Quiz 2 results/solution

First, here is the solution to the quiz you took today. Second, below are the results:


Plotted is the average score by question, as well as the overall average. I will be scaling this, it seems - roughly, I'll add about 18 points your score to enforce a class average of 75%

Question 5 - calculating a resistance - was by far the easiest, it seems, as expected.

By the way: I reused all of these questions from last semester's quizzes. The first two questions are also right in the course notes.

Easiest way to study for the test: study what I've already asked in the past. If I asked it before, I probably think it is important, and that means I'm likely to ask it again, in some guise or another.

Homework I results

I have finished grading homework 1, and you will get it back tomorrow. It was quite good overall - the average was 92.8%, with a standard deviation of 9.8%. Here it is broken down by question, plotting the relative average score for each question:

Not a lot of conclusions to draw here. Either number 8 was very easy, or everyone paid close attention when I did it in class :-) Either way, it works for me - the end result is that you know something you didn't before, which was the main point.

Lecture video continues / Homework II

I have continued to post videos of the lectures, fyi. If you have missed some class lately - and some of you have - they might be worth some of your time.

On an unrelated note: I have moved the due date for Homework II to Tuesday, 22 July so you don't have a homework set and an exam on the same day.

This Friday's quiz ...

• 5 question multiple choice. Only two require calculation.
  
• Formulas given.
• Electric forces & fields, current & resistance.
• Nothing beyond material from Wednesday's lecture.

Exam I is Monday ...

Exam I is, as you know, scheduled for this coming Monday, 21 July. Perhaps the most notable thing about the exam is that it is going to be held during the lab period. That's right: no lab on the exam day. Sadly, there will be a lecture Monday morning as usual. No rest for the wicked, but as a small consolation, we will spend time reviewing for the exam during lecture.

Material
The exam will cover the following material:

• Relativity
• Electric forces & fields
• Electrical energy & capacitance
• Current & Resistance
• dc Circuits (through series & parallel resistors)

Basically, it will cover everything that we have done from day 1, through the end of Thursday's lecture. Friday's material (rc circuits, Kirchhoff's rules, etc) will not be on the first exam.

Format
The exam will be multiple choice, and roughly 25 questions long. I suggest studying the end of chapter questions in the notes, as well the homework and quiz solutions from last semester (start digging in here). In the book, you are best off studying the example problems, and the "quick quizzes."

Roughly half the questions will be conceptual or qualitative (no calculations), and roughly half the questions will involve real, live quantitative answers. With units and everything.

Location
The exam will be Gallalee 329, at the usual lab time of 3:30. I will devote the first 15-30 mins of that period to answering last-minute questions, after which you will have about 90 minutes for the exam. I expect the exam to take you closer to 60 minutes, but don't want anyone to feel too rushed.

Needs
You will want a calculator for the exam. Badly.

You can bring in ONE standard 8.5x11 inch sheet of paper front and back (or two sheets front-only), containing any information you like. This could include pictures, formulas, example problems, or even the first few chapters of "The Count of Monte Cristo" in a very small font. Whatever you think might help. You can use both the front and back, typed or written, crayon or pencil, your preference.

One interesting variant is to write from left to right with a red pen, and then turn the page 90 degrees and write over the top of that with a blue pen. If you can then lay your hands on a set of 3-D glasses ... presto, you've doubled your storage density.

Lab for Thursday 18 July

Today, our lab will have two sections: first, we will experimentally verify the rules for adding series and parallel resistors; second, we will investigate combined resistor-capacitor circuits and learn one way to experimentally measure capacitance.

So, here you go. Please only print one copy per group, as it is about 7 pages long. (Despite the length, it should not take much longer than yesterday's lab.)

Use all available resources ...

You may want to have a look through last semester's homework sets and solutions.

Problems I really like, I will sometimes reuse.

Of course, you are probably resourceful enough to have found this already ...

Lab for Wednesday 16 July

Tomorrow's lab has two parts.

Part the first, introducing you to the hardware and software you'll be using for the next several labs, including how to troubleshoot problems.

Part the second, in which you will investigate the behavior of different electrical components (e.g., resistors, capacitors, diodes). This lab will be partly qualitative, aimed at familiarizing you with the basic sorts of electrical components, and how they behave in circuits. Thursday's lab will be a more quantitative investigation of resistive circuits.

Print one copy per group when you arrive at the lab. Before then, have a read through each if you can, it will make things go far more smoothly.

Lecture video

By the way ... I'm still putting them up. Yesterday's and today's lectures are already online.

Yesterday there were some 'technical problems,' but today's video seems fine after a cursory overview.

UPDATE: the slides I was projecting in class were contained in the same file as I posted the previous day, here.

Homework 2 typo

In question 2, the separation of the two toner particles is in meters, though no units are given. The separation should be 1.2e-5 meters.

Various solutions

I have just posted a solution set for homework 1, as well as the 'quiz' from last Friday and its solution.

Also: I will try to get the first homework graded and back to you by this Friday, so you have a little feedback before the exam next week ... On average, a homework set like this takes me about 8-10 hours to grade, so we will see how it goes ...

Slides for 14 July 2008

Here are the slides I'll be using in class today. [~5Mb pdf]

If all goes well, some time Monday afternoon there will be video posted once again. It really isn't a lot of extra work so far to do the video, to be honest, except that I have to wear the earpiece. Is this a useful thing at all?

Moreso if I included a time index of when we covered various things (e.g., go 32m40s in to hear about capacitors)?

Lab for Mon 14 July 2008

Today, you'll do a lab on capacitors. Have a look at the procedure, it will probably take 90 minutes or better.

Homework 2 is out

You, know, in case you want to get a jump on things.

Once again, by the end of the week, we will have gone over all of the topics, and done many of the homework problems in class.