Preparing for the final

The "big test" will be Friday, November 13, 2009, in our usual room (Room 218, where we met for the rocks and sea monkeys labs). Please do not be late. The time you have for the exam will be 3:00 pm until 5.00 pm, sharp.

I will have regular office hours on November 10. November 11 is a holiday, so no office hours that day. Feel free to make an appointment if you'd like to talk to me any other time. The best use of office hours is if you bring specific questions.

For the final exam you are responsible for all the material we have covered in this class. That means any topic we covered on field trips or in the labs.

Bring a calculator. No sharing calculators during the exam. However, the big test will not be math-focused, so I am unlikely to ask you any challenging math questions.

You are allowed to bring (and use) one (1) 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper with whatever written on it you like. Yes, both sides, if you like.

No books, notebooks, homeworks, computers, cell phones, iPods, etc. will be allowed for the exam.

I will give you with the exam a sheet with all relevant formulas and constants, if I think you need any.

The emphasis of the final will be on concepts, not calculations, although the exam may not be calculation-free. On the final I will ask you to synthesize material from throughout the course.

The exam will be worth a total of 120 points, and I will label each question with its point value. Most of will you probably want to use the entire 120 minutes to work on the exam.

Advice for taking the exam: (1) Read the entire exam through carefully first. The extra minute required to do this will more than pay off if you can budget your time well. (2) Budget your time carefully! You should probably spend the most time on the questions which are worth the most. Remember, the exam will be 120 minutes and 120 points -- this should suggest how to allot your time.

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Last modified: 3 Nov 2009