Evaluation Summary

Participation Lecture Questions Multiple Choice Quizzes Homework and Labwork Problem Solving Quizzes Labs(1) Tests and Exams Unit Tests Final Examination 140 points needed of a maximum of 160 points 1 point each correct answer 1 point each correct answer Credited separately best 10 of 11 (plus Bonus(3)) see Lab Sakai website Credited separately best 4 of 5 Part I (Multiple Choice) Part II (Short Answer)
(1)

15 %(2)

max 80 max 80

15 % 20 %

6% 22 % 22 %

To successfully complete this course, a minimum number of labs have to be completed. Please consult the Sakai site for your lab component of this course. (2) 139 points or less means that you didnt participate to an extent that we are convinced that you learned enough in this course during the term to get the marks for the participation component. You can prove us wrong and recover the marks: the 15 % weight will transfer to the Final Exam (multiple choice: 22 % Y 29.5 % and short answer: 22 % Y 29.5 %). If you care for your mark in this course, and unless you are brilliant, needless to say, this is not the recommended route! (3) Bonus refers to Bonus PS Quiz 12 in the Quiz schedule. For Details, see entry on quizzes. The various components in this course do not only count for different fractions of the final mark, but their respective averages vary significantly. Based on the last ten years, we note the following typical component averages: Labs 90 95 % PS Quizzes 80 90 % Unit Tests 75 80 % Participation 95 100 % Final Exam Part I 55 65 % Final Exam Part II 65 75 % This then leads to a Class average of 76 79 %. This average has not changed since the very day this course was introduced that is, by now for a decade and a half; indeed, most of you just graduated from Kindergarten when we at Western were the first in Canada to launch this new brand of Physics course! We maintain a preset course average to allow professional schools to compare student performance, as recorded on your official university transcript, for students who take the course in different years. Note that your official transcript will also contain the class average; so, a professional school worth considering will not credit you for bird courses with averages in excess of 80 %. The Department of Physics and Astronomy wants to prevent marks inflation in all of its courses. To this end, an internal policy has been introduced to (a) provide the following statement to all students in courses offered by the Department of Physics and Astronomy that students are advised that course marks may have to be adjusted at the end of course and prior to submission to the registrar to prevent marks inflation, and to (b) stipulate that no course mean will lie outside the range of 65% to 78%. This also gives you the guarantee that the marks in no other first year Physics course will exceed the ones we will produce in this course.