CH301 Random Musings September 27, 2011 1. A frightfully large number of you did not fill in your version number or uteid correctly on quiz 1 and 2. Please make sure you double check this on the exam. If you do make a mistake, and believe that the score we report for you on Quest is wrong, please go to the web site and look up how to fix your mistake (hint: it involves Travis.) 2. There is a major exam tomorrow night, Wednesday, September 28th , from 7:30 till 9:00 pm. Room locations as follows: • Last name: A - N WEL 2.224 • Last name O - Z WEL 1.308 IMPORTANT: If you go to the wrong room, you will not be allowed to take the exam. 3. The exam is worth 180 points, with 30 6-point multiple choice questions covering material in Chapters 1 and 2. Everything in my course notes from those chapters, as well as the worksheets and practice exams, is fair game. You should use the list of problem types (provided last Tuesday and again today at the bottom of the musings) as your guide for what I will cover. The review on Sunday night produced a question by question description of what I expect—you can find it under my random musings link. 4. There is a practice exam available on the web site with 30 questions related to the question types provided. It is approximately the same level of difficulty—that said, there is nothing like a timed test under pressure you change how your brain operates. So don’t predict to much from your practice exam performance. 5. Things to think about in preparing for the exam: • Don’t think you have to know everything in Chapters 1 and 2—simply focus on how to do the kinds of question types that are listed. • Know that you know the material. Assume nothing. For example, I will ask you to explain how a particle in a box works, so before the exam, be able to write down, or say out loud, how it works. If you can’t do it, or know that you are shaky on the subject, THEN YOU WILL GET IT WRONG. • Don’t think that if you did well on the quizzes you will do fine on the exam—the quizzes typically have easier questions, and more important, there was really not a time constraint. • Being overconfident is bad. Actually work the problems rather than think you know how to work the problems because you did it once in high school. • Time will definitely be a factor on Wednesday for students who don’t know the material cold. • Don’t stay up all night Tuesday night unless you have done it before and know you can handle it 6. Things to think about when you come take the test: • Showing up with pencils and a picture ID. If you bring anything else into the room it will be put in the front of the room while you are taking the exam. • Use proper hygiene on the day of the exam—many of you will think you don’t have time to shower. Think again, the room will smell pretty ripe if you don’t. • Don’t assume your bus will be on time and that the traffic will be good and you know where the exam will be. Give yourself plenty of time so you are not panicked as you arrive. • Have a time management strategy in mind while you take the exam—see the test taking advice below.7. Students with disabilities. I have been notified that 7 students with disabilities are permitted alternate testing conditions. At this point only ONE of you has e-mailed to set up those conditions. You are not allowed to show up for the test when we have 500 students to take care of and expect that the TAs will take care of you right then and there. Instead, e-mail Matt and let him know you need alternate testing and he will work out arrangements with you. This typically means starting the test earlier on Wednesday or finishing it later on Wednesday in the chemistry lower division office. But you must contact Matt ahead of time and make the arrangement. 8. Test-taking advice I. As you prepare for this test, keep the following time management idea in mind. There are 30 equally weighted questions and only 90 minutes to finish them. Some questions will take 2 seconds to answer and some will take 5 minutes to answer. As the end of the exam arrives, if you have spent your time working the really long questions (the calculations and complicated Lewis structures, for example) and still have a bunch of quick questions to work, then you are making a big mistake. Get the easy quick questions out of the way first and then struggle at the end with the couple of long calculations questions that you might not finish, but won’t cost you as much in the grading. 9. Test Taking Advice II. Memorize the question types. (I said memorize.) The advantages are numerous. Foremost is that this will automatically program into your head the locations where you can put the material you learn so your brain isn’t a jumbled mess while you take the exam. In addition to an organized brain, you will now be able to figure out what to study and what not to study. It will also make it possible to define, question by question, exactly what you need to learn. 10. Test Taking Advice III. How you every noticed that you study with a million study aids, but you take a test without any exam aids save a periodic table and some equations? Try spending some time studying the way you take tests—with nothing in your possession but a pencil, a periodic table, and what is in your brain. Find a blank chalk board, or a quiet corner of the library, and see, for each memorized question type, exactly how much you have actually put into your head. If you start this process, and realize nothing is coming out, it is because nothing has gone in. At least then you will know that you are about to crash and burn on the exam. 11. Grading and regrades: Grades will be posted as soon as possible on Thursday. Don’t hassle us—if they are not up there is a good reason. Also, please don’t e-mail after the exam to say your don’t have a test score. Those of you with grading issues should contact Matt with as much information as possible (in particular your actual version number, uteid, name, etc.) and he will fix your grade in no time and e-mail to confirm. Note, this is THE ONLY WAY WE DO REGRADES. 12. Two pet peeves of mine with respect to the test: • Test
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