CH 302 Random Musings, Bottom of the Ninth0. A couple of intellectual diversions as finals arrive:The Roustabouts Dance Company is presenting their annual Spring Show on Saturday, May 8th, 7pm inthe Scottish Rite Theater at MLK and Lavaca. $5.00 admission.The Natural Sciences Dean’s Scholars are putting on Steve Martin’s play “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,Einstein Meets Picasso.” It is Tuesday and Wednesday (tonight and tomorrow) at 8 pm in BATTS 7.$3 for UT students.1. Sadly, the semester has come to an end. Today in class we will briefly look at famous batteries, do a coupleof fun demos involving redox chemistry, and hand out your very own brass penny. I will then review issuesrelated to examinations and final grades. I will also have you complete a teaching evaluation. Finally, we willmake ice cream for 500 people.2. On a separate sheet below I offer up the information on Exam 3 and on the Final Exam. It includes roomassignments and question types for each exam.3. By Monday, May 10 at 9 a.m., but perhaps earlier, I will have compiled the list of final exam exemptionsand cumulative scores for exams 1 through 3, quizzes 1 though 6, all regrades and all bonus points. These willbe posted on my web site (not the HW Server.) You will look up your score as the code you entered when yousigned up for the HW Service (two initials and four numbers.) These numbers will be posted alphabetically. Ifyou believe there are any discrepancies (and there will be plenty with almost 10,000 numbers on thespreadsheet) please e-mail me and let me know your concern. If I post earlier I will e-mail and let you know.4. Information on exemption from the final:In order to be exempt from the final you must have a cumulative total that is 90% (630 points) of the700 points derived from 3 exams and your four best quizzes. I will allow the 30 bonus points plus thefew extra credit opportunities that arose in class to count toward the exemption. These points are simplyadded to your cumulative total out of 700 points.If you are exempt, you will receive an A for the course without taking the final.There are a few special circumstances (people adding the course late or missed quizzes for nonacademicreasons) for which I will allow fewer than 630 points to be exempt. Please confirm this with me on the“Things I want Dr. Laude to know” sheet you complete today.Some of you are concerned that you may miss the exemption by just a few points. It is possible that Iwill lower the cutoff a bit but I won’t know till all the grades are in. Please don't hassle me about this. Ifyou see you are EXEMPT, then you made it. If you don't see it, you aren't. Contact me only of youbelieve there was a grading error.It is up to you to make sure that the totals you think you received correspond to exemption. Don’t makeassumptions. If it is close, look it up. Pity the fool who studies for and take the final exam when he orshe was exempt (this happens to someone every year.) Don’t let this be you.5. Information for those taking the cumulative final exam.I will be posting your cumulative totals on the same day I post exemptions.Don’t worry about which grading scheme I will use. If the final exam for everything gives you a higherscore, I will use that. If the cumulative score with the final gives you a better grade, I will use thatinstead.Don’t worry about cutoffs varying from grading scheme to grading scheme. If I drop the exemptioncutoff to 88, then I will drop both the final exam cutoff and the cumulative cutoff for an A to 88 as well.I will also lower the cutoffs for the other letter grades at least the same amount. I will not know thesecutoffs until all the tests are in.Your bonus points will count in your cumulative score but will not be added to your score if you aretaking the final for everything. Taking the final for everything is a grade that must stand on its ownmerit.I will have seen almost 100 people in the last couple of weeks about doing well on the final. Let meencourage you to do what I have suggested so you can greatly improve your grade for the course. Manyof you will see a profound change in how you have been performing in this class.6. A request for EVERYONE about final grades: I took great pains to devise a thorough grading scheme forthis course. It is clearly identified in the syllabus. Read it before you start asking redundant questions. It is whatit is. Nonetheless, while I don't curve, I also am pretty flexible at the edges of grades and have been known todrop the cutoff by a percentage point here and there. However be aware that I will not do for a single studentwhat I wouldn’t do for everyone, so please do not expect special favors.7. And finally, this is the best class of general chemistry students I have taught and the final grades will reflectthis. If I need to lower the cutoffs further I will but it is my expectation that the grade distribution for you outof 500 students will look something like:170 As170 Bs90 Cs40 Ds30 Fs (most of whom did not complete the course).8. Telling me what I should know. In a class of 500, it is possible I will make mistakes or that I will not findout things you want me to know. So please fill out the green form, “Things I want Dr. Laude to know”, if thereis anything of an academic or non academic nature that will assist me in deciding your grade. I will respond toeach of these individual so take the opportunity seriously. For example, if you and I have made some kind ofarrangement about make-ups, missing quizzes, incompletes, or something significant has come up this semester,please write it down and turn it in.9. Extra credit points. You have had the chance to earn 30 bonus points. These will be posted on the web sitewith the other grades. . There will certainly be some errors in recording your bonus points what with themanual recording process so please do not panic if points are missing. Simply e-mail me to explain what ismissing and we will record it. I will update a corrected bonus points page every couple of days. Remember, it isyour responsibility to check for errors and let us know. Oh, and yes, at least for the time being, you can turn inbonus points late. But try not to push me too far on this—I do need to turn in final grades at some point.10. Lunches with Dave: There can be no regular help sessions during final exam week--those classrooms arenow used for final exams. I will also
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