Lab procedure 4 Oct 2007

Thursday's lab will be verifying Ampere's law, which you will be formally introduced to today.

You can find the procedure here.

This lab worked quite well for me this evening, but it has the potential to be time-consuming if you don't work carefully and follow the right procedure. Ask a question if you are in any doubt. Focus on taking all the data you need first, and then analyze your data. Even better, while some team members are measuring, the others can be plotting and calculating.

If you do not finish on time, you will be permitted to complete the report on your own time and turn it in during recitation. If you work efficiently, however, I think you can finish it with time to spare.

Mid-term grades

Mid-term grades are due Wed, Oct 10th (next Wed). For better or worse, faculty are now to post mid-term grades for ALL students in 100- & 200-level classes ... not just 1st year students.

Your mid-term grade will include everything you have done through the end of this week - the exam, homework, quizzes, and labs. On Tuesday of next week (9th Oct), I will give you all a chance to see your grade at the moment, and make sure everything seems ok.

Make the extra-credit possibility all the more timely, I guess.

Extra credit possibility: bug hunt

As mentioned today in class, you have an extra credit possibility for the rest of the semester: helping me find errors in the course notes. The course notes are available at the SUPe store, or downloadable (freely) here.

Here are the rules:

• you get 1 homework point for finding a non-technical error
• you get 2 homework points for finding a technical error
• you get 3 homework points for finding a mistake in the solution to a quiz or exam problem contained in the course notes
• you get 5 homework points for providing a unique, usable example problem (with solution) to include in a chapter. the problem cannot be from the textbook or any course work from this semester.
  
• non-technical errors include typos and formatting mistakes
• technical errors include mistakes in formulas, explanations, or figures.
• you have to be the 1st to find an error
• a maximum of 100 points may be earned (equal to 1 complete homework set)
• the front matter (table of contents, etc) and chapter 1 are excluded

Each homework is 10 questions long and worth 100 points, and there are about 10 in total for the semester. Therefore, if you spot 5 technical errors, this is the same as getting one homework question completely correct, or bringing a single homework grade up by 10%.

The distinction between what constitutes a technical or non-technical error is mine to make, as is whether something is really in error or not in the first place. Errors will be marked in my desk copy of the notes. You must find something not already marked to earn points.

If you propose an example problem, it must have a correct solution, and must be unique -- it cannot simply be taken from another textbook or coursework from this semester. It must be a unique problem of your own design, and you must provide a proposed solution. Figures are not necessary, but suggestions are welcome.

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Update: Someone has 19 points already. Better find the easy errors fast!

Exam I solution / Friday's quiz

Exam I and its detailed solution can be found here.

As mentioned today in class, rescaling was accomplished by dropping question #2, and regarding it as bonus. Basically, all you have to do is take the total number you got correct, including the bonus, and divide it by 24 instead of 25 to get your percentage. After that, the usual >90=A, 80-90=B scale applies.

On another note: this Friday's quiz (5 Oct 2007) will consist entirely of questions from the exam, verbatim. Most likely, some of the questions you solved in class today will be chosen.

So. Work through the solutions ... and this week's quiz will be a 'gimmie.'

Change of plans: no lab today

Rather than have a lab today, we are going to focus about half of today's class on problem solving. We will attack, in groups, specific problems that caused trouble on the recent exam and the last couple of quizzes. You will have to turn in work at the end of this ...

Also for today: announcements with details to follow in class.

• extra credit possibility: finding bugs in the course notes
• you have a paper due after Thanksgiving break
• you have a homework set due this Friday
  
• exam I has been slightly rescaled, to your benefit
• full detailed solutions to the exam will be out after class

There will be follow-up posts here on all of these some time tomorrow as well.