW% = 100% * (number of homework points you got)/(maximum number of homework points you could get). QZ% and EX% work the same way. This is still as before.
• What is new: Points from assignments A5, A10, A14 in phy184f9, the "homework" class, will be added to your "exam" points. So, if you got a higher percentage (hopefully 100%) on the correction set than on the exam, your exam percentage will go up. Then, EX% = 100% * (number of exam points you got+number of points on assignments A5, A10, A14)/ (maximum number of points you could achieve on exams+maximum number of points you could get on assignments A5, A10, A14). Assignments A5, A10, A14 in phy184f9 will no longer be counted towards the "homework percentage" HW%.
• Excuses will be handled same as before: For an excused assignment carrying X points, the "maximum number of points you could get" will be reduced by X. So, you will be judged on your average performance, excluding the excused assignment.

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Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 01:20:41 -0500 (EST)
From: Nobody 
Subject: PHY184 Web Comment
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I am very displeased at the new development with the CAPA grading.  It
has caused my grade to slip by 1.5. I think that moving it over to
tests is simply not the way to go. I believe the PA department should
reach a census on what to do, because in PHY183 directed by Dr. Pope,
he devised a way to marginally improve your test score with the
correction set. A function of 30% of the points that you missed, and
if you didn't choose to do your correction set, then YOUR SCORE WAS
NOT AFFECTED.  Please reconsider this, because as of now I am not
motivated to try any better, because it would be in vain.  I could try
as hard as I want until the end of the semester and barely pull a 2.5,
whereas before a 3.5 or 4.0 was possible. I might as well not even
come to physics anymore and just retake the class next semester.
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Sorry -- I can see absolutely no way how "your grade" could have "slipped by 1.5" grade points. First, this is not your grade -- it is a projected grade, based on your performance "up to the present point". Your performance between the first week of the semester and the present 11th week of the semester may have gone up, but also may have gone down. If you are not convinced, you have to contact me in person.

Every Professor has his/her own reasons to grade in a particular way. As stated in an answer to a comment above, some prefer to give bonus points and raise the cutoffs for a particular grade. My procedure is clearly stated in the syllabus. In accordance with University Law, I may and will not deviate from this procedure.

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Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 15:45:40 -0500 (EST)
From: Nobody 
Subject: PHY184 Web Comment
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I was wondering why you placed problem number 5 on the exam. The exam took
place on November 4th, and this problem was not discussed in class until the
November 10th lecture. Also this problem did not appear on any capa set before
the exam.
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Please check your notes from Monday prior to the exam, at the place where you see "corresponding electrical and magnetic quantities". Under "energy storage" you see the expressions for the energy in the electric field of the capacitor and in the magnetic field of the inductor. The same formulas appeared well before in the class; this was just a "review". I discussed them again explicitly when writing down all the expressions derived in electrodynamics and magnetism.

Sure, I used these formulas once more, in a different context, in the November 10th lecture.

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Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 18:04:11 -0500 (EST)
From: Nobody 
Subject: PHY184 Web Comment
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Do you think possible you could sort the grade
update page by student number vs. calculated
grades?  No offense the page is nice but I'm not
the good at picking out my number, it usually
takes me a couple of minutes.

Thanks
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Yes, I could do this in principle. But each sorting of tables, attaching the file header and tail, posting on the web, changing protection, is a multi-step process. I do not want to have similar information in different formats lying around -- who keeps track if all info is constantly updated? I would also have to make sure that there is not a typo or inconsistency. So, I prefer to have one single master table. Every web browser has a "FIND" feature -- use it to locate the record with your student ID.

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... lots of questions regarding CAPA Homework Set #15 ...
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Sorry for not replying to all the messages individually, but the due date and time of CAPA Homework Set #15 was printed clearly on the set. Also, I alerted all of you in class that you should do it early.

As the correct answers of the CAPA Homework have been released this morning at 6 a.m., I can not reopen the set. But there were relatively few problems and the impact of this set on your grade is going to be very, very small.

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... lots of questions regarding your posted grades ...
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Final grades for the PHY184 course have been posted on the web Wednesday December 15 before noon. While I have been involved in grading a different exam and giving a seminar talk in Engineering, lots of phone calls and e-mail messages have been accumulated that I can not respond individually. At this moment, I am in transit to Europe, but will be back at the beginning of the Spring 2000 Semester. Here are the results:

• The final exam turned out very well, and I am happy that this is so.
• Accordingly, I see no reason to lower the cutoffs in the grade scale -- I am keeping the values listed in your Syllabus.
• On the average, this class did very well. The class average is higher than what I was used to, and I am happy that it is so. I believe that you deserve the good grades you obtained, as you worked hard. Consequently, there will be no further re-adjustment of the grading scale, not even if you are a mere 0.001% below the cutoff. That situation for me indicates that you are at the margin between grades. If you are above the cutoff, I round up; if below, I round down. No exceptions from this rule, for nobody.
• There are only two ways your grade could change:
  • I will change your grade if there turns to be a clerical error on my side. My program was generous rounding UP always. I am willing to recalculate your grade by hand, in your presence, your grade could go up or go down if there was a mistake.
  • Some of you, in the course of the semester, brought excuses that would not exactly "stick". I promised to take this into account when passing the final grade. I bet that for the vast majority, this would not change their grade. Please come and see me with your calculation if you feel otherwise.
• Should you be sure that there is an error in your grade, or have any other complaints, please come and see me in my office, Rm. 201 PA, at the beginning of the new semester, as I am out in Europe right noww. Please be so kind and bring your concern in writing, dated and signed, with your name and student number. Enclose the way you have calculated your grade. In this way, I will be sure that nothing has been forgotten.