PHY 2048 - Physics I with Calculus - SPRING 2008
DISCUSSION SECTION QUIZZES
In most weeks a quiz will be administered during the last 10 minutes of your discussion section. The quizzes will test how well you learned the concepts and methods of the homework problems. The grade you receive on the homework set is directly tied to your performance on the quiz as follows. In any given week you will have homework that must be submitted online by 10 pm, Sunday night. (Note that you are encouraged to work and submit the homework well before the time it is due so you can get help when you need it). The quiz in your next discussion section will be closely related to ONE of the homework problems selected at random from the most recently due set. The problem may be restructured to provide guidance, allow awarding of partial credit and discourage memorization of only the formula for the solution. The particular problem given in each discussion section is chosen at random so sometimes it will be one of the easier problems from the HW set and sometimes it will be a harder problem (different sections will get different problems).
Your score for the homework/quiz for that week is obtained by multiplying your homework score by the fractional credit (out of 1) you got for the associated quiz problem. If you scored 100% on the homework and you get a 1 on the quiz you did your job that week and get the full homework credit towards your homework*quiz grade. If you scored 100% on the homework but only get 0.5 on the quiz you get 50% of the credit towards your grade. If you scored 50% on the homework and 0.5 on the quiz you get 25% of the credit. Note that if you score 100% on the homework and get a zero on the quiz you get NO homework credit for that week.
We are telling you exactly what you must learn for this portion of your grade: the methods for solving a set of homework problems. You know what the possible problems are going to be for the quiz in a given week. In return we expect you to learn how to do these problems on your own without any notes or other help. In doing the online homework you can get help in discussion section, office hours, from tutors and from other students. However, in the end you must learn the methods needed to do the problems on your own. The quizzes will give partial credit so if you set up the problem correctly but make an algebraic mistake you will get most of the credit for the problem and its associated homework.
You will be permitted no more than 2 documented (e.g. medical note) absences from the discussion sections, with make-ups for missed quizzes to take place at the first opportunity determined by your TA. The documentation must be provided to your TA within 2 weeks of the missed quiz or a rational reason that it will be delayed must be e-mailed along with the projected receipt date of the documentation to both your TA and to the course e-mail address (phy2048@phys.ufl.edu) within those 2 weeks.
To provide a measure of forgiveness for illnesses and other challenges that life throws at you, 10% of the problems will be dropped in evaluating your final grade All scores will be computed to at least 5 significant figures (effectively no rounding). The homework*quiz portion of the course will count for 25% of the course final score.