This is your Midterm 1 exam. Your exam is due by 11:59 pm on Fri Feb 13. Late submissions are allowed but will be assessed a penalty as described in Late Work on syllabus.

The exam is based on what we have covered thus far this semester. The same guidelines as we have been using for Personal Essays apply to this exam which means please do not use AI or automated writing tools in any way. The essay portion of each question has a minimum word length of 500 words. You are welcome and in fact encouraged to consult with the UMD Writer's Workshop about any aspect of this exam. 

Please compose all of your answers entirely in a single Google Doc. Make sure that you have the Doc set so that anyone with the link is an editor. Your version history must show the complete evolution of your answers from start to finish (Notes first, Outline second, Essay third), so please do not start your answers somewhere else and then cut and paste them. Do not use tabs, links, etc. to separate different questions or different parts of a question. You will submit a single URL of your doc to Canvas.

If you have questions about the exam, please post those to this thread on the discussion list on Canvas so that  everyone gets the same information about the exam. Please allow up to 12 hours for a response.

There are two questions on this exam. Each question is worth 10 points and will be graded as follows - 3 points for your Notes, 2 points for your Outline, and 5 points for your ESSAY. Grading of the ESSAY portion  will follow the Personal Essay grading rubric. NOTES and OUTLINE grading will be based on clarity, completeness, and adherence to the specifications given. 

You will see that both questions are based on video lectures - please simply take notes as you watch the lectures and do not attempt to automate that process with a note taking app of some kind (unless the use of such tools is a documented accommodation you have for note taking from Disability Resources). You can take notes directly into your Google Doc or you can take them by hand on paper and then type them into your Google Doc. In the latter case please also include photos of your notes after your essay for that question.

START OF MIDTERM 1 QUESTIONS : 

1. [10 points] Watch the lecture Mission Impossible : Constructing Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine by Doran Swade. He is the person who led the effort to build Difference Engine #2 that we saw in an earlier video. You should watch from 00:05:00 (minute 5) until 01:15:00 (minute 75, so 70 minutes viewing time). This omits the introduction and question time which you are encouraged to view but are not a part of this question. 

NOTES (3 points) : Take notes as you are watching this video. Your notes should be relatively detailed and cover the entire 70 minutes of the lecture. Your goal is not to create a transcript or a summary, simply record points of information about both Babbage the man and his devices as they arise in the talk.  Please format these one point per line. Insert timestamps every 10 to 12 minutes (formatted like 00:12:00 to represent minute 12). Note points of information that you see visually with SAW: in your notes.  

OUTLINE (2 points) : Once your notes are finished, make an outline by describing each element from the prompt below that you will need to address in your essay. Each item in your outline should be followed by the specific points you will make to address them. You should complete both your notes and outline before writing your essay. Please start  your essay after your notes and outline so that all are immediately visible in your submission. 

ESSAY (5 points) : In this essay please discuss the following : 

• Three features of the Analytical Engine or Difference Engine discussed in this video that you find particularly interesting. Describe each feature and explain why it is interesting to you. 

• Three qualities or accomplishments of Babbage outside of the Engines discussed in this video that you find particularly interesting. Describe each quality or accomplishment and why you find it interesting. 

• Three visual pieces of information that you SAW in this video that you find particularly interesting. Describe each visual piece of information you saw and why you found it interesting. 

• Conclude your essay with your impressions of Charles Babbage both as a person and as a scientist and inventor. What can we learn from his life and work?

Do not simply list these items but rather create an essay where related ideas are discussed together. Identify any themes that link together the interesting points you have identified. Note that the content you discuss in this essay must specifically come from this video. 

INSERT PHOTOS OF NOTES (if taken on paper first and then entered above)

2. [10 points] Watch the lecture The Scientific Life of Ada Lovelace by Ursula Martin. You should watch the entire video (52 minutes). There is no introduction or question time so the lecture is the whole video.

NOTES (3 points) : Take notes as you are watching this video. Your notes should be relatively detailed and cover the entire 52 minutes of the lecture. Your goal is not to create a transcript or a summary, simply record points of information about Lovelace's life, work, and interests. Please format these one point per line. Insert timestamps every 10 to 12 minutes (formatted like 12:00 to represent minute 12). Note points of information that you see visually with SAW: in your notes.  

OUTLINE (2 points) : Once your notes are finished, make an outline by describing each element from the prompt below that you will need to address in your essay. Each item in your outline should be followed by the specific points you will make to address them. You should complete both your notes and outline before writing your essay. Please start  your essay after your notes and outline so that all are immediately visible in your submission. 

ESSAY (5 points) : In this essay please discuss the following : 

• Three ideas from Ada Lovelace's Scientific Life that are discussed in this video that you find particularly interesting. Describe each idea and explain why it is interesting to you. 

• Three qualities or accomplishments of Lovelace outside of her Scientific Life that you find particularly interesting. Describe each quality or accomplishment and why you find it interesting. 

• Three visual pieces of information that you SAW in this video that you find particularly interesting. Describe each visual piece of information you saw and why you found it interesting. 

• Conclude your essay with your impressions of Ada Lovelace both as a person and as a scientist. What can we learn from her life and work?

Do not simply list these items but rather create an essay where related ideas are discussed together. Identify any themes that link together the interesting points you have identified. Note that the content you discuss in this essay must specifically come from this video. 

INSERT PHOTOS OF NOTES (if taken on paper first and then entered above)

END OF MIDTERM 1 QUESTIONS

No Use of Automated Writing / AI Tools (from our Syllabus)

You may not use automated writing / AI tools like Gemini, CoPilot, ChatGPT, Grammarly, Claude, Jasper, DeepSeek, etc. at any point in developing any work for this class. 

I follow this same policy. I do not use AI in any aspect of this class. I do not use it to prepare for class. I do not use it to create lectures, discussion questions, or exams. I do not use it for any part of grading. 

What Automated Tools Can I use? (from Personal Essay guidelines)

If you would like to use a spelling or grammar checker, please do not use AI for this (it's overkill and incredibly wasteful). You should instead use the spelling and grammar checker available in Google Docs. Please do not use any other automated tools in preparing your notes, outline, or essay.