Physics 103 News
Spring 2008

News will be posted on this page in reverse chronological order

(i.e., most recent messages first)

5/14/2008

We have completed calculating your total scores and assigned letter grades. You can look at your grades on the 103 web site. We will upload the grades to the register on Friday morning at 8AM. If you have any concerns you should contact us before then. The grade ranges are below.

Please note Professor Herndon and Professor Sprott met with your TAs and considered all students near the boundary of two letter grades. We assigned all students that we thought deserving the higher grade. At this point we will only make modifications to your letter grade if there is an error in the calculation of your grade. We will not change your grade under any circumstances other than an error in calculation. Please do not ask us to do this.

We were pleased with the performance of the class. We think that you performed well on the difficult material of a physics class. We hope you have a great summer.

900-1000  A
865-900   AB
815-865   B
770-815   BC
630-770   C
Below 630 D, or an F if required course work was skipped

5/13/2008

Your laboratory and discussion grades should be complete online.  You will find scores out of 100 listed in the laboratory and discussion areas of the gradebook. These grades should be complete unless you were making up laboratories this week. You can also find your total laboratory+discussion grade (out of 300), homework grade (out of 150), and preflight grade (out of 50) in the temporary grade section. These scores added to your three midterms (out of 100 each) and final (out of 200) will give you your final score. Please note that your laboratory+discussion grade has been modified so that all TA's have the same average. This accounts for the fact that some TA's grade more stringently than others. These corrections are at the 5% level. If you feel there is an error in any of your grade calculations please contact your TA and Prof. Herndon.

2/11/2008

The first exam in Physics 103 will be at 5:45-7 pm Thursday, February 21st. The exam will be in two different rooms, and it is very important that you go to the room corresponding to your section number since you will need to turn your exam in to your TA. This and other important information about the exam is at http://tycho.physics.wisc.edu/courses/phys103/spring08/hexrooms.html. Please read it carefully and observe the rules. Be sure to know your 3-digit section number which begins with a 3 since you will be asked for that at the exam along with your student ID number. Good luck!

12/22/2007

Welcome to Physics 103 for the Spring 2008 semester. If you were registered early, you should be able to log in with your 10 digit UW Student ID as your login name with a password of "103" (without the quotes). You can change your password on the Gradebook page for more security. If you have difficulty, please follow the instructions on the login Help page.

There are two identical lectures in the course at 9:55 and 11:00 AM on Monday and Wednesday in 2103 Chamberlin. You may attend either or both.

Please browse the web pages. Much of the course work will rely on the web for feedback and information. Therefore, it is mandatory that you are familiar with it. In particular, get familiar with the Planner that you will use to keep track of course activity (work and deadlines). Also read the Syllabus page for an overview of the course. That page also gives details about the course rules and structure, suggests outside resources and tells about exams and grading. We will have class participation in lecture, so come prepared to think and learn.

The homework and first lecture preflight are open now.
The first discussion sections will meet on Tuesday, Jan 22.
The first lecture preflight is due Wednesday, Jan 23 at 9 AM.
The first lectures are on Wednesday, Jan 23 at 9:55 and 11:00 AM.
The first labs will meet the week of Jan 28 (no labs the first week).
The first homework assignment is due on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 5 PM.

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