Studying for the final

Here's what I just wrote one of you in an email. I thought it would be useful info for everyone to see.

PH102 and PH106 do cover basically the same material - the only real difference is that PH106 uses calculus, and PH106 does not. (Well, also PH102 covers modern physics, and PH106 does not).

I would say looking at PH102 homework problems and exams is probably just as good as looking at PH106 problems - the sorts of problems are exactly the same, the only difference from what I'll ask on the final is a bit higher level of math.

Narrowing it down, probably the Spring 2008 homework sets are the most valuable of all the PH102 stuff, followed by Spring 2008 exam 2 and the Spring 2008 final exam. A good approach would be to look at both the PH102 and PH106 homework sets for the problem part of the exam, and the quick quizzes in the text for the multiple choice part.

Exam review questions & solutions, grades

UPDATE:

Moodle grades are now current, and should reflect all homework sets, quizzes, labs, etc. Check them carefully to make sure I haven't missed anything ... you can regard these as your pre-final grades, if I haven't made any mistake.

Your total grade thusfar is 75% of your total grade, the final exam counts for the last 25%. This should be enough info to calculate what you need on the final exam to get a particular grade :-)

Keep in mind: I follow a 90/80/70/60 scale for A/B/C/D. Plus and minus grades come at 2.5 point increments. I always round up - so 89.001% rounds up to 90%, for an A-.
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Partial solutions to the exam review questions are here.

I'll be posting updated solutions, and probably some more example questions, some time tonight.

I will also be updating your grades on moodle tonight ... once that is done, it should include everything except the final. I'll post again when that is done, and how you can estimate what grade you need on the final ...

Updated HW solutions

UPDATE:
The solutions for HW8 and 9 are now completed and online, as are partial solutions for the final exam review questions. You can find everything here.
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I have updated the solutions to HW7, completed all but one solution to HW8, and finished about half of HW9.

I should have the rest of HW9 finished tomorrow, and I will also post the solutions to the final exam practice questions.

You will be well-prepared for the final exam, I promise. No surprises.

Material covered on the final

As you hopefully realize, the final exam is comprehensive. Below is a list of the chapters and sections that are included. Some specific sections of certain chapters will not be included on the final.

Ch. 23 - all
Ch. 24 - NOT 24.5
Ch. 25 - NOT 25.7,8
Ch. 26 - all
Ch. 27 - NOT 27.5,6
Ch. 28 - NOT 27.6
Ch. 29 - NOT 29.6
Ch. 30 - NOT 30.8,9
Ch. 31 - NOT 31.7
Ch. 32 - ONLY 32.1,2,4
Ch. 33 - NONE
Ch. 34 - NONE
Ch. 35 - ONLY 35.1-5,7,8
Ch. 36 - ONLY 36.1-4

One can logically group the chapters into sections, I think:

Ch. 23-26: electric fields, forces, & energy
Ch. 27-28: circuits
Ch. 29-32: magnetism & induction
Ch. 35,36: optics

Your final exam will have two parts. The first is multiple choice questions, worth in total half of the final exam grade. There will be about 20, they will be mostly conceptual in nature (like the 'quick quizzes'). The second is problem solving. In this case, you will have approximately four problems for each of the four sections above, and you will be required to solve two in each section. Thus, out of a total of 16 problems listed, you need to solve 8.

You will be given an extensive formula sheet and all requisite physical constants, etc., and are allowed to bring in two 8.5x11in sheets of paper with anything on them you like.

More details will follow as the final gets closer.

Final exam review

I have made up a list of problems that will be useful for you to review for the final exam, which you can find here. Some of the questions should be familiar, some should not, but they should all be ones that you can solve.

I will also post some example multiple choice questions soon. Other useful study aids are your homework sets, and the example problems and 'quick quizzes' in your textbook. Finally, some of my previous PH102 material will be helpful - there are a good number of solved problems included in the PH102 homework, exam, and quiz directories.

This problem set will not be graded, it is only for studying purposes. I will post solutions to all the problems over the break at some point as well.

Lab for today

Today we'll investigate converging and diverging lenses. It should be a reasonably short activity.

I'll also give some details about your last homework set in class today, it is not quite ready yet. It will be an exam review.

Moodle grades are up to date

I just updated the grades on Moodle ... they now include everything outstanding *except* homework 8. All labs, quizzes, etc. are otherwise included.

Remember that your papers counted for 2 homework sets, and please check through everything carefully to make sure the gradebook agrees with your own records (or recollections at least).

Tomorrow we'll move on to lenses, which I'll post more about later. If you were to skim through the relevant chapter in the book before tomorrow afternoon ... that would be great :-)

Also, I'll be posting your last homework set soon, which will be a small review for the final exam.