PHY2054 - Summer, 2009

Calculating your final score

Your letter-grade-determining final score [120 points, max.] consisted of 5 components —see the syllabus if you need reminding! Their weighting required normalization.

Here's how it was done:

1. Exams 1 & 2: add these scores (20 points, max, each) and multiply the result by 1.25. This normalizes the total to the 120-point grading basis.

2. Final exam: multiply this score by 1.67 to normalize it to the 120-point basis.

3. Add the results you got in Steps 1 and 2, above, giving you a number < 75.

4. To this number add your discussion/recitation score (maximum 25 points). Your total should now be 100 or less.

5. WebAssign: there were 11 assignments, totalling 180 points. WebAssign postings included your Exams 1 & 2 scores; be sure to omit them if you are using WA totals to do your own calculation. Your lowest 10%  (up to 18 points) were dropped, leaving a maximum of 162 points.

The result was divided by 10.8 [162/10.8 = 15] to normalize it to the 15-point maximum weighting.

6. h-itt (in-lecture/'clicker' quizzes): there were 15 quizzes totalling 82 points = 41 questions @ 2 points each. [A question on the 21 May quiz, erroneously weighted at one point, was corrected]. The lowest 10% were to be dropped, but 10% of 41 = 4.1 questions, so we dropped your lowest-scoring five (5) questions.

The result was divided by 14.4 to normalize to the maximum weighting of 5 points.

NOTE: normalized scores greater than the weighting in steps 5 and 6 were set to the maxima.

7. The total of the above should be a number less than 120.

8. Now, add one point (adjusting for the slightly low Exam 2 average). This is your final score.

Letter Grades were assigned according to the 'curve' below which is very similar to that appearing in the original Syllabus.

HOWEVER, WebAssign's idiosyncracies** appear to preclude posting anything but numbers (no letter grades), so I've posted your Final [Total] Score. Please look up your grade from the 'curve' below.

**[Maybe my idiosyncracy is being unable to find, anywhere in WebAssign's 334-page .pdf 'manual', any mention whatsoever of posting letter grades!]

A: 101 points and higher

A-: 98 - 100

B+: 95 - 97

B: 87 - 94

B-: 84 - 86

C+: 81 -83

C: 64 - 80

C-: 60 - 63

D+:56 - 59

D: 47 - 55

E: below 47

Have a great break during what's left of the Summer!