Grading
Your grade will be computed according to the following scheme:
Problem sets:
Midterm exam:
Final exam:
50%
25%
25%
Exams will be curved but problems sets will not. In assigning the final letter grade, in addition to considering your numerical scores from each graded component of the course, I will adhere to the following guidelines:
Grades at Wellesley College are described in the Articles of Government as follows:
(a) Grade A is given to students who meet with conspicuous excellence every demand which can fairly be made by the course.
(b) Grade B is given to those students who add to the minimum of satisfactory attainment excellence in not all, but some of the following: organization, accuracy, originality, understanding, insight.
(c) Grade C is given to those students who have attained a satisfactory familiarity with the content of a course and who have demonstrated ability to use this knowledge in a satisfactory manner.
(d) Grade D is a passing grade.
(e) Grade F denotes failure and loss of credit for the course.
Here are more details about each component of the grade:
Problem sets:
Midterm exam:
Final exam:
The homework can be found on the assignments page. If the material we cover follows a textbook, you are responsible for doing the assigned exercises from each section as it is covered in class. Every Friday, you will turn in the problems from sections covered the previous week (I will tell you precisely what to turn in each time). Problems sets are due by 5 pm and you can leave them in the envelope in the box on my door (or you can give them to me in class). You will be graded on the content, but also in large part on clarity and presentation, and will be expected to follow the guidelines from this document.
You are allowed to turn in any two homework assignments except the last one late, and they have to be turned in on the due date of the next assignment (so this usually means that you can turn in late assignments one week later than their original due date). Subsequent late homeworks will not be accepted. You cannot use both late passes on the same homework assignment.
It is very important that you keep up with the assigned work since the exams will be based on homework problems. Each homework assignment will contain some problems of the sort you have not seen before (i.e. of the sort not done in class or worked out in the textbook). The reason is that the best measure of a good grasp of new material is an ability to apply it in new situations, and problems that look unfamiliar at first glance are meant to test this.
Some homework problems will require you to have access to a computer with Mathematica (or similar software) installed on it and to learn some basic coding in this program.
An important note about homework collaboration and the Honor Code: You are welcome to work with your classmates (or tutors from the helproom when there is someone there able to help you with the mateiral) when solving homework problems. In the event that you have taken notes while working with someone else, you must put these notes away and recreate the solutions on your own as you write them up for submission. Using notes from a collaboration while writing up your homework assignment will be considered a violation of the Honor Code. In addition, you may NOT consult a written solution to a problem you are working on (whether it be online or in a book). Breaches in the Honor Code in any aspect of the course will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the college legislation. If you have any questions about this policy, please talk to me.
The midterm will be an open-book take-home exam, given around the seventh week of classes. You will have one week to work on it. More details about the midterm will be given later.
Just as the midterm, the final will be an open-book take-home exam, given around the end of the reading period. You will have until the end of the finals to do it. More details about the final will be given later.